As you will probably be aware, In 'Gulliver's Travels', Gulliver goes on voyages to fictional places of the globe, his first being to the kingdom of Lilliput. Lilliput is a kingdom in which everyone and everything is in miniature form with its inhabitants being around a mere 6 Inches tall. Gulliver is at first feared by the people of Lilliput which resorts in there kidnaping of Gulliver when he is asleep. Later however the people warm to his gentle personality, this includes the King of Lilliput who is most impressed when Gulliver helps his kingdom by stealing several battle ships from Blefuscu, Lilliput's rival kingdom. I found this first section of the novel to be very humorous due to Swift's political satire. The reason the two kingdoms are at war with each other is because they disagree about with which end of an egg should be broken first. The people of Lilliput being known as bigendians as they believe the big end of an egg should be broken first and the people of Blefuscu being known as smallendians for contrasting reasons. Swift's creation of these two rival nations signifies the stupidity and absurdity of real wars in a very witty and entertaining way. It is most interesting to see Gulliver's response and reaction to the people of Lilliput and how the jealousy and hatred of a few individuals ultimately causes him to flee from an undeserved prosecution.
The second part of 'Guliver's Travels' could perhaps be described a juxtaposition to Gulliver's prior engagement in Lilliput. Due to a shipwreck Gulliver finds himself in a country called Brobdingnag in which everyone and everything is approximately twelve times larger than that of normality. The voyage to Brobdingnag is equally enjoyable as the first part of the story as this change in the tide really puts Gulliver outside his comfort zone leaving him to struggle to adapt to life in this giant world. Naturally the populous of Brobdingnag are intrigued by Gulliver's size leaving him to eventually become the possession of the king of Brobdingnag. The king is highly interested in Gulliver's story and gets him to recite his experiences of England, this includes politics, monarchy and class. The king concludes, to the dismay of Gulliver, that England is a miserable and harsh place in which the people in high professions or of power have only achieved these statuses through brutality or deceit. Again this gives us another incite to Swift's political message. Gulliver is eventually taken by a hungry giant bird who accidentally drops him out at sea where he is luckily saved by a group of people in scale with himself and taken back to England.
Contrasting the first two exciting parts of Gulliver's story, I found the third instalment rather lacking in entertainment value. The voyages to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan which all take part in this episode of the story are quiet boring in my opinion and have no comedic aspects like Gulliver's prior voyages. I won't go in to much detail but the people of Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg and Glubbubdrib are all absurdly fearful of the apocalyptic end of the world which astronomers of the nations have predicted and thus they can not relax and enjoy their lives. The people are also obsessed with inventions and are always trying to make creations which will makes things easier for themselves, however they more than often fail at this procedure. The most unappealing part of the story for me was a part while in Balnibarbi, Gulliver converses with magicians of sorts who can create phantoms of people passed away. Gulliver requests to see many dead peoples including the philosophers Plato and Aristotle. As if this wasn't corny enough Gulliver actually gets these two philosophers to debate with each other and states that after much discussion these two men are actually appeased with each others view. Do not get me wrong, Swift has some interesting ideas here in Gulliver conversing with the dead but in the context of the novel which has a focus on travel, society, culture and politics it seems totally out of place and superfluous. I'm sure some Gulliver fans will be wanting to give me a piece of their mind right about now but I digress. I really found these voyages of minimal importance to the story and Gulliver's character development. In case anyone was wondering Gulliver only visits Japan in order to sneak aboard a vessel on route to Europe in order to return back home.
After the slightly bad aftertaste I had from the third part of the novel, the fourth and final part rekindled my love and interest for the story. The voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms, is
undoubtably the corner stone of swifts novel and my personal favourite episode. After leaving England on yet another voyage, even though he told his wife he would never leave England again, Gulliver finds himself in a country called Houyhnhnms Land. On arrival he is attacked by a gang of disgusting hairy creatures known as yahoos. The Yahoos appear to Gulliver as deformed, ape like animals. He is naturally appalled when they start throwing their feaces at him. Fortunatley Gulliver is rescued by the leading race of the country, the Houyhnhnms. The Houyhnhnms are intelligent horses with the ability to converse with each other and sustain a society. Not only are the Houyhnhnms that of intelligent life, from living in their community Gulliver concludes that they are the most noble, rational and high-minded creatures he has ever come across. The Houyhnhnms are equally interested in Gulliver as he is of them, as in an epically well designed revaluation it is revealed that the yahoo's are actually humans despite there animal-like and savage behaviour. Gulliver is of importance as he is the first yahoo that show some elements of reason. Much debate and story telling takes place but ultimate the Houyhnhnms view Gulliver, the only intelligent yahoo, as a threat to the Houyhnhnms peaceful world and he is eventually banished. Swift creates deep emotions at this stage, due to the toll taken on Gulliver in being forced to return to the non-rational world. There is a sense that Gulliver has became insane due to his total lack of faith in humanity and his desire to find a deserted island rather than live among other humans. When Gulliver does eventually return to England the climatic passage of the novel stating that he can not bare to be in the same room as his family and how he spends most of his days talking idley to normal horses in his stables is rather upsetting and solum. It is a dark, but powerful end to a character the reader is most likely become attached to.
If this description has not kindled your interests enough I will conclude that 'Gulliver's Travels' is called a classic because that is exactly what it is. It's greatness recently led an American fan to pay $10,704 for a first edition copy of the novel. An epic story that has not be lessened since its publication almost 300 years ago. Swifts implications on British and European culture through the story creates great depth which allocates literacy critics to endlessly interpret his message and plot. Likewise 'Gulliver's Travels' is an unforgettable story, that despite the one mundane voyage previously mentioned, is ultimately a great and entertaining work that can be and should be experienced by everyone.
Verdict
9/10 - OFF THE HOOK
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