A Change in Gulliver

In the beginning of the book, Gulliver started out as an average man who was a surgeon and lived a normal life. This was all changed when he was first shipwrecked during a storm and when he landed on the island of Lilliput. Throughout all of his journeys, he learned of the corruptions of mankind and realized that there is no reason to return back to England. He was disgusted by all of man's vicious, backstabbing, and greedy characteristics that society is tainted with. Gulliver never wanted to leave the land of the Houyhnhnms, the land of the Utopian society. When forced to leave, he knew that he would never return to the corrupted societies of England and found his own island where he could live the way he wanted where he could live in his own Utopian society alone.

Did You Know?

I was reading about Gulliver Travels when it was first published in 1726 and noticed some interesting facts. First of all, the book was originally called Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships. Even though this title  gives the reader a better understanding on what the book will be about, it has been shortened to Gulliver's Travels. Also, Jonathan Swift published the 1726 edition of Gulliver's Travels as an anonymous author due to the danger of being arrested for his critical satire against the king and the Whig government.

Horses

I find it funny that horses in Houyhnhnm are like humans in human society. One of the reasons it seems funny is because horses are animals just like we are. The main reason I bring it up is because they were viewed in ancient societies as "heroes" and were usually linked to heroic exploits. The horses in Houyhnhnm have never experienced war, so they don't view each other with valor or anything god-like. I think Swift used horses as his final society to symbolize honor and truth, which are some pretty big themes of the Houyhnhnm society.

Virtues of the Houyhnhnms

I thought it was interesting that "friendship" and "benevolence" were the virtues of the Houyhnhnms. In England and the rest of Europe during Jonathan Swift's life time, those attributes were probably hard to come by. That must explain why Gulliver distances himself from his family when he gets back to England. I think that Swift includes these virtues to explain to the reader that there will always be people in the world who will be friendly and benevolent, despite everything else you experience. Think about it: you can't have darkness without light or badness without good. That's what makes the world spin.

Perfection

I thought it was pretty cool when Gulliver said that he wanted to stay with the Houyhnhnm society and not go back home. It shows just how perfect and innocent the race of horses are. Swift probably made Gulliver say this to show how perfection lures everyone and everything to it and drives them to be perfect. And since Gulliver wants to stay and "be perfect," he is exposing his flaw of striving for perfection, since the reader should know that no human is perfect. This makes it impossible for Gulliver to stay, which gives Swift a reason to make him reach his home in the end.

Styling of the book

Swift wrote the book entirely like a travel journal of the time, and maintained a serious tone and direct address to the reader throughout the story, partially to satirize travel journals and essentially make fun of them, and partially to get his message across more effectively by keeping the story serious and realistic. One thing i liked was the deep impact that the Houyhnhnm society had on Gulliver. The other races that he met did not have such a lasting impact on his style of living and morals, because the Houyhnhnm  culture was so righteous that he converted and never went back to the ways of the Yahoos. He could barely stand to touch his own wife and children when he returned home, he was so averted to humans. However, I think in his situation, I would be in the same condition, especially after having been immersed in the Houyhnhnm culture for so long.

Comparisons with Societies.

While thinking about the Houyhnhnm society, I couldn't help but compare them to Vulcans from Star Trek like Spock. They act entirely out of reason and logic, have little emotion, and are always honest and truthful. I wonder if the creators of the characters in Star Trek received inspiration from this book.

Satire in part IV: The Human Condition

The overall plot of Gulliver's adventure to the land of the Houyhnhnm's was interesting, and very straight forward in its satire on human society. In the previous three books, satirical themes had been implied through comparisons with the different cultures to show the foolishness of humans. However, with this book, there are direct comparisons made with the Yahoo's and explained in the last chapter to make an impact, wrapping up the book itself. Italicization of important words sends the message more effectively, and the reader is bound to understand the points Swift is making on the human condition. He specifically singles out that of our primal instincts, and inner drivings of greed, hatred, and jealousy. The reversal of the roles of humans and horses, masters and servants, are quite stimulating of thought. However offensive the entries were towards our race, much of it was true and rather eye-opening. With our useless wars, puppet government, and more, his satire on the race which he directly states about Europe was a good way to communicate Swift's point.

Why Swift Chose The Societies That He Did?

When I was reading about Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and Houyhnhnms, I took a step back and asked myself why Swift would choose these societies rather than a normal human society. I first looked at Lilliput. I realized that Lilliput was constantly in political disputes that were between them and the island of Blefuscu. I think he made both civilizations to be small people because he wanted to show that political discussions are not that important because they tend to be about the dumbest things. In the book, he portrays this with the eggs discussion. On Brobdingnag, Gulliver is forced to be a method of entertainment for its people. Swift makes the people of Brobdingnag large to show that entertainment its important in a society. Laputa is a world that floats above another island. On Laputa, there are many talented mathematians and scientists. The point of having them on this floating island is to show that these subjects are more important than the daily lives of the towns on the mainlands. Throughout the book, Swift emphasizes this by incorporating some sort of mathematics or science in each of his societies.

man vs. animal

What separates humans from animals? So far the novel has cited rationality as a key difference. But to make the Houyhnhnms similar to humans, Swift adds more small characteristics such as speech, eating from separate bowls, cleanliness, and a stable shelter. He also makes the Yahoos into animals by their excessive hair, eating habits, and  But many animals do a few of these "human" actions, and many humans behave like "animals" from time to time, so the line between humans and animals is blurred. Personally, I think there is no difference and that we are just rational animals able to make conscious decisions and rely a little less on instinct.

Language

Throughout the book, Swift incorporates many different languages that are both made up and real. On every island, there was a new language to be learned for Gulliver. Lucky for him, he has a gift to learn the new languages that he runs into on his adventures on the different islands. He uses these languages to get himself out of situations or to help himself understand the new culture of the inhabitants on the islands. I think that the many languages that are incorporated in the book are used to show the diversity of the cultures of the world.

Did You Know?

Jonathan Swift described the two moons of Mars called Phobos and Deimos 100 years before either moon was discovered. He gave the size and speed of rotation which were very similar to the actual moons. He was able to guess these measurements so accurately because of the work of Johannes Kepler and his work with astronomy in 1610.

Humanity's narcissism

Clearly Swift's portrayal of the Houyhnhnm society satirizes man's narcissism regarding our place on earth. In this part, the Houyhnhnm's rationality puts them ahead of the Yahoos. But so far, the Houyhnhnms are not taking advantage of the Yahoos, contrasting with the generally abusive relationship between people and horses (and the rest of nature) in our society. Perhaps Swift is trying to bring humanity's ego into question. Since both societies see themselves as "the perfection of nature", we may see more evidence of the Houyhnhnm's self centeredness on par with humanity's.

Houyhnhnm truth

I thought the master Houyhnhnm's statement about lying and falsehood was very interesting. The statement was that it is pointless to lie because the whole point of a language is to understand one another. I understand we lie for personal gain, but this is an interesting perspective on the topic. I wonder what other differences between human society and the Houyhnhnm's will arise because of this difference.

Harry Potter

In my opinion, the higher society of Laputa resemble a character or creature in Harry Potter. This creature is called Aragog. He gives Harry information about the basilisk even though he wants to eat him. Furthermore, Aragog is a very insightful creature that possesses a vast amount of wisdom.

Movie Reference

This part of the book reminds me of the movie called "Howling's Moving Castle" because of the concept in which a territory is moving and not stationary.

Ridiculous Projects

I find it very peculiar to think that the methods, or projects, of the lower levels of society in Laputa are thought of since they seem like they would never work. This was when Gulliver was visiting this land with an individual named Munodi. In the book, there are projects that are listed as people blowing air through them to cure them. In my opinion, there seems to be no reasonable explanation of why that would work. This could be a representation in which these people are quite ignorant or have no reasonable sense in things. Also, another example of a project that seems ridiculous to me would be that they are trying to teach blind people on how to mix colors by using smells and touch.

Feudalism

In the novel, Gulliver traveled to a weird place that is apparently a floating island called Laputa. In Laputa, the society resembles a feudalistic society because the upper levels of the island are less ignorant and possess a vast amount of knowledge compared to the lower levels. Also, the lower levels have a society in inadequate living conditions compared the upper levels since they live in houses that are described to be ruined and dirty. In addition, the king has a high power to punish his followers as well and isolate them from natural resources which is also a representation of feudalism.

Time Passing

The way Swift deals with time is interesting, because it is a fiction novel that he is structuring like a nautical journal. At the beginning of the new Part, he passes several months in a matter of a page, leading to his next adventure- and on his travels, one day can be a chapter or more. I think his style of representing time passing is easy to the reader, because we don't have to wade through pointless chapters of information unimportant to the plot. He essentially skips over the boring stuff in summaries and gets to the excursions into lands of fantasy. This is partially to show that life at home is dry and lethargic, and also just to help give us the flesh of the story and leaving out unnecessary parts.

Looking Ahead

Hello fellow class bloggers. Looking to the future, we will read part 4 and finish it all May 29th, the final day. After that, we have one work day in class, and on the the 30th, we present it to the class. We have all the requirements on the two handouts, and we know what we have to do. My goal is that to avoid procrastination and cramming, we will start it this week (I will share a google doc with you all) and finish on the 29th, so we have our work day to practice and put on finishing touches. Also, we will divide the work of the main slides in class. I hope this works out, because I don't like cramming and I feel we will be much better off finishing in advance. Kirk out

Women on the island

It's interesting how the women on the island seem to be captivated by foreign people. They like the strangers visiting the island and they make reasons to stay on Laputa. They may feel they are not bound by society and or take no interest in the math or music that engrosses the men. The women and men seem to have opposite actions compared to real life relationships. The women have lovers and the man takes no notice as long as he's occupied. 

Anybody have any other thoughts about this?

Mathematics

Has anyone noticed that all of the societies so far are proficient in mathematics? Does anybody have a possible explanation for this, or is it insignificant? Swift may feel that math is a universal branch of practical knowledge and therefore essential to all societies. Knowledge of math is one of the few things that the societies have in common, even though they are lacking in other areas.

Memory

Did anyone notice that Gulliver said, "...I thought myself too much neglected...?" I thought it was interesting that he would say this because it makes me wonder what the Laputans are doing that make them forget Gulliver is even there. I wonder if they are so caught up on their "work" that they forget that Gulliver is there, even though their work seems to be all for nothing. I think Jonathan Swift decided to add this memory problem to Gulliver's Travels because he wanted the reader to picture the motif that societies get so caught up in their own work that they can't stop and talk to a visitor, or do anything besides what they regularly do.

Cultural Differences

I find it odd that the Laputans are incredibly smart with science and astronomy but not with how the culture works. For example, Gulliver says that "This operator...he first took my height by a quadrant, and then with a rule and compasses described the dimensions and outlines of my whole body..." Then later, Gulliver says that the clothes are scratchy and crude. It's weird that swift would say this, because he makes the Laputans look like forgetful geniuses. I think he is doing this to show that even smart people have flaws, and Swift must want us to know that no one is perfect.

History

One of the things that was pretty cool about Glubbdubdrib was that any person living there could call upon a deceased person to serve them for a day. I thought it was interesting that Swift implies during his time talking to Homer and Aristotle and the many other ancient Europeans and Greeks that history has been written incorrectly. I think Swift is trying to tell the reader that they can believe history all they want, but that doesn't mean it is true. And Swift mentions that some of the "victors" in history were just prostitutes, peasants or people who need help. This tells the reader that they should only trust people and history that have come from truthful childhoods and lives where they work for morally good objectives.

Geography

I find it interesting how Swift uses geography to help describe the situation that Gulliver is in. So far, Swift has eagerly described the whereabouts of each place that Gulliver has been. He talked about the terrain, the climate, and where Gulliver thinks it is located on Earth. Swift must be using this to portray imagery so that the reader can understand more easily what Gulliver thinks of each city. He could also be describing it because he wants the reader to know that he likes the hospitality he has received in these places. So if the reader just so happened to stumble upon Laputa, Lilliput and/or Brobdingnag during their own travels that they would know that it is Laputa, Lilliput and/or Brobdingnag due to the hospitality.

Living and Dead

I found it quite curious as to how the king of Glubbdubdrib was able to call upon the dead to serve him whenever he needed servants to do something for him. It made me wonder if Swift is implying that the religions of the Europeans are just as credible as this "ritual", or if it is making fun of the fact that the people in Europe can not call upon the dead to serve them. This seems to be saying that the European religions are nullified since nowhere in European religions (Christianity, Islam, etc.) can any person arbitrarily conjure upon a ghost to aid them and serve them. This would be one example of satire that Swift uses to mock Europeans and what they believe in.

Part III: Satire on Education, Science, and Philosophy

Gulliver travels to many different places in this part, and his travels are once again directly satirical on European culture. This time he draws attention to philosophy, education, and science. when he is in the academy in Laputa, all the ridiculous projects that the scientists are working on are poking fun at the Royal Society of London, in 1660, who apparently worked on many of these projects or similar ones. They often times created useless technologies that the people did not use, but also did make many theoretical advances. He also parodied teaching and learning, with the experiment of teaching math by eating wafers. I interpreted this as a shot at teaching by memorization and regurgitation of information. Other topics were on the leadership of the King of Laputa. Rather than be involved and kind to his people, he floats above on his island, detached and distant. How can he rule the land when he has never even set foot on it?
All of these topics were subjects of satire that Swift targeted.

Houyhnhnms's Land

Out of all the places, where do you think the location of Houyhnhnms's land lies in our world? There has been no instances in which Swift has described the weather in this land, and not much description in the location of the place is described.

Gulliver's life at home

In the novel of "Gulliver's Travels", almost all of the story is revolved around his travels rather than his life at home. Also, in the novel, Gulliver is asked to leave the Houyhnhnms from their island because some of them dislike him staying in their homeland. However, Gulliver is quite sad about his forced departure, and wants to live in a remote island, or somewhere far away from his home. This brings me to think that Gulliver did not have much of a life back at his home because he craves for another life in a different society. This might be the reason why he chose to ignore his wife's statement to not go on adventures anymore.

Stereotype

In stereotypes, a man is seen to take advantage of women frequently. This is seen in Gulliver's travels because just as Gulliver leaves for yet another journey, he leaves his wife pregnant. Also, Gulliver's wife was the one who told him that he should not set out on journeys anymore because of his recent journeys that have affected him heavily. However, Gulliver, being the stubborn stereotypical man he is, sets out on another journey due to his lack of control and thirst for adventure.

A Horse's Perspective

I find it quite odd that this is how a horse sees us in Gulliver's travels. It is weird to think that we, or "Yahoos", are depicted as ugly brutes that are uncivilized. However, in real life, we have a mindset to think that horses are inferior to us and we are the more civilized beings in society. I believe this part in the book is making us human beings picture how it would be like if we were not on the top of the food chain.

Resemblance

In the movie of Lion King, animals have the ability to talk as the same as the third part for Gulliver's travels. This is where the horses have the ability to talk as well. Also, there is another resemblance in which there is a kingdom that is superior to hyenas. The hyenas and Scar are hated by Simba and his animals. Also, in Gulliver's travels, the horses appear to be the dominant race in their society, and are superior to the "Yahoos".

I really began to dislike this dwarf as he attempted to hurt and kill Gulliver. When I saw this picture, I had to share it because it was exactly how I pictured him except he was smaller. Does anyone agree?

Different Societies in Gulliver's Travels

In Gulliver's travels, we have witnessed three types of societies: the Lilliputians, the Brobdingnagians, and the English. I believe that each society represents a larger idea. The Lilliputians are smart, intelligent, and are able to build anything. In the story, they created different contraptions in a matter of hours to accommodate Gulliver. I believe that the Lilliputians represent those who are enlightened in society. The size of the Lilliputians shows that not many fall under the category of the enlightened and that many remain unnoticed. The Brobdingnagians are large and strong. Their society is a symbol of power and dominance over another group. Because the book is told from the perspective of an Englishman, it may be implying that England has more power than the other countries of the world. The English society acts as a bridge between the enlightened and those in power to show the dominance of England.

Reference

Gulliver's trip to Brobdingnag reminds me of the movie "Jack The Giant Slayer".

This a movie in which Jack, the main character, tries to reunites two races, the humans and giants. He needs to set foot in a world with giants. Therefore, the perspective of both Gulliver and Jack are the same because giants are present in their situation.

Change in story

I did not like when Gulliver was using the ship, that he received from the king of Brobdingnag, to go back home, that he magically got back to his homeland by a sudden monsoon. This is because it seemed way to convenient that he got home quickly by a suddenly appearing monsoon. I would simply put a part in the book where he is struggling through adversity, and then transition to a monsoon.

Stereotypes

Usually in movies, the tall and huge characters are depicted as stupid, and the shorter individuals are depicted as smart and clever. This is also portrayed in the novel as well. The Lilliputians were miniature individuals compared to Gulliver, and Gulliver described them as being educated. Also, he describes the Lillputians's is complex as well. Also, Gulliver describes the Brobdingnagians, or giants compared to him, as uneducated. Also, their language was described as simple as well.

Differences in the first two societies

It's interesting how Gulliver is brought up in both of the societies. When he is the small being, he starts at the lower class and moves up. When he's larger he meets the emperors and upper class right away. There are also differences in his observations. So far, he notices imperfections about the giants both physical and social (the farmer made showed him off to everyone and sold him cheap because of his bad health). As for the Lilliputians, he observes the upper class and marvels at their seemingly flawless government system. Although, he's too significant and large to see the blemishes in their culture.

Brobdingnag Picture

This is a illustrated picture of Gulliver talking to the king of Brobdingnag.
Is this what you imagined of Brobdingnag based on the description from the novel of Gulliver's Travels?

Routine

I like how Swift makes Gulliver say at the end of Part II, "This I mention as an instance of the great power of habit and prejudice." It shows the importance of routine in our daily lives and how we don't even notice our own habits until we go somewhere where the society has different routines and status quos. And I find it interesting that Gulliver's habits are more noticeable after his trip to Brobdingnag than when he lives in Lilliput. For example, he is yelling at everybody when he gets home because he had to yell in Brobdingnag for the giants to hear him speak. It makes his captain and wife think he has become quite eccentric, yet he did this everyday for the two years that he lived in Brobdingnag.

Prediction

I predict that there will be a new journey that Gulliver will embark on even though his wife says that he shouldn't go sailing anymore. This is because of his curiosity to crave for more adventure. This new journey could be to a place that people have special powers. However, it is hard to predict since the past two worlds that he has been to have been miniature people and giant people.

Eagles!

Did you know that the idea of giant eagles towards the end of Chapter VIII of Part II is also used in Lord of the Rings? So J. R. R. Tolkien possibly unknowingly used the giant eagles that save Frodo to do the opposite of what actually happens in Gulliver's Travels: take Gulliver away from the land of Brobdingnag and from safety.

 

Comparison

Did anyone else notice that Gulliver said that the king's land was between Japan and California? I know this is a fictional narrative, but the Pacific Ocean is only about 6,200 miles from California to the countries on the ocean border of Asia. And the king's land extends about 6,000 miles. That means that there would be no ocean there, and that the giants in Brobdingnag could potentially walk east and take over the English colonies. The more you know.

Prediction

I find it interesting that Gulliver always seems to be bringing home objects (like the bee stingers and the small cattle) to show people in England that his stories and travels are true. Because of this pattern, I'm going to guess that he is going to bring something back from his future trips. And I think that it may be of worth since each trip Gulliver has taken he has brought something that people want and place a valuable price on.

foreshadowing/predictions

In these first two books, we have seen from the perspective of someone who is really big and really small. I'm wondering what will be the defining characteristics of the next two parts? I think it may be smart and stupid, but I'm not sure. It's very interesting to see the satire on Europe and societal ideology, and it opens my eyes to things in our society which we accept without questioning.

just fyi

everyone knows were reading part 2 now for these five blogs right? we are supposed to split it into 4 parts... and its conveniently already made into 4 parts for us. But we were supposed to finish part 1 last week as i understand it so these

Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag

In this Part, a sharp contrast to the last chapter has a reversal of the size roles, so now Gulliver is the tiny one compared to the giants he finds on the deserted island. It shows the perspective that the Lilliputians must have had when looking at Gulliver, and is an interesting way to switch point of view. Just as he put tiny cattle on display in England, he is displayed as a peculiar creature also. Rather than the godlike power he had in the last part, he is miniscule, insignificant, and comical to the people in their society. The theme is still satirical on European issues, and nautical journals. In the scene where the ship is caught in a storm, he overuses naval jargon in such a way as to poke fun at naval journals of the time. These are satirical strikes at those in pretentious positions of knowledge and power. Many incidents befall Gulliver which severely injure him due to his size, to emphasize his lack of control and power. The midget of the court challenges him and attacks him, to play on the fact that in politics, some people take advantage of their uniqueness in order to gain appeal, and defend this uniqueness if they are showed up. Also, the imperfections of the women that he sees can be interpreted in different ways. One could be that since the microscope was becoming more advanced at this time, he is experiencing the magnified view. Also, it could be that nothing is perfect, but some imperfect things are merely too small to detect with our limited senses. In a broader view, these two parts have shown that one's perspective on things can vary greatly due to variables in point of view. Also, the king directly denounces Europe and scolds it, showing that Gulliver's view of Europe is biased because he hasn't known anything different, and the outside view sees all of its flaws. One specific example of this is the offering of gunpowder. The king refuses it immediately, because their society wishes to minimize violence, and Gulliver thinks he is passing up on a fantastic opportunity industrially. The reader can choose which view they agree with in this situation. I like the Brobdingnagians, and I think they were a society with pure human morals.

In the recent made movie of Gulliver's Travels, do you think Billy Connolly was a good actor to fit the description of the emperor of Lillput in the book of Gulliver's Travels?

On page 20, I agree with the decision that Gulliver had used his gun to fire a blank in the air in front of the majesty. This was a good decision because this showed the he did not want to harm them. He also said to the Majesty to not be afraid as well to make certain that he is merely demonstrating the pistol that he possessed. Furthermore, the majesty was in awe and amazed by the pistol as well which was good since Gulliver had gained more respect from the highest authority of the Lulliputians.

Since Gulliver is such a massive individual compared to the Lillputians. How do you think the Lillputians will cope with his diet and the amount of space that he takes up? There is already tension between him and the Lillputians. An example of the tension can be found on page 16. "They apprehended my breaking loose; that my diet would be very expensive, and might cause a famine. Sometimes they determined to starve me; or at least to shoot me in the face and hands with poisoned arrows, which would soon despatch me; but again they considered, the the stench of so large a carcass might produce a plague in the metropolis, and probably spread through the whole kingdom" (Swift, pg. 16).

An unusual sentence that I have found is on page 14 to 15. "The poor man Squalled terribly, and the colonel and his officers were in much pain, especially when they saw me take out my penknife" (Swift, 14-15). This seemed peculiar to me because of the fact that I have never heard of what a penknife is. Is this word literally an object that is described as a pen and a knife combined? However, this could just be slang for another object too.

In the novel of Gulliver's Travels, the book is written in a first person perspective of Gulliver. How do you think this affects the impact of imagery in the book? How would this change if this was in a different perspective?

When I was reading this novel, I noticed that this book is supposedly based on the time period of the middle ages since there seems to be emperors and cavalry. Does this mean there is a feudalistic society present in this novel as well?

This is a google image of how Gulliver is supposedly depicted. Is this what you visualized from the description of Gulliver in the book?

Gullivers Act of Defiance

On page 51, Gulliver was asked to take away the rest of the Blefuscu's ships so that the emperor of Lilliput could gain control of both islands. Gulliver's response to this was, "I would never be an instrument of bringing a free and brave people into slavery; and when the matter was debated in council, the wisest part of the ministry were of my opinion." Gulliver shows his first act of defiance against the emperor of Lilliput in order to do what he believes in and what he thinks is morally right. I believe that this will not be his only act of defiance against a ruler in one of his many adventures.

Reference

In the book, the Lilliputians are constantly using moons as reference of time. At first I thought that one moon represented a day but on pg 59 it says, “are obliged to send their infants of both sexes to be reared and educated when they come to age of twenty moons.” This passage makes a moon seem more like a year but later the book says that the children stay in school to the age of twelve. Can anyone give more clarification?

Reference

On page 17, the author writes, “they shot another flight into the air as we do bombs in Europe.” Because this book was written in the early 18^th century, what does this reference refer to? Is it referring to a weapon or are the bombs symbolic for something else?

Satire on European Culture

         The underlying theme in Book 1 is satirical relationships between the ridiculous Lilliputian culture and European lifestyle in the 17th century. Jonathon Swift lived from 1667 to 1745, and was an Anglo-Irish member of both the Whig and Tory political parties. Much of his prose is satire reflecting on religion, politics, and culture of his time, and Gulliver's Travels, his most famous work, is rich with underlying parallels to European history. Right out of the starting block in Chapter 1, he uses the classic travel log style of sailors to increase the satirical view and disbelief of the wonders he sees. Also, the description of the Lilliputians relates them to native inhabitants of America before the European colonization, and his size differential between the two is metaphorical to culture and power differences. In addition to that, the points of view and beliefs show perspective in power. In Gulliver's eyes, the Lilliputians are pitiful, tiny creatures in this strange tiny world, but in their eyes he is a grotesque intruding giant.
        Further on, learning more about the culture of the Lilliputians and their issues is direct satire on European social issues and culture, and reflect on Swifts life as well. Let's start with the culture. In chapter 3, he learns that Lilliputian ministers must almost literally jump through hoops to get a role in government. This pokes fun at arbitrary and ridiculous traditions in British government. Also, he discusses all of these traditions in the most serious tone, increasing the comedy for the reader to infer. Rather than directly stating the absurdity of the culture, he merely reports it and allows the reader to appreciate the satire.
Other social issues include the egg-cracking, heel heights, and war between Blefuscu and Lilliput. Each make foolishness of the self-righteousness and interpretation in religion, political tension, and national rivalry between France and Britain.
     Overall, Swift's clever satirical view on silly issues in Lilliput gives perspective for human interpretation on our own issues, and is intended to open the readers eyes, because we could easily the Lilliputians ourselves.

Examples of foreshadowing

To organize our posts, feel free to put posts related to foreshadowing here.

Lilliputian society

Why do the Lilliputians have so many similarities to human society? So far they have many similarities, including government structure, similar occupations (lawyers and priests), and similar tools and weapons to name a few. When Mr. Halley gave us a brief background on the book, he mentioned something about society, whether it be themes or criticisms or something like that, so be on the lookout for sociological messages.

Background on Gulliver

It's interesting that Swift writes a background on Gulliver to make it appear as if Gulliver is writing a story based on his actual experiences. Any ideas on why Swift does this, besides just making the novel more interesting?

Interpretations of titles

The title of the chapter and the title of the book can be quiet deceiving. This is because when you look at the title of this book, "Gulliver's Travels", many tend to think of an individual persevering through a lot of hardship. When you look at the title of the chapter, "A Voyage To Lilliput", the same interpretation applies as well. However, when a person actually reads this novel, another side to the story is revealed. When Gulliver encounters a storm at sea as he is traveling in the East indies, he is forced to swim to safety. After, he awakens to people attacking him with arrows. However, these people seem to be at a miniature size since throughout the narration, the first person of Gulliver, he describes something alive moving on his left leg. Therefore, if this person was at the same size as Gulliver, then the person moving on his left leg would not be describes as a something. This would mean Gulliver is a giant, or the people are miniature sized creatures. All in all, there is a fairy-tale kind of side in this story that would not be interpreted at first when looking at the title.

Reference

 Did any else realise that in Night at the Museum they copied the idea of small people compared to a regular person from Gullivers Travels?