Browse all books

Gulliver's Travels

Bookmark in Readling App

Find similar books

Z+

Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels

Paperback (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Dec. 12, 2015)
Gulliver's Travels comprises four different books, each detailing accounts from a different voyage undertaken by the putative author, Lemuel Gulliver. Published anonymously by Swift, it was ostensibly just another travelogue, describing the new territories emerging as a result of progress made in technology and commerce. Swift helps establish this ruse by describing the author as 'Lemuel Gulliver, first a Surgeon, and then a Captain of many ships'. He provides a fictional biography of Gulliver in the prefatory dedication and provides maps of the territories discussed. It is only when Gulliver is ship-wrecked and awakens on a beach with 'arms and legs strongly fastened on each side to the ground', captured by creatures 'not six inches high' that the reader begins to question the veracity of the account. This is, of course, a description of Gulliver's encounter with the Lilliputians, a race of people no larger than his middle finger. Following assurances to the little people of his good intentions, Gulliver soon becomes a favourite. At their request, he helps the Lilliputians vanquish their nearby rivals, the Blefescudans, by wading across the sea to steal the enemy fleet. Despite this helpful act, his subsequent refusal to force the Blefescudans into Lilliputian subservience enrages his hosts who sentence him to be blinded as punishment. Fortunately, Gulliver makes good his escape when a correctly proportioned rowing boat washes up on the Lilliputian shoreline. In contrast to this experience, Gulliver's second voyage sees him arrive in Brobdingnag, populated by a race of giants 'As tall as an ordinary spire-steeple' who take 'ten yards for every stride'. Between fighting off a giant wasp and being abducted by an eagle, he passes the time attempting, unsuccessfully, to impress the king by describing the workings of the English political system. Gulliver's subsequent adventures are far too numerous to describe in detail but highlights include his being rescued by the flying island of Laputa following a pirate attack, meeting the immortal and ancient Struldbruggs and being abandoned in a land where horses (Houyhnhnms) rule over un-civilised human-like creatures (Yahoos).
ISBN
1519745761 / 9781519745767
Pages
218
Weight
13.8 oz.
Dimensions
6.0 x 0.5 in.

Enjoy reading Gulliver's Travels? You may also like these books