Summary of "Gulliver's Travels" for a reader's diary
Author's name : Jonathan Swift
Title : Gulliver's Travels
Number of pages : 560. Jonathan Swift. "All of Gulliver's Travels." Publishing house "EXMO". 2021
Genre : Romance
Year of writing : 1726
The material was prepared jointly with a teacher of the highest category, Ilyina Galina Sergeevna.
Experience as a teacher of Russian language and literature - 36 years.
Analysis of Gulliver's Travels
Swift ridiculed those character traits of people that, in his opinion, were worth paying special attention to. It’s good that the English of that era especially respected humorous manners and sharp words in print, so the book appealed to readers. Be sure to include in your essay on the fairy tale “Gulliver’s Travels” the idea that Swift was able to draw a small state, while ridiculing the mistakes of the English governments. For example, the country of Lilliputians has the same police system as in England, that is, funny and problematic. The author shows his attitude: it is wrong that one person has all the power, but in general the whole of England is ruled by a handful of political figures who pursue their own interests and only reveal their mediocrity. It is surprising that the reins of power fell into the hands of such people.
Plot
After a shipwreck in a strong storm, the ship's doctor Lemuel Gulliver found himself on a land inhabited by Lilliputians. Despite his superior height, he found himself a prisoner of the tiny inhabitants. To gain some freedom, Gulliver was forced to take an oath of allegiance to the Lilliputian Emperor. The hero helped the ruler win a naval battle and thereby decide the outcome of a long-standing war between neighboring states. Realizing how powerful a weapon Gulliver could become, the emperor ordered him to capture the remaining enemy ships, but the giant refused. For disobedience, the Lilliputian Emperor ordered Gulliver to be blinded, but he managed to escape.
Next, the ship's doctor found himself in a country inhabited by giants. Because of his tiny size, Gulliver acted as an outlandish animal that could be shown for money. Having learned about Gulliver's existence, the queen bought him, who tried to make the tiny man's life more or less bearable. However, Gulliver became the object of undisguised envy and anger of the court dwarf, who saw him as a dangerous rival. Gulliver had to endure many unpleasant moments when he found himself in the power of a monkey. He managed to leave the land of giants thanks to chance - an eagle grabbed his house and threw it into the open sea, where the traveler was picked up by a British ship.
The next country that Gulliver managed to visit was a kingdom inhabited by scattered academicians. They were so passionate about science that they did not pay any attention to the surrounding reality. Their trouble was that all their scientific discoveries were never implemented, and the country was in deep decline.
Gulliver, having recruited his own crew, set off on another voyage. However, the new crew consisted entirely of criminals who abandoned the captain on a lonely island. Gulliver soon found out that it was inhabited by intelligent horses - intelligent and noble creatures, in comparison with which man looked like a wild animal. As a result, Gulliver was expelled from the island and he returned to his homeland.
Summary of "Gulliver's Travels"
Lemuel Gulliver goes on an expedition as a ship's doctor. However, the ship "Antelope", on which he was, is wrecked. Gulliver is the only survivor. But there is no time to rest - he is besieged by little people on the shore. At first they are afraid of the stranger, but then they get used to him. Gulliver begins to warm to them and help them in everything. But internecine wars cast doubt on the peaceful life of the “giant.” As a result, he has to escape from Lilliput.
The second part of the book is about a journey to the land of giants. Now Gulliver already feels like a Lilliputian. There, too, he is first perceived as a stranger, and then tries to join that society. But still he finds himself in a series of events that forces him to leave these lands.
The third part is about Gulliver's last journey. He finds himself in a wonderful world inhabited by anthropoid apes and horses. Animals are endowed with human traits, and the exact opposite. Gulliver wanted to stay with them, but the sailors picked him up and returned him home. Only he did not like such a return - Gulliver wanted to go back to these pure and selfless beings. And so ended the travels of Lemuel Gulliver.
Part 3. Gulliver in the land of scientists
The life of the main character is filled with events. By coincidence, he ends up on an island that floats in the sky, and then descends to the capital of this island, which is located on the ground.
What catches the traveler's eye? This is terrible poverty, wretchedness. But, as strange as it may seem, in this world of devastation and chaos it is possible to identify islands where prosperity and order flourish. Why is this happening?
This state of affairs is caused by the reforms of the country's government, which in no way improve the lives of ordinary citizens.
Almost all people are academics. They are so passionate about their research that they do not notice anything around them. The trouble with academics is that their scientific projects are not implemented. Scientific discoveries are “discovered” only on paper. Therefore, the country is falling into decline... You could say that all these people are reinventing the wheel. But life doesn’t stand still!
Summary of Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels"
A brief retelling of the adventures of the London surgeon Lemuel Gulliver will tell about his many interesting and dangerous journeys. In short, they do not seem long, but they lasted almost seventeen years. During this time, the hero traveled almost the entire globe and met many unusual settlers.
Part 1. Journey to Lilliput
The work begins with a description of the life of Doctor Gulliver. The father was a poor landowner, but gave his son a good education. After school, the hero studied at the medical department in Cambridge, and after his student days he took medicine lessons from Dr. Bates. After completing his studies, he became a surgeon and worked by profession on a ship.
After three years, he decides to marry the daughter of a hosiery merchant, Mary Burton. Together they settle in London. After the death of the medical teacher Bets, the hero had to go back to being a surgeon on the ship. Many years later, Gulliver and the crew of the ship are caught in a storm, the ship is wrecked. The entire crew of the ship dies, except for the main character, who manages to swim to land, after sleeping from fatigue for nine hours.
Part 2. Gulliver in the land of giants
Gulliver cannot sit at home; as they say, the wind of wanderings calls him. He goes on a sea voyage again and this time ends up in the land of giants. He is immediately brought before the king. The king of this country cares about the well-being of his subjects. Gulliver notices that the people inhabiting the land of giants are not very developed...
The king's daughter paid special attention to Gulliver's person. She considers him her living toy. She even creates all the conditions for his life. It’s funny for her to watch her living toy, but he is offended and even, at times, hurt by the games.
The whole country of giants is disgusting to Gulliver. And in their faces he notices all the little things. And it would be a sin not to notice a hair that looks like a log from a hundred-year-old oak tree.
Perhaps the greatest hostility towards Gulliver is felt by the royal dwarf, the former favorite of the royal daughter. After all, Gulliver is now a rival for him. Out of anger, he takes revenge on Gulliver. He puts him in a cage with a monkey, who almost tortured the main character to death.
Gulliver himself tells the king about the structure of life in England. And no matter how well His Majesty treats him, he wants with all his might to return to his homeland.
And again His Majesty chance bursts into Gulliver’s fate. The eagle grabs the main character's house and takes him to the open sea, where Gulliver is picked up by a ship from England.
Essay on "Gulliver's Travels" by D. Swift
I read the work of the famous English writer D. Swift (1667 - 1745) “Gulliver's Travels”. I liked it. In terms of content, this book is similar to a sailor’s diary, which describes individual details of travel in great detail and with mathematical precision. The narrative begins completely plausibly and only then moves into a description of fantastic countries.
The main character of the book is Gulliver, the son of a poor nobleman. Since childhood, he dreamed of becoming a traveler. Knowing that medicine could be useful on long journeys, he began to study to become a doctor, “he spent all the money that his father sent him on studying navigation and other branches of mathematics.”
“An insatiable desire to highlight foreign countries” haunted Gulliver. So he got a job as a ship's doctor and set sail.
Throughout the story, Swift shows the main character as an inquisitive person. When setting sail, Gulliver “always stocked up with a large number of books and devoted all his free time to reading the best writers, ancient and modern, and when he landed on shore, he observed the customs and customs of the natives and studied their language.”
The book describes his two journeys: to the land of Lilliputians and to the land of giants.
When you read about the kingdom of the Lilliputians, it’s as if you find yourself in a doll world. Here any adult will always be tall and strong. Here Gulliver is revealed as a true hero. He personifies all the best in a person: courage, intelligence, ingenuity, kindness and respect for other people who are so different from him. Even in captivity, tied up, Gulliver behaved politely, although he could have easily freed himself and destroyed the state and its small people. Swift especially emphasizes the humanity of Gulliver, who resolutely rejected the plans of the Emperor of Lilliput to seize the empire of Blefuscu and refused to be “an instrument for the enslavement of a brave and free people.”
After Lilliput, Gulliver finds himself in the land of giants, where he himself turns out to be a Lilliputian. His intelligence, courage and learning do not delight the inhabitants of Brobdygnen, but only amuse them. In this country, Gulliver performs the function of a royal jester, which humiliates his human dignity.
The main character loves his homeland very much. He is hurt and offended by the fact that the king speaks contemptuously of Europe and the rest of the world, considers Gulliver’s compatriots “disgusting reptiles crawling on the earth’s surface.”
Now Swift's novel reads simply as a fairy-tale adventure, but I think that at one time, when it first came out, it was very relevant as a satirical work.
The book contains many reflections and descriptions of the political structure of the countries where Gulliver visited. Talking about sharp-pointed and blunt-pointed people who were unable to resolve the dispute over which side should break an egg - blunt or sharp, the writer hinted at two warring religious camps in Europe - Catholics and Protestants.
There are two political parties in Lilliput, but the only difference between them was that some wear high-heeled shoes, while others wear low-heeled shoes. Reading the footnotes to the book, it becomes clear that in England at the beginning of the 18th century there were two parties: the Tories and the Whigs, between which there was practically no difference. So Jonathan Swift, as a writer and citizen of his country who did not agree with the political structure of England, in his novel ridiculed the absurd orders of society.
Summary of Gulliver's Travels in parts
Part 1. Gulliver in the land of Lilliputians
The main character of the work, Lemuel Gulliver, is a sea traveler. He is sailing on a ship. The first country he enters is Lilliput.
The ship is in distress. Gulliver comes to his senses already on the shore. He feels that he is tied hand and foot by very small people.
The Mountain Man, as the Lilliputians call the main character, is peaceful towards the local population. For this reason, he is fed and provided with housing.
The head of the Lilliputian state himself comes out to talk with Gulliver. During the conversation, the emperor talks about the war with a neighboring state. Gulliver, in gratitude for the warm welcome, decides to help the little people. He attracts the entire enemy fleet into the bay, on the shores of which the Lilliputians live. For this act he was awarded the highest award in the state.
The local population further calls Gulliver “the horror and joy of the Universe.” One fine day he becomes displeasing to the emperor, and the hero has to emigrate to Blefuscu (a nearby state). But even in the neighboring state, Gulliver is a burden to the residents... He eats a lot... Then the hero builds a boat and sails into the open sea. While traveling, purely by chance he encounters a ship belonging to England and returns home. Gulliver brings Lilliputian sheep with him to his homeland, which, according to him, have bred well.
