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BOOK REPORT

——

Gulliver's Travels

In

this

short

term,

I

have

read

Gulliver's

Travel,

which

is

written

by

Jonathan

Swift

——

a British writer. From the book, I really acquire a lot of knowledge which

is unknown to me. For example, it makes me know more about British history in the

seventeenth

century

and

the

eighteenth

century.

Before

that

I

just

know

Britain

becomes stronger and stronger at that time. It is Gullier's Travels that disclose the dark

of the British society.

About the author and the background of the book

The book was published in 1726, was regarded as a children's literary works, but it

is actually attacked the British social degradation and corruption of satirical writing.

Because at that time, British society was rather dark.

Jonathan

Swift

was

a

son

of

the

English

lawyer

Jonathan

Swift.

He

was

born

in

Dublin, Ireland, on November 30, 1667. He grew up there under the care of his uncle.

Then he attended Trinity College when he was fourteen. And he stayed there for seven

years.

He

graduated

from

it

in

1688.

In

that

year,

he

became

the

secretary

of

Sir

William

Temple

who

was

an

English

politician

and

member

of

the

Whig

party.

In

1694,

he

took

religious

orders

in

the

Church

of

Ireland

and

then

spent

a

year

as

a

country parson. He then spent further time in the service of Temple before returning to

Ireland to become the chaplain of the earl of Berkeley. Meanwhile, he had begun to

write

satires

on

the

political.

He

worked

on

A

Tale

of

a

Tub,

which

supports

the

position of the Anglican Church against its critics on the left and the right. And The

Battle of the Books, which argues for the supremacy of the classics against modern

thought and literature. He also wrote a number of political pamphlets in favor of the

Whig

party.

In

1709

he

went

to

London

to

campaign

for

the

Irish

church

but

was

unsuccessful.

After

some

conflicts

with

the

Whig

party,

mostly

because

of

Swift’s

strong allegiance to the church. he became a member of the more conservative Tory

party in 1710.

Unfortunately for Swift, the Tory government fell out of power in 1714 and Swift,

despite

his

fame

for

his

writings,

fell

out

of

favor.

Swift

had

been

hoping

to

be

assigned a position in the Church of England instead of returning to Dublin, where he

became the dean of St. Patrick’s. During his brief time in England, Swift had become

friends with writers such as Alexander Pope. The third voyage of Gulliver’s Travels is

assembled from the work Swift did during this time. However, the final work was not

completed until 1726, and the narrative of the third voyage was actually the last one

completed. Gulliver’s Travels was a controversial work when it was first published in

1726.

Ever

since,

editors

have

excised

many

of

the

passages,

particularly

the

more

caustic

ones

dealing

with

bodily

functions.

Even

without

those

passages,

however,

Gulliver’s Travels serves as a biting satire, and Swift ensures that it is both humorous

and critical, constantly attacking British and European society through its descriptions

of imaginary countries.

Late in

life, Swift seemed to

become even more caustic and bitter. Three

years

before

his

death,

he

was

unable

to

care

for

himself,

and

guardians

were

appointed.

Based on these facts, some people have concluded that he became insane. However,

the truth seems to be that Swift was suddenly incapacitated by a stroke late in life, and

that prior to this incident his mental capacities were unimpaired. Gulliver’s Travels is

about a specific set of political conflicts, but if it were nothing more than that it would

long ago have been forgotten. The staying power of the work comes from its depiction

of the human condition and its often despairing, but occasionally hopeful, sketch of

the possibilities for humanity to rein in its baser instincts.

The main content of the book

Part 1: A Voyage to Lilliput and Blefuscu

4 May 1699

—

13 April 1702

The

author

gives

some

account

of

himself

and

family.

This

part

tells

us

his

first

travel.

He

is

shipwrecked,

and

swims

for

his

life.

Finally

he

got

the

shore

in

the

country of Lillivput. Gulliver is made a prisoner, and carried up the country. The book

begins with a very short preamble in which Lemuel Gulliver, in the style of books of

the time, gives a brief outline of his life and history prior to his voyages. He enjoys

travelling, although it is that love of travel that is his downfall.

During his first voyage, Gulliver is washed ashore after a shipwreck and finds himself

caught

by

a

race

of

people,

less

than

6

inches

high.

They

are

inhabitants

of

the

neighbouring

and

rival

countries

of

Lilliput.

After

giving

assurances

of

his

good

behaviors,

he

is

given

a

residence

in

Lilliput

and

becomes

a

favorite

of

the

court.

From there, the content follows Gulliver's observations on the Court of Lilliput. He is

also

given the permission

to

roam

around the city

on a condition

he not

harm their

subjects. Gulliver helps the Lilliputians to subdue their neighbours the Blefuscudians

by

stealing

their

warships.

However,

he

refuses

to

make

the

country

become

a

province of Lilliput. But it displeases the King and the court. Gulliver is charged with

treason and sentenced to be blinded. With the help of a kind friend, Gulliver flees to

Blefuscu, where he finds an abandoned boat. He asks for the king of Blefuscudians to

restore the abandoned boat. At first, the king refuses to do it. But a few days later, the

king promises to restore the boat. With the help of the king, Gulliver restores the boat

successfully and sails out. On the way, he meet with a strong storm. Fortunately, he is

rescued by a passing ship. Then the captain of the boat sent him back to Britain.

Part 2: A Voyage to Brobdingnag

20 June 1702

—

3 June 1706

When the sailing ship is steered off course by storms and have to go in to land for

searching for fresh water, Gulliver is abandoned by his companions and found by a

farmer who is 72 feet tall. He brings Gulliver to home and ask his daughter cares for

Gulliver. The farmer treats him as a curiosity and exhibits him for money. The word

gets out and the Queen of Brobdingnag wants to see the show. She loves Gulliver and

he is then bought by her and kept as a favorite at court.

Since Gulliver is too small to use their huge chairs, beds, knives and forks, the