Gulliver's Travels

Fictitious travel book written by Jonathan Swift.

Composition and Publication

Today it is mostly agreed that Gulliver's travels has been written between 1721 and 1725. Books I and II were written between 1721 and 1723, Book IV in 1723 and Book III between 1724 and 1725. The first publication of Gulliver's travels was on 28 October 1726 under the title Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, stating that it had been written by Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon and captain.

Reception

The first edition of Gulliver's travels seems to have been a great success as it was sold out in only one week. However it did not take long for the critics to re-evaluate the story. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries the book had a mainly negative image as it was said to attack the dignity of men. In the 19th century the Victorians tried to make the book less provoking by turning it into a shorter version for children. That is why still today many people recognize it as a book for children, although it is actually much more: a parody of travel literature, a political satire, a philosophical tract about humankind.

Structure

Gulliver´s Travels contains four parts and it is written as a pseudo-authentic travel narrative.

Part 1: A Voyage to Lilliput

This part is subdivided into eight chapters and mainly concerns the world of the little people. The first chapter deals with Gulliver's education and youth. It also describes his first voyages, especially the circumstances that make him discover the land Liliput. In the second chapter the reader hears about how Gulliver is shipwrecked and finds himself prisoner in Liliput. The third chapter describes the society of Liliput and how Gulliver gains his freedom. In the fourth chapter Gulliver visits Milendo, the capital of Liliput and has a conversation with a secretary about the affairs of Liliput. Chapter five deals with the war that the Empire of Liliput has with the Empire of Blefuscu. Gulliver supports Liliput in this war and achieves a peace between the two countries. The sixth chapter describes the culture of the people of Liliput and how Gulliver lives in the country. In the seventh chapter Gulliver encounters some problems. A good friend informs him that the emperor plans to accuse him of high treason. To escape this accusation and a penalty Gulliver flees to Blefuscu, where he is welcomed. The last chapter describes how Gulliver finds a way to leave Blefuscu and return home.

Part 2: A Voyage to Brobdingnag

The second part is as well subdivided into eight chapters and mostly deals with Gulliver's travels to Brobdignag, the land of the giants. The first chapter explains how Gulliver leaves his family to go on another voyage. During this voyage he discovers a country where he is accidentally left behind and discovered by one of the inhabitans who carries him to his home and holds him captive. Chapter two describes a conversation between Gulliver and the daughter of the farmer who had found him before. The reader also gets to know how Gulliver is taken to the market-town and to the capital of Brobdingnag. The third chapter deals with Gulliver's experiences at the court of the country. He is bought by the queen, taken to court where he got an apartment of his own. Chapter four gives a description of the country, the capital and the palace of the king. The fifth chapter gives an account of some of the adventures that Gulliver experienced. Chapter six is about the relationship between Gulliver and the king and queen of the country. Gulliver makes several inventions, shows his musical abilities and shares information about Europe. The seventh chapter describes Gulliver's love for his home country and as a contrast the description of the culture of the supposedly not so perfect Brobdingnag. The last chapter gives an account of Gulliver's returning to England.

Part 3: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan

The third part is divided into eleven chapters and describes Gulliver's visits to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg and Japan. Chapter one explains how Gulliver leaves his home for the third time for another voyage, during which he is taken by pirates and after being abandoned by them, how he arrives at Laputa, a flying island. In the second chapter the reader gets a description of the culture of the people living in Laputa. Chapter three gives an account of the knowledge the Laputians have about the different sciences. The fourth chapter is about Gulliver leaving Laputa and traveling to the capital of Balnibarbi. Chapter five and six give a description of Gulliver's visit to the academy of Lagado. Chapter seven informs the reader about Gulliver's travels to Maldonada and Glubbdubdrib. In chapter eight Gulliver is still in Glubbdubdrib and learns more about the history of the country. In chapter nine Gulliver returns to Maldonada and then travels on to Luggnagg, where he visits the court to meet the king. Chapter ten gives more information about the people of Luggnagg and their culture. In the eleventh chapter Gulliver leaves Luggnugg to sail to Japan from whence he gets a ship which takes him over Amsterdam back home to England.

Part 4: A Voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms

The fourth and last part is subdivided into twelf chapters and gives an account of Gulliver's travels to the land of the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos. The first chapter describes how Gulliver starts a new voyage this time himself as captain of a ship. But soon there is a mutiny on board and Gulliver is left behind by his men in an unknown land. There he meets the Yahoos (beasts which turn out to be humans) and the Houyhnhnms (usually known as horses). In the second chapter Gulliver accompanies one of the Houyhnhnm to his home where he learns more about the food they eat. Chapter three explains how Gulliver learns the language of the people. The fourth chapter is about a talk between Gulliver and the master of the Houyhnhnms about their ideas of truth and falsehood as well as about Gulliver and his travels. In chapter five, six and seven the conversation continues about England, the wars in Europe and the constitution of England and how the master of the Houyhnhnms judges this information. Chapter eight and nine give more information about the Yahoos and also far more about the Houyhnhnms (learning, buildings, language). The tenth chapter describes Gulliver's life among the Houyhnhnms, which he really enjoyed. Unfortunately the master informs him that he has to leave the country, which Gulliver unwillingly does by building a canoo and putting it to sea. Chapter eleven deals with the unsafe voyage of Gulliver. First he comes to New-Holland where he is wounded by an arrow shot by one of the natives, afterwards he is taken by force into a Portuguese ship, which brings him back to England. The last chapter is about Gulliver's considerations about the publication of his work, about other travellers and about the colonies.

References

1. Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. Ed. Claude Rawson. Oxford: OUP, 2005.

2. Real, Hermann J./ Vienken, Heinz J. Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels. München: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 1984.