GULLIVER’S TRAVELSBY JONATHAN SWIFT

WITH REFERENCE TO PART – 1 : CHAPTER - 3

INDEX

1. About the Author

2. About the Book

3. Characters in Part-1

4. Summary of Chapter-3

5. Analysis of Chapter-3

6. References

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish poet, writer and cleric who gained reputation as a great political writer and an essayist.

• Jonathan, who became Dean of St. Patrick's in Dublin, is also known for his excellence in satire which is a form in art or writing which ridicules either a person, government, or an institution, often through the use of humour. Satire can either be in paintings, plays, books, songs, TV or movies. It also is used to stereotype people.

• Swift originally published all of his work under pseudonyms — such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier — or anonymously.

OTHER WORKS:

A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, Drapier's Letters, The Battle of The Books, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity and A Tale of A Tub besides many poems like A Description of the Morning and A Maypole.

ABOUT THE BOOK

• Gulliver's Travels, with Lemuel Gulliver(also the pseudonym) as the protagonist, first a Surgeon, and then a captain of several Ships, is a 1726 fictional satire by Jonathan Swift. The novel follows Lemuel Gulliver and his journey to four countries.

• The four countries are Lilliput, a land of little people, Brobdingnag, a land of big people, Laputa, a land of intelligent but useless people, and Houyhnhnm, a land of horses.

• Swift wrote the novel for adults to show that some people and governments were wrong. The story was intended to make them change.

CHARACTERS IN PART - 1

• Lemuel Gulliver- A traveller and an adventurer. Gulliver is the protagonist of the Travels. He is an observer of other beings and other cultures.

• Golbasto Momaren Evlame Gurdilo Shefin Mully Ully Gue- The Emperor of Lilliput. Swift uses the Emperor as an example of rulers who must always have some type of support before making a decision.

• Flimnap- Lord High Treasurer of Lilliput.

• Reldresal- A Lilliputian councillor, Principal Secretary of Private Affairs and friend of Gulliver. Skyresh Bolgolam High admiral of Lilliput, a counsellor of the Emperor.

SUMMARY OF CH - 3• Gulliver hopes to be set free, as he is getting along well with the Lilliputians and

earning their trust.

• The emperor decides to entertain him with shows, including a performance by Rope-Dancers, who are Lilliputians seeking employment in the government. For the performance, which doubles as a sort of competitive entrance examination, the candidates dance on “ropes”—slender threads suspended two feet above the ground.

• When a vacancy in court occurs, candidates petition the emperor to entertain him with a dance, and whoever jumps the highest earns the office.

• The current ministers continue this practice as well, in order to show that they have not lost their skill.

• Meanwhile, Gulliver is still asking for freedom.

• Gulliver’s petitions for freedom are finally answered. Gulliver must swear to obey the articles put forth, which include stipulations that he must assist the Lilliputians in times of war, survey the land around them, help with construction, and deliver urgent messages.

• Gulliver agrees and his chains are removed.

ANALYSIS• In these chapters, Gulliver learns more about Lilliputian culture, and the great

difference in size between him and the Lilliputians is emphasized by a number of examples, many of which are explicit satires of British government.

• For instance, Lilliputian government officials are chosen by their skill at rope-dancing, which the Lilliputians see as relevant but which Gulliver recognizes as arbitrary and ridiculous. The would-be officials are almost literally forced to jump through hoops in order to qualify for their positions.

• Clearly, Swift intends for us to understand this episode as a satire of England’s system of political appointments and to infer that England’s system is similarly arbitrary. Gulliver, however, never suggests that he finds the Lilliputians ridiculous.

• Throughout the entire novel, Gulliver tends to be very sympathetic in his descriptions of the cultures he visits, never criticizing them or finding anything funny, no matter how ludicrous certain customs seem to us. Nor does Gulliver point out the similarities between the ridiculous practices he observes in his travels and the ridiculous customs of Europe.

• Instead, Swift leaves us to infer all of the satire based on the difference between how things appear to us and how they appear to Gulliver.