ENG IV K.Fisher, Gulliver S Travels Satire Video
ENG IV— K.Fisher, Gulliver’s Travels Satire Video
- How many voyages does Gulliver take? ______
- J. Swift was the greatest ______in the English language.
- Gulliver’s Travels has been read as a ______tale and a ______tale.
BOOK 1: VOYAGE TO LILLIPUT
- The story is a satire of the English and their ______of the day.
- The people of Lilliput are petty and ______, going along with their size.
- Swift was the first Irish ______.
BOOK 11: BROBDINGNAG
- In this book Swift encourages us to understand what it feels like to be ______and ______before the forces of the world.
- How was Swift kidnapped and how might it have affected him? ______
BOOK III: FLYING ISLAND OF LAPUTA
- In this book Swift attacks technology and science. He makes a distinction between the ______and ______of science.
BOOK IV: THE LAND OF THE HOUYHNHNMS
- How does Swift portray the Houyhnhnms? ______
______
- How does Swift portray the Yahoos? ______
______
Gulliver’s Travels, by J. Swift
Overview
VOYAGE 1: Gulliver's Travels recounts the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a practical-minded Englishman trained as a surgeon who takes to the seas when his business fails. Gulliver's adventure in Lilliput begins when he wakes after his shipwreck to find himself bound by innumerable tiny threads and tiny captors who are in awe of him but fiercely protective of their kingdom. They are not afraid to use violence against Gulliver, though their arrows are little more than pinpricks. But overall, they are hospitable, risking famine in their land by feeding Gulliver, who consumes more food than a thousand Lilliputians combined could. Eventually Gulliver becomes a national resource, used by the army in its war against the people of Blefuscu, whom the Lilliputians hate for differences concerning the proper way to crack eggs. Swift uses this voyage to satirize the ongoing feuds between England and France.
VOYAGE 2: Gulliver undertakes his next sea voyage, which takes him to a land of giants called Brobdingnag. Here, a farmer discovers him and initially treats him as little more than an animal, keeping him for amusement. The farmer eventually sells Gulliver to the queen, who makes him a courtly diversion and is entertained by his musical talents. Gulliver is often repulsed by the physicality of the giant Brobdingnagians. He is generally startled by the ignorance of the people here—even the king knows nothing about politics. More unsettling findings in Brobdingnag come in the form of various animals of the realm that endanger his life. Even Brobdingnagian insects leave slimy trails on his food that make eating difficult.
VOYAGE 3: Next, Gulliver sets sail again and, after an attack by pirates, ends up in Laputa, where a floating island inhabited by academics oppresses the land below, called Balnibarbi. The scientific research undertaken in Laputa and in Balnibarbi seems totally inane and impractical, and its residents too appear wholly out of touch with reality. After visiting the Luggnaggians and the Struldbrugs, the latter of which are senile immortals who prove that age does not bring wisdom, he is able to sail to Japan and from there back to England.
VOYAGE 4: On his fourth journey, Gulliver sets out as captain of a ship, but after the mutiny of his crew, he arrives in an unknown land. This land is populated by Houyhnhnms, rational-thinking horses who rule, and by Yahoos, brutish humanlike creatures who serve the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver learns their language, and when he can speak he explains the constitution of England. He is treated with kindness by the horses at first, but his bared body reveals to the horses that he is very much like a Yahoo, and he is banished. Gulliver is grief-stricken but agrees to leave.
Themes
Might vs. Right
Should physical power or moral righteousness be the governing factor in social life? Gulliver experiences the advantages of physical might both as one who has it, as a giant in Lilliput where he can defeat the Blefuscudian navy, and as one who does not have it, as a miniature visitor to Brobdingnag where he is harassed by the hugeness of everything from insects to household pets.
The Individual vs. Society
This focuses on an individual's repeated failures to integrate into societies to which he does not belong. England itself is not much of a homeland for Gulliver, and, with his surgeon's business unprofitable and his father's estate insufficient to support him, he may be right to feel alienated from it and eager to embrace a new world. This parallels with the Puritan movement of Swift’s time.
The Limits of Human Understanding
Humans are not meant to know everything and that all understanding has a natural limit. Swift portrays the disagreeable and self-centered Laputans, who show blatant hostility for those who do not believe as they do. This is a satire against those in society who pride themselves on knowledge above all else.
J. Swift Reflective Essay Activity
Review the three themes discussed in the Gulliver’s Travels packet. Respond to each theme with a well developed paragraph (a total of three) and discuss how each of these themes apply to society today.
Might vs. Right: How do the strong (physically or mentally) in society seem to have power over those who are considered weak? Give examples from society today.
The Individual vs. Society: Everyone is an outsider at one time or another. Does our society embrace “new comers” or alienate them? Discuss and provide examples.
The Limits of Human Understanding: Humans are not meant to know everything and that all understanding has a natural limit. How does our society go to great lengths for information? Is this a good thing, or should our quest for knowledge be limited?
English IV- Fisher
Unit: Jonathan Swift's Gulliver 's Travels
Book I: "A Voyage to Lilliput": In this first of the four imaginary voyages, Swift
focuses on disputes between the established Church of England and Roman Catholicism.
In his story, what are the followers called? What is the "source" of the conflict between the two imaginary countries?
______
Book II: A “Voyage to Brobdingnag": In this second voyage Swift focuses on politics
and war as targets for satire. What does Swift say about the politicians leading England
in this section? What does he say about war and gunpowder?
______
______
Book III The Floating Island of Laputa: In this third voyage, what is the target of
Swift's satire? Give specific examples from the video.
______
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Book IV: the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos: In this fourth voyage, what is the target of
Swift's satire? Give specific examples from the video. At the end of the video, how has
Swift reconciled his view of mankind and his own life?
______
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