Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels"

Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, he was attended the Trinity College where he stayed seven years, after graduation he was a secretary of Sir. William Temple a politician form Whig Party. He always liked writing and he wrote mostly satires about politician he was surrounded by, about political system, corruption, politics is a major topic of his satires, he himself joined Tory party and became a politician, as well. He spend some time in England where he befriended with Alexander Pope, a poet, a writer. In his famous pamphlet “Modest Proposal” he ridiculed himself by claiming that problem of famine and poverty is easily solved by selling poor to rich upper classes to nourish them.

He published “Gulliver's Travels” in 1726 and it was a shock for all the readers, Swift gave them a controversy, the work couldn't be publishes as a whole book, some of the passages had been cut, the meaning of some passages changed. This satire is very amusing, two-faced, hilarious, and nosy.

Swift laughed out of European countries and European culture, European mentality.

The narrator of the story is Lemuel Gulliver, empirical, prim and proper Englishman, he used to be a businessman, when his business collapsed he decided to travel overseas, he need tranquility, self-judgement, self-evaluation, simply, change.

He is shipwrecked and wakes up in Lilliput land, he clothes are pierced by tiny threads, he is surrounded by tiny people who want to protect their kingdom. They are very brave, they do not hesitate the fight to the death. All ends good, Gulliver is not killed and Lilliput are very hospitable, they feed Gulliver, teach him their customs and traditions.

Gulliver is taken to the most important authorities, to the King and the Queen, he is acknowledged with problems Lilliput are having with much more stronger enemy, the people of Blefuscu , the dispute between both nationalities may and is trivial to Gulliver, yet, not for them, the matter how to “crack eggs” properly is a matter of state.

Nothing lasts forever, in a very silly reason – a stupid, I dare to write, Gulliver loses all his privileges and is accused of treason. He accidentally urinates the Royal Palace and sets it on fire. For that cause, he has been immediately sentenced to death, but, it is not that simple to stop Gulliver, he is giant in Lilliput's world. Gulliver knows he is in danger, he escaped to the kingdom of Blefuscu from where he repairs the boat and flee to England.

He spends some time in England with his wife and his son, but became quickly bored, he needs another trip and another adventure, so he decided to take another trip, this time the sea trip led him to the land of giants – Brobdingnag. When he was found by the farmer he was taken to his premises and is treated as a pet. After some time the farmer decided to sell Gulliver to the Queen, at the Royal Court Gulliver uses his musical talents to entertain the Queen.

One day Gulliver is taken by two court ladies, they let play him on their naked bodies, Gulliver is not attracted by them, in contrary, he feels disgust seeing their enormous pores and hearing sounds coming from their bellies and listening to urination, he feels sickness and all surroundings is more than obnoxious. In the world of giants his life is in constant danger, mostly, form animals of all sort of. Luckily for Gulliver his torments finish when the eagle grabs the cage he is in and drops in into the sea.

Hungry of adventure Gulliver travels overseas again, and again he founds himself on unknown lands, he reaches Laputa, there is an island inhabited by wisdom, seriously, very-well educated people, academical workers, scholars, teachers. The island's inhabitants persecuted Balnibarbi, who sees the theoreticians'work as completely useless and impractical. Yet, Gulliver had the possibility of seeing historical figures such a Julius Caesar and others outstanding leaders, sadly for him, he is not impressed by them at all, the image presented in books differs from what he sees. He became disillusioned. He visited peoples of the Luggnaggians and the Struldbrugs, he found out that the wisdom is relevant, and it doesn't depend on age, you do not have to necessarily older to be wiser, sometimes is just quite opposite. Fed up he decided to sail to Japan and then to England again.

The last trip, it started promising, Gulliver as a captain of the ship sails to seek unknown again, unfortunately ha had to ease the mutiny on his ship, when it finally happened, he spent so much time in his cabin that he unnoticed the ship reached another mysterious land. The land is governed by thinking horses called – Houyhnhnms, Yahoos, human alike serves them, they are their vassals. Gulliver learns their language and he explains the history and culture of Britain. The horses are very sophisticated, they know, they are noble, versatile, well-read and courageous. Unfortunately for him, he exposes he naked body which resembles the one of Yahoo's, for that reason he is banished, he is very sad, unfair treated, yet, eventually, he agrees to leave.

He made a very important conclusion, namely, the islands and lands he visited were proclaimed by him as British colonies, and even though, he was a bit hesitant towards colonialism, for him it was the right thing to acclaim.

Overall, Gulliver is a narrator he is a wise man, yet a bit trivial and naive. He focuses on facts not emotions, all his voyages are funny, and for that reason, the reader sees thing, Gulliver will never do, hidden between the lines.