David Morley 10Q 20/04/2007
Prose Essay – Gulliver’s Travels
Introduction
Gulliver’s Travels is a novel written by Jonathan Swift in 1726. The story is about a man named Lemuel Gulliver and his voyages across the globe. It is in first person, and Gulliver himself tells the story. He visits many lands of strange and distinct features and peoples whom he learns much from. It is made up of 4 separate books.
In book one Gulliver finds himself shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput. Lilliput is inhabited by tiny humans who make Gulliver look like a giant. His role as the town giant not only put into perspective the selfishness and need for power of the human race, but also opened his eyes to the untrusting and ungrateful nature of the Lilliputians, and in my view the Lilliputians are what Swift thought politicians were like when this novel was written. When he first arrived in their land, the Lilliputians opted to tie him up, giving him no freedom, which he luckily did not object to. Then, once they had developed a relationship with him, Gulliver was basically forced to abide to their rules and way of life, and ultimately to be a weapon in a war against neighboring island, Blefescu over the best way to open a boiled egg. At any time, Gulliver could have escaped their grasp, but instead, he opted to stay and observe and oblige to their customs. He was a very agreeable guest. He did tricks for them, he saved their princess from her burning castle, he defeated their mortal enemies, and all he was rewarded with was their spite and mistrust which was Swift’s views on people in politics at the time
