Jonathan Swift
Chapter 02
Book
I and Book II
Chapter 01
On
this voyage, Gulliver goes to the sea as a surgeon on the merchant ship,Antelope. The ship is destroyed during a heavy
windstorm, and Gulliver, the only survivor, swims to a nearby island, Lilliput.
Being nearly exhausted from the ordeal, he falls asleep. Upon awakening, he
finds that the island’s inhabitants, who are no larger than six inches tall,
have captured him. After the inhabitants examine Gulliver and provide him with
food, the Emperor of this country orders his subjects to move Gulliver to a
little-used temple, the only place large enough to house him.
Chapter 02
In this chapter, the Imperial Majesty
(the Emperor) and Gulliver carry on a conversation as best they can. After the
Emperor’s visit, six Lilliputians shoot arrows at Gulliver. Gulliver retaliates
by pretending to eat the little archers and then releases them. This clemency,
and Gulliver’s cooperation, so impress the Imperial Council that they debate
whether or not to free Gulliver. An officer takes inventory of Gulliver’s
possessions, which will be held until Gulliver’s fate is settled upon.
Chapter 03
The Lilliputian emperor is pleased that
Gulliver is friendly and cooperative, so he rewards him with some court
diversions. The diversions, however, prove to be quite different than one might
expect. It is the Lilliputian court custom that men seeking political office
demonstrate their agility in rope dancing, among other things. How long and how
skillfully a candidate can dance upon a rope determines his tenure in office.
Of the candidates, two are particularly adept: Reldresal, Gulliver’s friend,
and Flimnap, the treasurer. Other diversions include noblemen competing for
official favor by crawling under or leaping over a stick, a feat for which they
are then rewarded with various colored threads. Gulliver also reviews the
Emperor’s troops; he stands, legs apart, while the tiny men march through.
As a result of Gulliver’s cooperation, a
pact between Gulliver and the Emperor is agreed on. Gulliver is granted limited
freedom on certain conditions. In return for abiding by the conditions, he will
receive food sufficient for 1,728 Lilliputians. Gulliver swears to the articles
in proper form, and the Emperor frees him.
Chapter 04
After Gulliver’s visit to the Emperor’s
palace at Mildendo, Reldresal, Lilliput’s Principal Secretary of Private
Affairs, pays a visit to Gulliver and explains the faction quarrels between the
High Heel Party and the Low Heel Party. The conflict, he says, started over a
religious question: At which end should the faithful break their eggs: at the
big end or at the little end? The Blefuscudians break theirs, in the original
style, at the big end. But, by royal edict, the Lilliputians must break their
eggs at the little end. There are rebels in Lilliput, Reldresal says, and
already 11,000 of them — Big Endians — have been put to death; others have fled
to the court of Blefuscu. He explains further that the Lilliputians have lost
40 ships in the war. The dilemma seems hopeless, for Lustrog, the prophet of
their religion, has said, “All true believers shall break their eggs at the
convenient end.”
Chapter 05
Gulliver
saves Lilliput from a Blefuscudian invasion by dragging the Blefuscudian ships
to Lilliput. In gratitude, the Lilliputian emperor rewards Gulliver with the
title Nardac. Gulliver is pleased with his new title, but he
is not the Emperor’s dupe. He rejects a plan to destroy Blefuscu completely and
argues for a reasonable peace treaty. Gulliver’s moderation in dealing with the
Blefuscudians gives Flimnap and Skyresh Bolgolam a chance to slander him. The
Emperor listens to the accusations and is cold to Gulliver when he grants him
permission to visit Blefuscu in the future. Later, a fire in the palace breaks
out, and Gulliver puts out the fire by urinating on it. There is a law against
anyone passing water in the royal palace, however, and the Empress is so
horrified by Gulliver’s fire-fighting techniques that she never forgives
Gulliver. The Emperor softens, though, and promises Gulliver a pardon for his
crime.
Chapter 06
Gulliver provides the reader with
information regarding Lilliputian culture and the personal treatment that he
receives from the Lilliputians. Regarding the Lilliputian system of laws,
Gulliver says that treason is severely punished, which is not particularly
surprising, but other laws are. These laws punish an unsuccessful accuser as
severely as a traitor; fraud is most frequently punished with death; and any
innocent man who is vindicated of a charge is rewarded. Interestingly,
ingratitude is a capital offense. Moral, rather than clever men, are appointed
to powerful positions, and atheists are barred from all government offices.
Explaining the seeming contradiction between these good laws and the
rope-dancing corruptions, Gulliver says that the latter were instituted by the
present Emperor’s grandfather.
The Lilliputians believe that parents
marry out of sexual desire rather than love of children. Therefore they deny
any filial obligation and establish public schools for children. Parents with
children in school pay for each child’s maintenance and are forced to maintain
those that they breed. The schools for young nobles are spartan, and students
are trained in honor, justice, courage, modesty, clemency, religion, and
patriotism. The schools for tradesmen and ordinary gentlemen are like those of
the nobles, but the duration of schooling is shorter. The Lilliputians educate
women to be reasonable, agreeable, and literate. Workers and farmers have no
schools.
Resuming his tale, Gulliver describes
the visit of the Emperor and his family. They come to dine with Gulliver and
bring Flimnap with them. The dinner proves to be a disaster because Flimnap,
the royal treasurer, is appalled when he reckons the cost of feeding and
housing Gulliver. What’s more, Flimnap charges, his wife is attracted to
Gulliver and has visited him secretly.
Chapter 07
Gulliver learns that Flimnap, Skyresh
Bolgolam, and others have approved articles of treason against him. His crimes
include putting out the fire in the palace, refusing to devastate Blefuscu,
speaking to the peace embassy from Blefuscu, and preparing to take advantage of
the Emperor’s permission to visit Blefuscu. The Emperor accepts the charges,
but he refuses to kill Gulliver. Instead, he “mercifully” decides to blind Gulliver
and save money on his upkeep by starving him slowly. On learning this, Gulliver
escapes to Blefuscu.
Chapter 08
A few days after his arrival at Blefuscu,
Gulliver sees a large overturned ship floating in the bay and hauls it to port.
While he is restoring the ship for his return home, a Lilliputian envoy
presents a note demanding that Gulliver be returned as a traitor. The
Blefuscudian emperor refuses to do so, hoping that Gulliver will stay as a war
deterrent between the two countries. Gulliver refuses, however, and sets sail
for home. Eventually a British merchant ship picks him up and returns him
toEnglandwhere he is reunited with his wife and family.
Part – 02
Chapter 01
Gulliver
is home for only two months when he and the crew of the Adventure set sail forSurat. A storm blows their
ship far off course. When they finally sight land, the captain sends a crew,
including Gulliver, to explore. While the crew looks for drinking water,
Gulliver explores another part of the island. The men are set upon by “a huge
creature” that chases them into the ocean and back to their ship. Gulliver, who
was investigating the shore of the new country, is left behind. Eventually,
Gulliver is discovered by several of these huge creatures that are, in reality,
very large (giant-like) human beings. These giants prove to be friendly and
curious, and eventually one of the giants, a farmer, takes Gulliver to his
farmhouse where the farmer’s friendly family receives him.
Chapter 02
Of
all the family, the farmer’s daughter is the most fascinated by Gulliver. He
seems like a walking, talking doll to her. She enjoys caring for him and even
gives him a new name: Grildrig. She takes such good care of Gulliver that he
calls her hisglumdalclitch (nurse). News of Gulliver’s living
at the farmer’s house spreads quickly, and several visitors come to see him. At
the urging of one particular gentleman, the farmer decides to take Gulliver to
the market place and to put him on display for others to see (for a price).
This being successful, the farmer decides to take Gulliver on tour throughout
the kingdom, including visiting the kingdom’s metropolis, Lorbrulgrud. There Gulliver performs ten times a day
for all who wish to see him. By this time, though, Gulliver has presented far
too many performances; he is almost dead with fatigue.
Chapter 03
The Queen asks for an audience with the
farmer and Gulliver, and Gulliver performs admirably and respectfully for her.
The Queen, being attracted to the novelty of this tiny man, buys Gulliver from
the farmer. Included in this arrangement is the farmer’s daughter,
Glumdalclitch, who becomes a member of the Queen’s court as Gulliver’s nurse.
Conversing with the King, Gulliver tells him about English customs and
politics. The King is amused; he laughs at the fierceness of such tiny insects.
Gulliver dares not refute the King’s opinion; indeed, before long, he adopts
his host’s point of view.
The
King and Queen are happy with Gulliver, but there is one member of the royal
entourage who is not happy: the Queen’s dwarf,
who is jealous because Gulliver has replaced him in the Queen’s affection.
Chapter 04
When the King and Queen go traveling
about the country, they decide to take Gulliver along. Gulliver describes the
island, the sea around the island, the city ofLorbrulgrud, the King’s palace,
his [Gulliver's] method of travel on the island, several of the island’s
inhabitants, and some of the sights to see on the island. In describing the
inhabitants of the island, Gulliver focuses on their illnesses and diseases. He
mentions, for instance, giant beggars, horribly deformed, with lice crawling
all over them. Gulliver compares the sights to similar sights in his homeland.
Finally, the dimensions of the King’s palace are described with the kitchen
receiving particular attention.
Chapter 05
Gulliver’s mishaps continue. The Queen’s
dwarf drops barrel-sized apples on him; hailstones as big as tennis balls
batter and bruise him; a bird of prey nearly grabs him; and a spaniel picks him
up in his mouth and carries him to the royal gardener. Gulliver is insulted to
be coddled and played with by the maids of honor. To them, Gulliver is a toy,
not a man, so they undress in front of him without a thought of modesty. The
maids, perhaps comely enough, repulse Gulliver. He is particularly annoyed when
they titillate themselves with his naked self.
Because
Gulliver is a sailor, the Queen has a toy boat made for him and a trough in
which to sail. The royal ladies also take part in the game and make a brisk
breeze with their fans. Disaster strikes when a frog hops into the trough and
nearly swamps Gulliver’s boat, but Gulliver bravely drives the monster off with
an oar. One day a monkey seizes Gulliver and carries him to the top of the
palace. Gulliver is finally rescued and, when he recovers, is summoned by the
King, who is curious to know whether Gulliver was afraid. Gulliver boasts that
he could have protected himself with his sword. The King guffaws at the
little splacknuck’s pride.
Chapter 06
Gulliver entertains himself and
demonstrates his ingenuity by using the King’s beard stubble to make a comb and
by using strands of the Queen’s hair to make several chairs and a purse. In
addition, Gulliver plays the spinet (piano) for the King and Queen by using
sticks formed as cudgels to bang on the keys as he runs up and down a piano
bench. The King also holds several audiences with Gulliver to discuss the
culture of Gulliver’s home country,England. In these audiences, as requested by
the King, Gulliver explains the role of the people in the operation of the
government, in religion, and in the legal system, among other topics. The King,
after asking many questions related to all that Gulliver tells him, concludes
this audience with a summary and an assessment of what he hears.
Chapter 07
Gulliver decides that the King’s lack of
enthusiasm forEnglandsprings from his ignorance of the country. To remedy this,
Gulliver offers to teach the King aboutEngland’s magnificence. The first lesson
concerns one ofEngland’s most valuable assets: gunpowder. Describing its
effects graphically and at great length, Gulliver tells the King that gunpowder
would be a great boon for him; with it, the King could reduce all his subjects
to slavery. The King is horrified by the suggestion. He rejects such a
bloodthirsty and inhumane proposal, warning the “impotent and groveling insect”
(Gulliver) that he will be executed if he ever mentions gunpowder again.
Gulliver drops the subject of gunpowder
and gives us an account of the customs and government of his hosts. The
Brobdingnagian army is a national guard or militia; there are no professional
soldiers. As for government, it is extremely simple. There are no refinements,
mysteries, intrigues, or state secrets. Government depends upon common sense,
mercy, and swift justice. Brobdingnagian learning consists only of morality,
history, poetry, and practical mathematics. The Brobdingnagians cannot
understand abstract reasoning or ideas. Their laws must contain only twenty-two
words and must be absolutely clear. Their libraries are small, and their books
are written in a clear style.
Chapter 08
Gulliver spends two years in
Brobdingnag, but he is not happy despite the royal family’s pampering. He is
afraid that he will never escape and will turn into a sort of domestic, albeit
royal, pet. Escape seems impossible; chance, however, intervenes: On a trip to
the seashore, an eagle swoops down, snatches up the box Gulliver travels in,
and drops it into the sea. The box is driven by the wind close to an English
ship and is spied by some sailors, who retrieve Gulliver and his possessions.
Gulliver does not adjust easily to his fellow Englishmen. After living two
years in a land of giants, he has convinced himself that all Englishmen are
midgets. Everything looks tiny back home, and he feels like a giant. In time
Gulliver’s sense of perspective heals.
Edited by: Mahbub Murad. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Cell: +8801919879309, +8801761519111. Email: Mahbub_murad@yahoo.com
Edited by: Mahbub Murad. Dhaka, Bangladesh. Cell: +8801919879309, +8801761519111. Email: Mahbub_murad@yahoo.com
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