Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels

Author: Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin in 1667. He studied in a Protestant university and then he became a doctor of theology. He stood for the Anglican clerical. He wrote an alegoric satires which he attaced the social and political situation in Great Britain. Some were directed general towards the clerical and humanity. He died in 1745.


Characters: Lemuel Gulliver is a traveller. He doesn´t like Great Britain because of bad morals and other things. He likes to sail and know new countries.


Type of book: This book is a satirical novel. Swift attacks downright an order in England. He corncern her morals, social unfairness and humans absences in an allegorical way. He compares countries in his book to England. It is a book of travel and a narration. There are dialogues, direct speech and so on.


Events the book: In this novel Lemuel Gulliver visited four quite different worlds. The first one was a country called Lilliput where the people were six inches high. There were two political parties there: one believed that the egg had to be broken at the big end, while the other is sure that the only way to break an egg is at the little end. After he found a boat he set off home. But he wasn´t at home for a long time. He set off for second time. When he went from a ship for water to an unknown island other people shipped away because they were frightened of a giant. So he had to live in this island with giants for some time. The island was called Brogdingnag. Gulliver was kidnapped by an eagle one time and dropped to the sea. There was Gulliver found by people and sailed with them to England. But he sef off again for third time. He visited the third country called Laputa, a flying island. There were people who knew only mathematics and music. Then he went to Lagado where the author directs his satire against philosophers and men of science. After this he went to Japan, Holland and England where he wasn´t for a long time. His last, fourth travel ended in a country with the Yahoos, disgusting beasts in the shape of men, and Houyhnhnms, the clever and honest horses. He didn´t want to leave Houyhnhnms (he liked them) but he had to. In the end he sailed home but he wasn´t glad because people reminded him the Yahoos.


Your own opinion: This book is interesting. But if you want to understand everything what the author wanted to say you have to read it a number of times.

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