In part one of “Gulliver’s Travels,” Lemuel Gulliver visits the island of Lilliput, where he encounters a race of tiny people that he can pick up in his hand. In part two, entitled “Gulliver’s Voyage to Brobdingnag,” his experiences are completely different.
After his return to England, Gulliver stayed with his wife and children for two months. He became restless, so he returned to sea on a ship called the “Adventure” in June, 1702.
The ship was traveling to Surat on the west coast of India. Since the Suez Canal had not yet been built, they had to travel south to the Cape of Good Hope and then northward along the eastern coast of Africa.
After they had passed the island of Madagascar, a storm blew them off course. When they sighted a large island or a continent with which they were not familiar, some of the sailors went ashore in a long boat to search for fresh water. Gulliver decided to accompany them.
Gulliver explored the island alone for a while. Since he did not find anything interesting, he decided to return to the Long Boat.
To his surprise, the sailors were frantically rowing the long boat back to their ship. A giant was chasing them. The frightened Gulliver did not remain to see whether or not his comrades escaped.
Gulliver was surprised to see how tall the grass grew. He estimated that it was 20 feet high. The trees were so tall that he did not attempt to estimate their height.
He began to walk along a path through the middle of a barley field. A wall of tall barley plants lay to his right and to his left. After a long, tiring walk, he came to the end of the field. A fence and a tall hedge separated it from the neighboring field. There was a stile between the two fields, but the steps were too high.
While Gulliver was trying to find an opening in the hedge through which he could creep, a crew of giant reapers entered the field and began to reap the barley with huge scythes. Gulliver hid in the barley and tried to elude the busy reapers. However, he encountered some barley that had been matted down by the wind and the rain. He could go no farther.
When a reaper came dangerously close, Gulliver shouted with all his might. The reaper picked him up with his thumb and forefinger and showed him to his boss.
At first, the reapers thought that Gulliver was some kind of animal; but by walking on two legs and by various gestures, he managed to convince the boss that he was a rational creature.
Communication proved to be difficult. The voices of the giants were unbearably loud, while the giants had trouble hearing Gulliver’s comparatively soft voice. Besides, Gulliver did not know the language that the giants spoke, and the giants did not know any of the languages that Gulliver knew.
The boss carried Gulliver home in his handkerchief and presented him to his family. The family cat frightened him, since it was three times the size of an ox. However, the feline proved to be docile.
A few pieces of the giants’ food were sufficient to satisfy Gulliver’s hunger. Since Gulliver was tired, the farmer’s wife put him in her own bed.
When he awoke, two huge rats attacked him. He drew out his short sword to defend himself. He killed one rat and chased the other away.
Gulliver was eventually entrusted to Glumdalclitch, a nine-year-old daughter of the farmer and his wife. She was kind to him and protected him carefully. She also taught him their language.
At the advice of an old miser, the farmer decided to display Gulliver publicly and charge admission. Glumdalclitch did not like the idea, but she went along and took care of Gulliver as well as she could.
To entertain the crowds, Gulliver answered various questions that Glumdalclitch asked him. He also performed various antics, such as drawing his short sword and bowing to the crowd.
Gulliver had to give so many performances that his health was adversely affected. When the farmer realized that Gulliver would soon die, he tried to figure out how he could make as much money as possible while Gulliver was still alive.
At this point, the queen commanded the farmer to bring Gulliver to court. The queen wanted him to live at court, so the farmer sold him to the queen. Gulliver asked the queen to admit Glumdalclitch to the court so that she could take care of him and continue to teach him the language. The queen agreed, and the farmer was pleased that his daughter had the opportunity to enter court circles.
The queen presented Gulliver to the king. At first, the monarch thought that Gulliver was a piece of clock-work. He was surprised when Gulliver explained how he came to the land of Brobdingnag, but he thought that it was a story concocted by the farmer so that he could sell Gulliver at a higher price. He tried to expose the fraud by asking various questions. When Gulliver answered rationally, the king sent for three scholars to study Gulliver. After offering various comical observations, the scholars came to the conclusion that Gulliver was a freak of nature.
Gulliver then told the king a few things about the world from which he came. The three scholars smiled contemptuously, but the king was a wise man. He was inclined to believe that Gulliver was telling the truth.
The queen commanded her cabinet maker to fashion a box in which Gulliver could sleep. Under the direction of Gulliver and Glumdalclitch, he made a box sixteen feet square and twelve feet high with sash windows, a door, and two closets. The smith made a small lock for the door to prevent rats and mice from entering. The queen’s upholsterer made a little bed for Gulliver. The ceiling of the box was removable, so Glumdalclitch could make his bed each day.
Gulliver regularly dined with the queen. He ate on a little table which rested on the big table of the queen. He was provided with little eating utensils.
On Wednesday, which was a day of rest in Brobdingnag, the king and queen dined together, and Gulliver dined with them.
The queen’s dwarf sometimes played malicious pranks on Gulliver. Once he stuck Gulliver into the end of a bone from which the marrow was removed. On another occasion, he threw Gulliver into a bowl of cream. After this final prank, the queen gave the dwarf as a gift to a noble lady.
Gulliver often traveled. A traveling closet was made for him. It was a box with a window on three of its walls. Each window was covered with an iron wire lattice to prevent accidents. The outside surface of the fourth wall had two strong staples affixed to it. Inside the box were a hammock, a field bed, and two chairs. Glumdalclitch could carry this box on her lap when she took Gulliver traveling. If Gulliver rode on horseback, a belt was drawn through the two staples and attached to the waist of a trusted servant.
Gulliver occasionally suffered annoying accidents. Once he was caught in a shower of hail. These hailstones were very large. Ten days passed before he recovered from the injuries. On another occasion, a dog picked him up and carried him to his master. Fortunately he was not injured. Gulliver easily killed troublesome flies with his short sword, but it was only with difficulty that he drove off a kite that attacked him. On another occasion, he broke his shin when he stumbled over a snail. His worst experience occurred when a monkey grabbed him and carried him to the top of a roof. He was eventually rescued, but the monkey had bruised him so badly that he had to stay in bed for two weeks.
The king was interested in the politics of Europe. Gulliver met with the king several times and explained such things as the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and the judiciary of England. He also touched on such areas as education and religion. After Gulliver completed his explanation, the king subjected Gulliver to a rigorous interrogation. His questions exposed weaknesses in the government and society of England and other European countries.
Swift uses the conversation between Gulliver and the king as an occasion to satirize English politics and society. He represents Gulliver as a staunch defender of English institutions, while the king is a wise monarch who sees their weaknesses. His conclusions are caustic. For example, he says to Gulliver: “You have clearly proved that ignorance, idleness, and vice are the proper ingredients for qualifying a legislator.” Other comments that Swift put into the mouth of the king were even more severe.
Swift continues his ironic satire. Gulliver felt hurt, but he bore the criticism of the king with patience. He thought that the isolation of Brobdingnag deprived the king of the cultural opportunities enjoyed by polite European society, and this resulted in a narrowness of thinking on his part.
To further illustrate the king’s short-sighted view of life, Gulliver relates the following incident. One day Gulliver decided to do the king a favor. He explained to him the nature of gunpowder and the use of cannonballs, vividly illustrating their destructive force. He told the king that he knew how to make these engines of war and offered his services in procuring them for the king.
Instead of thanking Gulliver, the king was filled with horror, and he categorically rejected the offer. Gulliver was amazed. Even though the king had admirable qualities that made his people love him, he passed up this golden opportunity because of an unnecessary scruple. He was too short-sighted to realize that he could have become the absolute master of his people if he had accepted Gulliver’s offer. (This is the type of irony that often occurs in Swifts writings.)
At the beginning of his third year in Brobdingnag, Gulliver traveled with the king and queen to a city 18 miles from the sea, where the king had a palace. As usual, Gulliver made the journey in his traveling box. The journey made Glumdalclitch sick, and she was confined to her chamber.
Gulliver wanted to visit the nearby sea. Glumdalclitch reluctantly agreed to let a trusted page take him there.
The page took him to the sea in his traveling box. When they got there, the page set the traveling box down so that Gulliver could observe the sea through the windows. Gulliver began to feel sick and wanted to sleep in his hammock. So the page shut the windows tight and started to look for birds’ eggs.
There was a ring on top of the box so that it would be easier to carry. An eagle grabbed the ring with its beak and flew away with the traveling box. Apparently the eagle could smell a meal inside the box.
Other eagles also wanted to eat Gulliver, and they fought with the eagle that was carrying the box. As a result, the box fell downward into the sea. Fortunately, Gulliver was not hurt by the fall, and the box floated. Gulliver would have liked to climb on the roof of the box, but he was trapped inside.
An English ship passed by and rescued Gulliver. Since Gulliver was used to looking at giants, he thought that the sailors were pigmies and made comments that caused the sailors to question his sanity.
The captain of the ship invited Gulliver into his cabin. Gulliver related all that he experienced. The captain believed him, even before he showed him some items that were in his cabinet, such as pins and needles a foot to a half yard long.
When he returned home, he thought that his wife looked like a pigmy. He stooped down to the level of her knees to give her a kiss.
Reference:
“Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift; Edited with introduction by Claude Rawson and notes by Ian Higgins
