Below is the study guide written for the book we'll be reading this semester in Writing 2
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
Study Guide
Literary Terms
Allegory
Interior monologue
Irony
Novel
Parable
Point of view
Plot: Elements & Types
Setting
Satire
Theme
Tone
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
– Jonathon Swift, Enlightenment, England
– Types of Satire
THEMES
Defn: The central meaning or dominant idea in a literary work. A theme provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a work are organized. It is important not to mistake the theme for the actual subject of the work; the theme refers to the abstract concept that is made concrete through the images, characterization, and action of the text.
General themes
– Serious defects afflict society
“Politicians, religious leaders, social planners, military tacticians, educators – indeed, all of society’s elite – often hamper progress through political machinations, aggression, misguided science and art, and out-and-out stupidity.”
– Adventure story
“Strange and wondrous exploits await people willing to take risks.”
Specific themes
Might Makes Right
Petty Bickering
Foolish Experimentation
Degrading Behavior
Exploration and Discovery
Coping with Alienation
Relativity
Love and Kindness – Absence & Presence
STUDY QUESTIONS for GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
Preface and Introduction
– What is the purpose and result of introduction?
– What dates are given regarding the travels and publication of the book?
PART 1
Chapters 1 - 3
– What background does Gulliver give about himself?
– How does he set the stage for his credibility?
– Explain the difference between seeing the world through Gulliver’s eyes and having the ability to step back as the reader.
– Describe the “power differential” between Gulliver and the Lilliputians.
– Describe the significance of rope dancing.
– Describe some aspects of the Lilliputian culture.
– Gulliver earns the trust of the Lilliputians. How is this ironic?
– How does Swift show that people take themselves too seriously?
– Discuss what “Might makes Right” means.
Chapters 4 – 6
– “The more serious the tone, the more laughable the situation appears.” Explain how this quote applies to situations with the Lilliputians.
– Discuss the conflict between the High-Heels and the Low-Heels (politics); between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians (religion).
– How does Gulliver show that he feels some responsibility toward all beings.
– What Lilliputian customs seem reasonable and sensible?
Chapters 7 – 9
– What aspects of the Lilliputians does Gulliver approve? Of what does he disapprove?
– Discuss the Lilliputian method of raising children. List the positive and negative aspects.
– Are the Lilliputians able to change their customs or ways of life? Give examples.
– “Swift makes a mockery of formal language by showing how it can be used to mask simple fears and desires.” Explain and give examples from the text.
PART 2
Chapters 1 – 4
– How are the tables turned for Gulliver in Brobdingnag?
– “Swift makes a mockery of those who would try to demonstrate their expertise through convoluted language.” Explain.
– “Swift’s larger mission is to criticize the validity of various kinds of expert knowledge that are more showy than helpful.” How does this apply to languages?
– Why does the dwarf react to negatively towards Gulliver?
– Why is the discussion of skin and complexion significant?
– Describe the conversations that Gulliver has with the King.
Chapters 5 – 8
– Describe Gulliver’s personal insignificance. How does he maintain some sense of importance?
– How do his long discussions with the King leave him feeling humiliated?
– “Gulliver’s naïveté, his gullibility, and his ingenuous praise for England all accentuate his similarity to the Lilliputians: convinced of his own significance, he is unable to realize the pettiness and imperfection of the society he represents.” Discuss.
– Are the Brobdingnagians more or less moral than the Lilliputians?
PART 3
Chapters 1 – 4
– During the first two voyages, Swift attacks politics and ethics. In this voyage, he primarily satirizes science, learning, and abstract thought. Give examples. What point is Swift making?
– How does a floating island represent a government and its people?
– Give examples that show “nonhuman” qualities of the people of Laputa.
– Why is Gulliver’s friend, a lord, considered stupid by his peers?
– Describe the condition of the land and inhabitants of the non-floating island.
– Why are the people living in a shabby, miserable condition?
Chapters 5 – 8
– Swift was parodying the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge as he portrayed absentminded philosophers. Describe some of the projects done at the academy. Explain the irony of these.
– What ideas about government are given in Chapter 6? Are they valid and workable ideas? Why?
– In Glubbdubdrib, how does Gulliver’s discussions with historical figures allow Swift to ridicule aspects of society?
– Which persons of history does Swift hold up as virtuous and who are more degenerate?
Chapters 9 -11
– How does the King get rid of subjects he doesn’t like? Is this effective?
– How does Gulliver’s views of living forever contrast with the situation of the Struldbrugs of Luggnagg?
– What does Gulliver conclude about the lives of the Struldbrugs?
PART 4
Chapters 1 – 4
– Explain how Gulliver has tired of humankind.
– Explain how Gulliver finds himself in a kind of “limbo.”
– Swift allows us to discover through Gulliver’s eays that the Houyhnhnms are not magicians but actual horses that are intelligent. What affect does this have on the reader?
– List the differences between this voyage and the first three voyages.
– Why is Gulliver not eager to leave the Houyhnhnms?
Chapters 5 – 8
– Describe Gulliver’s explanations of the state of affairs in Europe. How do the Houyhnhnms respond?
– Why is Gulliver’s desire to stay not a typical “return to nature” attitude?
– What aspects of the Yahoos appall Gulliver?
– What similarities between humans and Yahoos does Gulliver’s master point out?
– The Houyhnhnms seem to be only virtuous. What faults do you see?
Chapters 9 – 12
– What aspects of Houyhnhnm society does Gulliver describe?
– How are the lives of the Houyhnhnms dull, simple and lifeless? Give examples.
– Why must Gulliver leave? How does he accomplish this?
– Why does Gulliver loathe to return to England?
– Why is Gulliver repulsed by Don Pedro? How does he think of him?
– How does Gulliver respond to his family? Why?
End-of-Book Discussions
– Alienation: Gulliver returns from his last voyage completely alienated from humankind. Describe how this process happened with each successive voyage.
– Alienation: “In the first three voyages, it is easy to identify with Gulliver, but in the last voyage he becomes so alienated from humanity that it is difficult to sympathize with him. This shift in our loyalty is accompanied by a shift in the method of satire. Whereas in the first voyages we can look through Gulliver’s eyes—sharing his astonishment at the Lilliputians’ miniature society, his discomfort at being the plaything of the Brobdingnagian giants, and his contempt for the tyrannical intellectualism of the Laputans—here, in the fourth voyage, we are forced to step back and look not with Gulliver, but at him.” Discuss.
– The Necessity of Imperfection: “What is missing in the horses is exactly that which makes human life rich: the complicated interplay of selfishness, altruism, love, hate, and all other emotions. In other words, the Houyhnhnms’ society is perfect for Houyhnhnms, but it is hopeless for humans. Houyhnhnm society is, in stark contrast to the societies of the first three voyages, devoid of all that is human.” Discuss.
– Pessimism or Optimism: “It seems reasonable to conclude that Swift was not a cynic who gave up on society and humankind but instead a gadfly who bit the carcass of the complacent in order to force it to rise and act.” Discuss
– Swift’s “Verisimilitude” [from “veritas” (truth) and “similes” (similar)]: In fantasy, a writer creates impossible characters, places and situations and asks the reader to pretend they are real; he tells a story in such a way that it seems credible. Find examples in the book to illustrate the following points.
1. Story told in the first person as an eye witness
2. Gulliver has real-world background
3. Imaginary characters are given real-world characteristics
4. Statistics are infused to give objectivity and truth
5. Readers are addressed directly implying an intimate and confidential correspondence
6. The voyages and the real world alternate in the plot.
– Swift’s Ridicule of Travel Writers: Many travel writers of the day write inflated descriptions with a profusion of insignificant details. Gulliver often states, “I will not trouble the reader …..” What affect does this have on the reader?
– Tone: Tone refers to the author’s implicit attitude toward the reader or the people, places, and events in a work as revealed by the elements of the author’s style. Tone may be characterized as serious or ironic, sad or happy, private or public, angry or affectionate, bitter or nostalgic, or any other attitudes and feelings that human beings experience. Describe the tone of the book. Does it change?
– Serious defects afflict society: List some of those defects that Swift is emphasizing.
– Gulliver’s Two Persons: Swift portrays Gulliver in two perspectives: as a bystander observing follies and vices of cultures that symbolize England; and as the foibles and errors of England himself. Discuss the difference between these two portrayals and find examples from the book.
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