Gulliver’s travels
(book report)
Ilse Fousert
V5a
, Title: Gulliver’s travels
Explanation: Lemuel Gulliver is the main character and the book is called “Gulliver’s travels”,
because it’s about the travels that Lemuel Gulliver has made.
Author: The author is Jonathan Swift. He was born on 30 November 1667 and died on 19
October 1745.Swift is remembered for works such as “A Tale of a Tub” (1704), “An
Argument”, “Against Abolishing Christianity” (1712), “Gulliver's Travels”(1726), and “A
Modest Proposal” (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost
prose satirist in the English language. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian
and Juvenalian styles.
Release date
28 October 1726
Genre
This book is a satire
Theme
The themes are might versus right, the individual versus society and the limits of human
understanding.
Settings
Place: The story takes primarily place England and the imaginary countries of Lilliput,
Blefuscu, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the land of the Houyhnhnms.
Time: Early eighteenth century.
Mood
Gulliver’s tone is gullible and naïve during the first three voyages; in the fourth, it turns
cynical and bitter. The intention of the author, Jonathan Swift, is satirical and biting
throughout.
Summary
Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput
The travel begins with a short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver gives a brief outline of his
life and history before his voyages.
During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck and finds himself a
prisoner of a race of tiny people, less than 6 inches (0.50 ft) tall, who are inhabitants of the
island country of Lilliput. After giving assurances of his good behaviour, he is given a
residence in Lilliput and becomes a favourite of the Lilliput Royal Court. He is also given
permission by the King of Lilliput to go around the city on condition that he must not harm
their subjects.
At first, the Lilliputians are hospitable to Gulliver, but they are also wary of the threat that his
size poses to them. The Lilliputians reveal themselves to be a people who put great
emphasis on trivial matters. For example, which end of an egg a person cracks becomes the
basis of a deep political rift within that nation. They are a people who revel in displays of
authority and performances of power. Gulliver assists the Lilliputians to subdue their
neighbors the Blefuscudians by stealing their fleet. However, he refuses to reduce the island
nation of Blefuscu to a province of Lilliput, displeasing the King and the royal court.