Key Concepts
Satire, fictional travelogue, cultural comparison, political commentary, human nature, reason vs. instinct, societal critique, utopian/dystopian societies, Gulliver's evolving perspective.
Gulliver's Background and Initial Voyages
The story, "Los Viajes de Gulliver," by Jonathan Swift, is a fictional travelogue that satirizes British culture and politics through the experiences of Captain Lemuel Gulliver. The narrative begins with Gulliver's life before his voyages: his marriage to Mary Burton and his profession as a doctor. When his medical practice declines, he embarks on sea voyages.
First Voyage: Lilliput
Gulliver's first voyage leads him to Lilliput after a shipwreck. He awakens to find himself bound by tiny people, the Lilliputians, who are only six inches tall. They initially attack him with arrows, but Gulliver promises not to harm them. The Lilliputians then provide him with food and drink and transport him to their capital. The Emperor consults his advisors, who fear Gulliver's potential to escape or cause famine due to his large appetite. After Gulliver agrees to assist them with civic duties and military support, the Lilliputians free and feed him.
A government official informs Gulliver about the impending invasion from Blefuscu, a neighboring island. The two nations are at war over a dispute about which end of an egg should be broken, a conflict that has resulted in six rebellions and thousands of deaths. Gulliver proves invaluable by dragging the entire Blefuscudian fleet to the shores of Lilliput, earning him the title of Nardac, the highest honor. However, Gulliver refuses the Emperor's request to destroy Blefuscu and annex it as a province of Lilliput. Instead, he receives a delegation from Blefuscu offering a peace agreement, which the Emperor accepts.
Later, when the Empress's chamber catches fire, Gulliver extinguishes the flames by urinating on them. Despite saving the palace, he is accused of treason for several offenses, including urinating on the royal palace, refusing to subjugate Blefuscu, aiding Blefuscudian ambassadors, and planning a visit to Blefuscu. Disgusted by the pettiness and absurdity of the Lilliputians, Gulliver flees to Blefuscu to avoid being blinded. He eventually sails away and is rescued by a merchant ship, returning home with a profit from the miniature livestock he smuggled in his pockets.
Second Voyage: Brobdingnag
Gulliver's second voyage takes him to Brobdingnag, an island inhabited by giants. His crew abandons him, and he is found by a farmer who takes him home. Gulliver faces dangers due to his small size, including battling giant rats. The farmer takes Gulliver to the market to perform for customers, and his reputation impresses the Queen, who brings him to live at the court. There, he encounters a dwarf who becomes his enemy, jealous of the attention Gulliver receives.
The King engages Gulliver in political discussions, criticizing the English government and its violent history, concluding that the English are inferior to the Brobdingnagians. Gulliver faces various dangers due to his size, and the court ladies treat him like a toy. He reflects on how overwhelmed and disgusted the Lilliputians must have felt by his enormous presence. After two years in Brobdingnag, Gulliver is captured by a giant eagle and dropped into the sea, where he is rescued by a passing ship. Upon returning to England, Gulliver struggles to adjust to the normal proportions of his previous life.
Third Voyage: Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdubdrib, and Luggnagg
After more than two months, Gulliver embarks on a third voyage as a surgeon. His ship is attacked by pirates, and he is set adrift in a small canoe. He eventually reaches Laputa, a floating island inhabited by people obsessed with mathematics and lacking in practical skills. The Laputians use climenoles to strike people in conversations to keep them focused. Gulliver finds Laputa boring due to the inhabitants' intellectual pursuits.
Next, Gulliver visits Balnibarbi, a land where scientists are engaged in useless experiments, such as extracting sunlight from cucumbers and turning excrement back into food. Gulliver considers the professors mad for proposing to study excrement to find traitors and taxing people based on their beauty and wit.
Gulliver then travels to Glubbdubdrib, where the governor can resurrect the dead. He asks to see Alexander the Great, who reveals that he died from excessive drinking, contrary to historical accounts. Gulliver also resurrects Homer, Aristotle, and Descartes for intellectual discussions.
Finally, Gulliver encounters the Struldbrugs, an immortal race. Initially envious, he soon realizes that they are miserable and envy the mortality of others. Gulliver then travels to Japan, a closed society, before returning to his family.
Fourth Voyage: The Land of the Houyhnhnms
Five months later, Gulliver leaves his family to captain his own ship. His crew mutinies and strands him on another island. There, he encounters the Houyhnhnms, rational horses living in a simple, clean society. Gulliver prefers the Houyhnhnms to the Yahoos, the human-like creatures who use reason for power and behave like dirty, brutal beasts.
Gulliver stays with the Houyhnhnms for several years, learning to love them more than his own culture, which he now sees as corrupt and flawed. He is eventually told that he must leave. Upon returning to England, Gulliver is disgusted by humans, including his own family. He buys two horses and spends hours in the stables, conversing with them. Eventually, he can eat at the same table as his family, teaching them to overcome their vices. His only desire is to help his society resemble the world of the Houyhnhnms.
Synthesis/Conclusion
"Los Viajes de Gulliver" uses Gulliver's travels to different lands as a vehicle for satirizing various aspects of human nature, society, and politics. Through his encounters with the Lilliputians, Brobdingnagians, Laputians, and Houyhnhnms, Gulliver's perspective evolves, leading him to a profound disillusionment with humanity and a yearning for a more rational and virtuous existence. The story explores themes of power, morality, reason, and the limitations of human understanding, ultimately presenting a critical commentary on the flaws and follies of human civilization.
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