Eh...I picked up Gulliver's Travels because I brought back from Christmas holiday (my parents' home and residence for many of my books) with the intention of diving right into it in January. Obviously, the intention has gone stale as it is now July.

Gulliver's travels reminds me of Twain's Innocents Abroad. Both are travel narratives and not really "novels" in the traditional sense--if at all. Swift and Twain's works are also united by their satirical intentions, though I must admit that much of the satire laced throughout Gulliver's Travels was lost on me. And it also sort of reminded me of "The Odyssey" by Homer--I don't know if this is a comparison most would agree with--but the way each of Gulliver's journeys evolves reminds me of "The Odyssey" where Odysseus is faced with certain tasks in an effort to prevent his return home.

"Gulliver's Travels" is divided into four parts; each part details a separate journey from Gulliver.

I believe this book has merit, but was bored at some parts--and without a study guide--fear that much of the book's original intention/effects was lost on me.

Gulliver's Travels was a great story of adventure I read as child. I didn't come to understand the political satire until I started college. My college experience has enriched the reading experience for me and I can appreciate the book on a different level.

Can't wait reading it in English :)

Very complicated, but adventurous.

Who doesn't love great satirical writing?!

I was severely disappointed by this book. Based on its reputation I expected so much more. The story was boring. Of the four parts, the third was the most interesting. While some of his satire on the failings of man are entertaining, the satire on the political scene in late 17th, early 18th century England just aren't that interesting.

Great satire. In fact, some of the best I've ever read.

Entretenida obra archiconocida en donde nos relata las distintas islas que conoció Gulliver en su famosos viajes.

Primero nos relata sus aventuras en la isla de los liliputienses, pequeños personajes de unos 15 centímetros de altura estimo, que creo que no es necesario recordar.

Después llegará a la isla de los gigantes, llamados si no recuerdo mal brobdingnagianos, en donde fue rescatado por una familia labradora y la hija de esta familia lo llevará a la ciudad en donde será presentado a los reyes, siendo la Reina su especial protectora.

Seguidamente conocerá la isla de Laputa. Una isla que flota en el aire. Aquí nos cuenta cómo viven su habitantes y nos relata también a otros habilitantes de otras islas con las que los de Laputa tienen relación y vasallaje.

Por último nos narra sus aventuras en la isla de los caballos, llamados houyhnhnms. Animales inteligentes que hablan entre ellos. Gulliver consigue aprender su idioma y se queda prendado con la forma de ver el mundo de los caballos, hasta tal punto que no desea irse de la isla, aunque al final, por distintas circunstacias tiene que partir. En esta isla los caballos tienen animales de servidumbre que son exactamente iguales a los humanos, pero llenos de pelo y con garras en las manos y pies. Son seres salvajes y agresivos, llamados yahoo (al parecer se baraja la posibilidad de que el buscador yahoo se inspirara al tomar su nombre en estos personajes). Estos yahoo son usados como sirvientes pues no son más que bestias que no tienen entendimiento. De hecho Gulliver es tomado siempre como un yahoo pero con cierto grado de raciocinio y con capacidad para aprender el idioma de los caballos.

La obra se lee muy bien y es muy entretenida. Me ha llamado la atención las páginas finales en la que nos dice que los yahoo de Europa "...desembarcan para robar y saquear; encuentran un pueblo sencillo, que los recibe con amabilidad; toman de él formal posesión en nombre de su rey;... asesinan a dos o tres docenas de indígenas; se llevan por la fuerza una pareja como muestra... se envían barcos a la primera oportunidad; se expulsan o se destruyen a los naturales; se tortura a sus príncipes para obligarlos a declarar dónde tienen su oro; se concede plena autorización para todo acto de inhumanidad y lascivia... Y esta execrable cuadrilla de carniceros, empleada en esta piadosa expedición, es una colonia moderna, enviada para convertir y civilizar a un pueblo idólatra y bárbaro." Los párrafos están copiados literal del libro. Lo primero que una piensa es que es una clara referencia a los españoles, ya que la leyenda negra nos ha presentado como esos seres sanguinarios. Pero por otro lado, al no hacer referencia a ninguna nación en concreto, puedes pensar que se refiere al hombre europeo en general o incluso a una crítica a Inglaterra. Pero luego viene la confirmación de que efectivamente, se refiere a España de forma sibilina, pues nos dice en otros párrafos posteriores y absolutamente memorables, lo siguiente:

"Pero reconozco que esta descripción en ningún modo se refiere a la nación británica, que puede servir de ejemplo a todo el mundo por su sabiduría, cuidado y justicia en establecer colonias; sus liberales consignaciones para el progreso de la religión y la cultura; su elección de pastores devotos y capaces para propagar el cristianismo; su precaución de poblar las provincias con gentes de vida y conservación moderadas, enviada de la madre patria; su riguroso celo en la administración de justicia, designación para el ministerio civil, en todas y cada parte de sus colonias, funcionarios de la mayor competencia, totalmente inaccesibles a la corrupción, y, por coronarlo todo, su tino para enviar a los más vigilantes y virtuosos gobernadores, que no tienen más aspiración que la felicidad de los pueblos que dirigen y el honor del rey su señor."

Cuando leí esto me quedé que no supe si echarme a reir o a llorar. Me pareció tan brutal que no sabía si era en serio o era una hipérbole irónica sobre Inglaterra. Y aún hoy sigo sin estar seguro de que no sea una crítica sarcástica de los británicos, porque si no fuera así me parece que no tiene nombre lo que escribe este hombre sobre los británicos. Pero es posible que sea así. Ya dije arriba que la leyenda negra, que los españoles nos empeñamos en creer, ha sido un ejercicio de propaganda espectacular y que ha conseguido humillar a España hasta la fecha de hoy.

No quero dejar de recordar que cuando Gulliver describe a los caballos cómo son algunas cosas de su nación, llega a explicar cómo son los abogados. Y la verdad es que los pone de vuelta y media. Gente que solo mira para ellos, que no le interesa la justicia ni el bien ni el mal, que desde niños aprenden las leyes y su especial vocabulario cuyo único objetivo es desviar la atención de la verdad para conseguir que la falsedad triunfe con el objeto de llenarse los bolsillos. Y una cantidad más de epítetos que no favorecen en nada a los abogados. Me acordé de Paula y me imagino que no le haría mucha gracia esta descripción, aunque a mi me resultó simpática.

en fin, pero fuera de esta anécdota, la obra se lee muy bien y es muy entretenida. Todo un clásico.

bacaan jaman kuliah englit 2 (survey of english literature)...catatan perjalanan/jurnal yg isinya satir semua...'a modest proposal'-nya agak bikin mules perut....

Swift was a wonderful satyrical writer. A Modest Proposal is my favorite essay of all time and pairing it with G. T. Was really smart as I think you get a better picture of Swifts philosophy by reading both. G. T. is one of those wonderful novels that can be read simply for the enjoyment of the story but also has a rich background of social commentary.

I didn't understand satire at all when I first read this in seventh grade. At first I was horrified and confused. Then, after my mom explained satire, I loved it... must reread at some point.

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift – One of The Top 100 Books of All Time https://poemeglume.blogspot.com/2023/... compiled with the luminaries of our age
9 out of 10


Gulliver’s Travels has much more significance than a children’s tale wherein this protagonist arrives in the land of the Lilliputians, then becomes a guest in Brobdingnag, and we have the mirth of looking down on little creatures and see the main character moving about among giants…evidently, there are passages - perhaps the whole book without editing and adaptation - that are not suitable for the under age, seeing as there are erotic encounters and I remember vividly how I found the (sexual) intimacy that the Man has with a female giant so exciting and sensual that this is still stored in the brain’s data base in burning letters http://realini.blogspot.com/2015/04/g...

Various adaptations have been made for cinema and television, one with the illustrious Peter O Toole – but a shadow of the glory days of Lawrence of Arabia http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/07/l... one of the best five motion pictures in history – another with Jack Black in the title role – it was because the actor had a good profile, image in countries around the world, with studios concerned with the box office takings overseas, they had just started to use talent that sells well in China, Russia, etc. – but there they insist on comedy.
The symbols are serious nevertheless, with the hero having to deal with small creatures, where one is inclined to feel privileged and use the power…the example of Trump comes to mind, a sort of ‘Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time/Into this breathing world, scarce half made up’ ghoul that recalls Richard the Third, he is ‘half made up’ in a metaphorical sense, however obese he is (and liars gave him the false medical certificates to boast) and as for Richard III we have a distorted image of him

We learn from one of the greatest mystery novels, The Daughter of Time by Josephine Fey, that the myth of Richard III as one of the most notorious monsters of history has to give way http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/10/t... to the true historical events, the king has not killed his nephews, and he was a decent human being, not the cruel tyrant described in the play of William Shakespeare – how resplendent those lines are ‘now is the winter of our discontent/ turned into glorious summer by this son of York/ And all the clouds that loured upon our house/ In the deep bosom of the ocean buried’ – alas, most of humanity will ‘remember’ him as a criminal
Now how about Trump – he was arrested and arraigned yesterday in New York, fingerprinted and presented with thirty-four counts, felony charges if that is the technical form – the worst president in history and a danger that could come back to haunt us in 2024…some will say what do you care, if you are so far away, but this was the leader of the free world, and if he returns, he will destroy NATO (maybe the world) and allow Russia to complete its invasion of Ukraine and probably the rest of the old Soviet Union and why not, take the old Warsaw pact under its rule again, with an idiot in the White House

That is one symbol that I see in Gulliver, and that we can use in the real world, you have someone like the Orange Felon and insurrectionist in chief – he has had last night and on so many occasions the song recorded by the Jail Chorus, cave men arrested and jailed for what they did on the Capitol hill on January 6, 2021 played to him…he is on the recording, he does that, as he threatens the prosecutor with a baseball bat in a posting, his equally deranged son posts photos of the daughter of the judge, it is unbelievable what the greatest democracy in the world has come to, if this was its leader, and potential president in 2024, embraced by so many congressmen from the GOP, then it is Lilliput we will live in.
China of course tries to be Brobdingnag, the realm of the giants, or anyway, the land that is getting bigger, swallowing Taiwan, also islands which are not theirs in the South China Sea, that belong to Japan, just like they did with Tibet – it looks as if we will have to be Lilliputians in a future that is controlled by Xi and his sycophants – you should read The Economist in general, but the one of this week in particular, to find more about the clash between the USA and the rising empire that supports the invading Putin in Ukraine and will introduce a new world order where big dogs aka large countries bully and occupy the small ones, with China as alpha dog, playing the Chili Palmer character from Get Shorty http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/04/g... ‘I’m the one telling you how it is’

Chili was charming, Xi is not, it is an excellent idea to read Why The West Rules For Now http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/10/w... by great Ian Morris and find about Why China is still not on top – the history could have been different, the conquistadores could have met the Chinese in the Americas, for they had built huge vessels, more than capable to cross oceans with large crews (Columbus, Vespucci and the others had tiny boats when compared with the Chinese ships) only their rulers had decided to forbid long journeys – besides, you get so much insight into Singularity, the future and…exquisite humor All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us…Brought peace…Oh, peace…SHUT UP’ extract from Monty Python’s Life of Brian
On more personal levels, one could feel Lilliputian in everyday life – as when you pay for services at a club and now there is a piece from the experience one has in the land of local Brobdingna, where employees act like giants, showing contempt for customers (oops, not that, guests, the folks behave as if they own the place and those coming in are intruders, never mind the subscription) these are just a few lines from the complaint that I will send the Boys From Brazil, Insha’Allah ‘The saunas do not work…The outdoor Jacuzzi has been closed since November for the 'cold season' but it was not opened in March or April...
The inside Jacuzzi is on and off, with a timetable that is not followed, and then it had periods when it was out of order, with all the above out of use as well
As if this was not enough, some employees and security guard use the Jacuzzi, sauna and/or use the gym, just as those venues are under pressure, with limited seating, malfunctioned or out or order assets...
When management is told about all this pandemonium, the failures are blamed on...the clients, hotel, higher management that does not provide the funds for repairs, missing batteries, etc. ‘ http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u...

Written by Realini the Revolutionary – the evidence is in Newsweek the link to the article about the fall of Ceausescu in 1989 is here http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...