In reality, 4.5 out of 5.

I have been truly charmed and hooked by Swift's style, imagination, and creativity. He not only creates different worlds but also, behind each paragraph and each page, there is something more: pure political and social criticism. I have been very surprised by the timeliness of his criticism.

The adaptations that have been made in movies, series, and even books for children really annoy me. They remain very much on the surface of what the writer intended. This is by no means a book for children.

For almost the entire book, it has been a five-star read. (Spoiler: However, the sad and gloomy tone that it acquires, I didn't enjoy as much, perhaps it's my fault.) Jonathan Swift is masterful.

"Relectura con mi hija" means "Rereading with my daughter" in Spanish.

When I engage in the activity of rereading with my daughter, it is truly a special and enriching experience. We sit together, cozy and comfortable, with a book in hand.

As we turn the pages, I notice her eyes light up with excitement and curiosity. She asks questions, makes comments, and shares her thoughts.

Rereading allows us to explore the story in more depth, to discover new details and meanings that we might have missed the first time around.

It also gives us an opportunity to bond and connect on a deeper level. We laugh together, we gasp in surprise, and we feel the emotions of the characters as if they were our own.

Overall, rereading with my daughter is a wonderful way to spend quality time together and to foster her love for reading. It is an experience that I will cherish for a lifetime.

I was in error when I gave this two stars in high school, but not by a large margin. Back then, I was extremely bored. Now, I'm done with the idea of "I will instinctively know the truth due to my super white male powers."

Whether it's beneficial to give Swift the full benefit of the fictional doubt, as is popular in academic circles, is debatable. Ugh.

This is a perfect definition of a "classic": male, European, old, using "satire" and "truth" to criticize everything at the expense of ideological stratification, and having enough political statistics combined with workable reality to create an engaging narrative from a list of opinions.

I won't get into the whole "separation of author and story" nonsense and indict Swift with anything, but the fictional Gulliver is fair game. His whole "If anyone is offended by my truth, they are wrong because look how beautifully I write" attitude at the end is just asking for a "lol nice try."

I will admit that Gulliver develops some nice sentiments at the behest of his multiple hosts. He frowns on colonialism, criticizes the manipulation of the legal system for financial gain, and views war as an inexcusable horror. However, his problem with thinking in general, or at least with thinking that he can't instantly understand and appreciate, is ironic considering his upholding of Socrates.

His approach is very much "throw the baby out with the bathwater," although there are some inconsistencies that make his position typical in terms of goodwill towards humanity: as long as humanity fits into its proper places as determined by him without complaint, all is well. This makes his call for equal education of women, along with a general disparagement of their "typical" qualities, and a holistic condemnation of humanity based on non-European features and especially of redheads, of little paradigmatic worth.

Besides that, I learned a great deal about Swift's time in terms of England's social, political, economic, religious, and international relations with other countries. I also understand why the first parts of Gulliver being tied to the ground are the most popular.

In light of that, Gulliver (or Swift if you're not squeamish) is much like Tolkien to me: knowledgeable in the things usually defined as knowledge, xenophobic as shown by their respective Houyhnhnms and Elves, and as feudalistic as polite society and their own personal characteristics allow. Tolkien, however, surpasses Swift in both the quality of the story and the treatment of women.

The best thing I got from this reread was the discovery of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, whose brilliant response to Swift's misogyny was published anonymously and was a genius socioeconomic indictment. Her work, "Epistle from Mrs. Yonge to Her Husband," had to wait nearly 250 years until publication.

I'm all for truth and goodwill towards humanity, but paying attention to who is writing, who is being overlooked, and other such demographic matters that go into the determination of "truth" and "goodwill" is essential if one wants to say anything at all. Giving up the idea of having a fundamental and unchanging "truthdar" is also a good way to go.

The best way to protest against the vices of the worldly society, hidden in idleness and suffocated by its own errors - so notorious yet unseen - will be to embark on a flight from this daily life and set off in the discovery of new worlds (whether they are better or worse).

Sailing the "never before navigated" seas, several new Atlantics have emerged, each with its peculiar inhabitants: from small creatures with a stingy thought to combine until equine beings that domesticate humans, in a policy without a concept of evil in the absence of negative emotions, passing through giants who believe they are the lords of all true knowledge and also arrogant humans, who without wings inhabit the air, content of their cranial cavity where there are also attempts at music and mathematics, in a logic in favor of the contempt for others.

Despite being physically different, in their essence they converge in mutual contempt, not seeing their own errors but creating barriers, in a subversion of a system of relations where meritocracy is abhorred. And, as hell is full of defects, more and more are being pointed out along the narrative: the confinement of women to the domestic role; the carrying of unfruitful thoughts that are not concretized; the culture of expressing what is not thought, as a way of increasing the ignorance of others; the diffusion of idleness, taught based on 3 disciplines - insolence, lies and bribery.

Such minds and personalities could only develop inventions without means or end like a machine to create all the possible phrases of a language and allow anyone (even without any instruction) to write a treaty or a host with rich cranial matter, to learn theorems in an instant. It is no wonder that in these worlds conspiracy theories abound to try to understand the message of the opposing partisanship.

In a summary of a chronicle of customs, the flaws to be redeemed by an act of introspective contrition are being pointed out, because only when the homeland is abandoned, do we give it the due value, initiated by a sebastianist feeling of longing... until the return, guaranteed by the noble Portuguese people, holder of the gift of the word, that worthless wealth.

People are Yahweh and will remain Yahweh forever.

It is very beautiful :)

Yahweh is a significant and powerful entity in certain religious beliefs. People who identify with Yahweh have a deep connection and a sense of purpose.

The idea that they will remain Yahweh forever implies a sense of constancy and loyalty.

This concept gives them a source of strength and comfort in their lives.

The description of it being very beautiful suggests that there is a certain allure and wonder associated with this belief.

Perhaps it is the beauty of the divine, or the beauty of the connection that people feel with Yahweh.

Overall, the statement "People are Yahweh and will remain Yahweh forever" holds great meaning and significance for those who hold this belief.

My initial perception of Gulliver's Travels was that it was a children/young adult adventure tale.

I'm truly unsure how I arrived at this opinion, but that's how I regarded the book until now.

To my great surprise, I discovered that it is neither a children/YA story nor an ordinary adventure narrative.

Rather, it is a prosaic satire aimed at human nature and conduct.

There is adventure, of course, but it merely serves as the backdrop for the satire.

The story is composed of four distinct voyages of Gulliver and the numerous adventures he experiences along the way.

Swift employs Gulliver's experiences during these adventures and his trials to satirize human nature and conduct in general.

No aspect escapes Swift's satire. The human greed for power and avarice are two areas that are severely targeted.

Under the first category, European governments (including his own), their politics, diplomacy, and international relations come under heavy fire.

Under the second category, many individuals, ranging from politicians, lawyers, and doctors to the common man and woman, are lashed by his satire.

The story is written in a "Voltairean" style. It was partly interesting, partly boring, partly annoying, and partly offensive.

I can't really say that I "liked" the story, but this strange combination kept me reading.

And when I finished, I was inclined to give it a 3-star rating, which means I must have enjoyed it enough to view it favorably.

According to Wikipedia, Swift claimed to have written the book "to vex the world rather than divert it." I definitely think he achieved his objective. :) And for my part, I think I've done fairly well and given him his due. :)

Every time one delves into Gulliver's Travels, a new world of knowledge unfolds. I have perused this remarkable work four times, yet I feel I have only just begun to explore its depths.

The first two sections, set in the land of the little people and the land of the giants, often capture the imagination of moviemakers. Their fairy tale-like qualities and the timeless satire make them irresistible. However, as my first-year English professor astutely pointed out, equal energy and attention should be given to the last two sections of the book, which are just as powerful as the first two.

Swift is undoubtedly one of the greatest satirists in English literature, and perhaps even in world literature. He fearlessly attacks the arbitrary exercise of power, senseless cruelty, dogmatism, selfishness, the all-too-common instinct of our states to engage in war, and blind faith in science. He criticizes our inability as humans to see the truth hidden behind the statements of our leaders, to understand the true power of our language, and our tendency to attribute virtues to people and things that they do not possess. This wealth of ideas is simply too much to absorb in a single reading. I would highly recommend revisiting Gulliver's Travels once every ten years.

Finally, it is crucial to avoid movie versions like the plague. Films demand drama and structure, while Gulliver's Travels is a magnificent compendium of arguments and counter-arguments. The true essence of this literary masterpiece can only be fully appreciated through the written word.

Title: An In-depth Exploration of "Gulliver's Travels"

Gulliver's Travels is a remarkable work that takes readers on a journey through various fantastical lands. The first image that comes to mind is of a fat man in a shirt and shorts, lying on the beach, tied to the ground with hundreds of ropes, and with tiny creatures like ants crawling up and down his body, busily at work.

The second image is of the unanswered prayer of breaking an egg without its shell or the desire to have a silver egg cup to put the boiled egg in and eat it - I hate boiled eggs.

Interestingly, when the topic of "Gulliver's Travels" comes up, these two images immediately form in my mind.

Gulliver's Travels is one of those nostalgic stories that even if you haven't read the book or seen the movie, so much has been said about it that you must think you know the story.

But now, after reading this novel, I can definitely say that you don't know anything about this story and all the things you've heard are not even a few pages of the whole adventures of Gulliver.

When you pick up the book Gulliver's Travels, it's as if you have the key to a wonderful world in your hand. Every page you turn takes you on an extraordinary journey with Gulliver; but the interesting thing is that this journey is not just a fictional story, but a call to think about yourself and the society in which you live.

This novel, which is the masterpiece of Jonathan Swift and his most famous work, was written in 1726. Maybe from the title of the book, or based on the childhood memory of watching the cartoon adaptation, you might think you're facing a children's adventure story. But that's not the case; rather, this novel is a deep and unknown satirical story of society, politics, and humanity that examines the vices of human existence and society with a sharp eye. Swift, by creating fictional lands and strange characters, not only criticizes the social and political structures of his time, but also presents a criticism beyond time and place of human stupidity and fanaticism, which is the result of his boundless genius and creativity.

In the first adventure, when you land in the land of Lilliput with Gulliver, you feel like a tiny speck in a very big world. Because in this fictional world you've entered, a world full of human contradictions is depicted, which makes you think about the greatness of the world and the injustice of human existence. And as you walk the streets and gardens of the miniature Lilliput, or visit the giant buildings of Brobdingnag, you constantly ask yourself whether you are really big and influential enough in your own world or whether you've been lost and forgotten in the hustle and bustle of daily life?

Throughout the travels to different lands, you and Gulliver are constantly faced with new characters and challenges. And in each of these lands, while you are engaged in new adventures, Swift still targets the social, political, and even scientific systems of his era with his merciless and sharp criticism, and wants you to look beyond these exciting events.

On the other hand, every journey with Gulliver is also an emotional experience. You are amazed by the natural beauties and at the same time disappointed by the inhumanities of humans. Swift gently reminds you that despite all the greatness of humans, how vulnerable and sometimes how disappointing we are. This feeling from the depths of the story reaches your heart and forces you to think.

Finally, this book challenges you to take a deeper look at yourself and the world around you. Swift makes you think, amazes you, challenges your beliefs, and often even makes you angry, and this is an experience you won't forget; and although it may seem fictional, it is a reflection of the realities of life. This book reminds you to always be in search of the deeper truths and meanings in your life but at the same time to appreciate the moments.

In conclusion, "Gulliver's Travels" is a novel full of political and social content of the imaginary world that is still worthy of consideration and meaningful for today's societies even after about 300 years. Swift used satire and allegory in a clever way to express the problems of European society, especially England and Ireland. His view of society and politics in his time was critical and full of passion, but this criticism was presented in Gulliver's Travels with satire and irony to have a deeper impact on readers.

This novel is written in four parts, following four fictional travels to different lands. These travels are to lands with unique characteristics, each of which is a symbol of different aspects of human society.

The first voyage to the island of Lilliput: In this voyage, Gulliver arrives in a land with very small people, about fifteen centimeters or six inches tall, called Lilliputians. These creatures, despite their small size, consider themselves the most important creatures in the world and are unaware of their own insignificance and worthlessness in the world. The officials of Lilliput are unable to make decisions and stick to important decisions, and their ruler misuses his power. The Lilliputians have a highly bureaucratic society, with many social laws and regulations and cruel penalties for not following them. They use Gulliver as a weapon in their wars, which shows the exploitation of others by the group. Gulliver is finally accused of a great treason in this land and is unjustly sentenced to blindness by the unfair court - the more innocent a person is, the heavier and crueler the penalties await him. Here, Swift cleverly satirizes the political struggles and meaningless wars. The difference between the Lilliputians and their neighbors over how to break an egg is a blatant allegory of the fanatical and petty politics of human societies. On the other hand, the type of monarchy and the selection of officials, which takes place based on strange and curious physical games, is a criticism of the political election process in European courts. Here, Swift also expresses his opinion on the dispute between Catholics and Protestants, and we can see that Gulliver is not surprised by the pettiness of the dispute over breaking an egg, which shows how people react normally to insignificant differences that cause great disputes and violence among groups.

The second voyage to Brobdingnag: The second voyage of Gulliver is to a land where the inhabitants are giant giants. Here, Gulliver, due to his small size and weakness, falls under the control of the giants. Swift shows here that the concept of size, importance, and power of a person changes with the change of the world around him, and also shows that the control and greatness of Gulliver and his vulnerability are relative concepts that depend on the size of his surroundings. (According to a review, Swift discovered the law of relativity centuries before Einstein) Gulliver is constantly in a state of anxiety and a sense of injustice in this land, because he has gone from being big and important in Lilliput to being small and insignificant in Brobdingnag. Gulliver is exploited by a farmer in the land of giants, which shows that the exploitation of a subject is related to opportunity, not size, social status, or wealth.

The king and queen of this land are not bad-natured and take care of Gulliver, but at the same time they only consider him a funny little doll. For them, it is inconceivable that Gulliver is a complete person who has lived in a land with history, laws, philosophy, and science. The king's interest in Gulliver's stories is only for entertainment, and this reflects the feelings of Europeans at that time towards foreigners and other cultures, which they found entertaining and interesting, but believed they should not be taken seriously. The king also has a very limited view of the world. He has absolute autocratic power, keeps his country isolated, does not allow his people to travel, does not attach importance to culture and the progress of civilization, and his people only have the right to learn a few pre-determined educational topics.

In this land, Swift's criticism of human nature is more evident; because the giants consider humans to be cruel and corrupt creatures, and Swift in this way criticizes the manifestations of European civilization. The land of Brobdingnag represents Swift's critical view of the hierarchical and distant system that is created between power and weakness in human societies.

The third voyage to the lands of Laputa, Balnibarbi, and Lagado, Glubbdubdrib: The third adventure of Gulliver is in the land of Laputa, a floating island that Swift uses to criticize scholars, philosophers, Pythagoreans, and Enlightenment thinkers. (If you have seen the animation Astro Boy, it is exactly the same kind of land depicted) Unlike the second voyage, in the land of Laputa, mathematics and music are of great importance, and the importance of theory and science has reached an extreme. The Laputans are masters of complex geometry, but at the same time they are unable to build suitable houses or even weave a suitable piece of clothing. Their theoretical knowledge is deeply impractical, they carry out pointless and useless experiments that are either useless or even harmful, and to some extent they become so complex and confusing that they have the opposite result. The intelligent people of Laputa are a manifestation of the futility of the search for knowledge as a means to an end, without considering the practical and real world. This is a reflection of Swift's idea that he believed the philosophers of the Enlightenment had theoretical confusions in their thoughts. And it is also a criticism of schools and educational institutions, and the upper-class intellectual societies. Gulliver also travels to the land of magicians in this voyage and there he encounters the ghosts of the past, including Alexander the Great, Caesar, Homer, Aristotle, and Descartes. Gulliver realizes here how history is used and this knowledge is manipulated for personal gain, because the history he knew was full of contradictory interpretations with what the ghosts were saying. Therefore, he learns that all historical knowledge is mental.

The last and fourth voyage to the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos: In the last and most important adventure, Gulliver arrives in a land that is ruled by intelligent horses (the Houyhnhnms) and where stupid and brutish humans (the Yahoos) live. The Houyhnhnms are a symbol of reason and logic, while the Yahoos are a symbol of the ugly and brutish nature of humans. The Houyhnhnms have established a country using the advantages of a rational mind along with moral virtues, in which the common good has the highest value. They live without lies, injustice, corruption, class differences, disease, and in a place far from pain and inequality. These creatures maintain their dominance over the Yahoos with their physical strength and reason. In this society, friendship and good will replace love and family, and marriage is only done to produce two children of different sexes, and if a couple has two children of the same sex, they exchange the children and create absolute sexual equality. The Houyhnhnms have no emotional experience of love, they do not celebrate, and they do not rejoice, and their utopian society is peaceful but to some extent cold, having created a loss of individuality and diversity. In this utopian society, the ideal is a place where reason rules over everything, that is, the rule of the horses over the Yahoos (the wild, hairy, savage, and animal-like humans). The Houyhnhnms consider the primitive nature of humans in the Yahoos as despicable and have a tendency to superiority and dominance. They consider anyone who has a different opinion from the group, behaves differently, or rejects anything that does not conform to their ideal culture and reason as dangerous and destroys them. Benevolence and friendship among them are only preserved for their own kind, which embodies the main idea of imperialism. Gulliver considers the society of the Houyhnhnms as ideal and, by ignoring their hypocrisy and self-centeredness, tries to integrate into their society. For this reason, he tries to get rid of his human identity that makes him different and is ashamed of his resemblance to the Yahoos. This part is Swift's deepest criticism of humanity; he shows that if humans move away from reason and morality, nothing but a stupid and unfit creature remains.

Final words:

I received an audio file of this fascinating novel as a gift, and listening/reading it was twice as enjoyable for me

Swift's Satirical Fantasies

This was yet another re-read of a novel that I had devoured as a child and that had etched extremely vivid memories in my mind.

For the most part, I relished it just as much as I did back then. Unlike "Tristram Shandy", it wasn't truly a precocious work of Post-Modernism. Instead, it was more of a collection of satirical fantasies, albeit relying on a realistic narrative style. Still, it packs a powerful punch that I don't recall from my initial reading.

Tales of a Traveller Returned Wanting

The novel purports to be a travelogue documenting Gulliver's travels to several remote and imaginary nations of the world, including Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, Glubbdubdrib, and the land inhabited by the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos.

It would have been sufficient to make a novel just with these imaginary worlds. However, what is most subtle and rewarding about a re-read as an adult is the opportunity to observe Doctor Lemuel Gulliver transform over the course of the four distinct voyages. There is a clear character development, and some might say for the worse, although that could be a matter of debate.

Most of us who have traveled understand that we learn about the world more effectively through travel. But not only do we learn a great deal from or about our destinations, we also discover something about ourselves by being effectively placed in the position of a fish out of water.

Swift's novel highlights the obvious fact that we can also return to our own country with a changed mindset, one that might sometimes find our country or our circumstances lacking. For this very reason, I've always vowed never to make a major personal or career decision within two months of returning from a holiday.

Contrast and Comparison

Swift's modus operandi is to describe the world Gulliver experiences in terms of relativities:

"Undoubtedly, philosophers are in the right, when they tell us that nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison."

He entices us into this perspective by beginning with Lilliput and Brobdingnag. The inhabitants of the former are one-twelfth of Gulliver's size, while those of the latter are 12 times his height. Much of the narrative focuses on the logical consequences of their relative physiques. In one world, Gulliver is the source of wonder; in the other, he finds wonder everywhere.

The Lilliputians calculate that every meal Gulliver must eat and drink as much as 1,724 of them. He soon becomes a liability. A Brobdingagian puts him to work as a diminutive freak in a sideshow:

"I really began to imagine myself dwindled many degrees below my actual size."

He discovers that his smallness has started to expose him to "ridiculous and troublesome accidents," like hungry pets and wild birds. More lewdly, some of the women of the court would strip him naked and lay him "at full length in their bosoms" or get him to sit on their nipples!

The king, "a prince of excellent learning," asks Gulliver about the English parliamentary system, after which the king opines:

"I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth."

A Most Irreverent Reverend

Up to this point, Swift provides an irreverent account of politicians that we can all relate to. The king's judgment is all the more tolerable because it doesn't purport to come from the author or his narrator.

In the third part, the Laputians, who live on a floating or flying island, are subjected to similar criticism, though we identify with Gulliver.

On Glubbdubdrib, he encounters sorcerers and magicians who conjure up philosophers and rulers from the past for him to question. He is disappointed to learn of the "true springs and motives of great enterprises and revolutions," and emerges with a lower opinion of historical wisdom and integrity.

Pretending to Reason

In the final part, we meet the noble horse-like Houyhnhnms and the "filthy...odious" humanoid Yahoos.

The former are unfamiliar with lying and false representation. They detest falsehood and disguise. It's interesting that, given the coexistence of two species in this land, Swift primarily contrasts the culture and politics of the Houyhnhnms with the English rather than the Yahoos. In fact, the Yahoos come off relatively lightly compared with the English, the reason being that the English "pretend to reason." Swift criticizes the English for the enormity, brutality, and barbarity of their crimes and vices.

Swift is particularly critical of lawyers (who manipulate words and truth in the corrupt pursuit of personal wealth), politicians (who progress by way of insolence, lying, and bribery), and colonialism, the latter motivated by "the luxury and intemperance of the males and the vanity of the females."

Gulliver's master infers he must be noble to be so virtuous, yet Gulliver explains that the quality of his education was responsible.

This resonates with the Houhynhnms who believe that reason alone should be sufficient to govern a rational person. It is the foundation of decency and civility.

The Return of a Misanthrope

In contrast, Gulliver regards the Yahoos as unteachable; they are cunning, malicious, treacherous, and resentful. Gulliver realizes that humans are most like the Yahoos. He even learns that he is sexually attractive to the Yahoo women.

Before his return, Gulliver starts to feel ashamed of his family, his friends, his countrymen, and the human race as a whole. When he arrives home and is greeted by the joy of his wife and children, he feels the utmost shame, confusion, and horror.

It's clear that Gulliver/Swift felt that eighteenth-century English society left a lot to be desired, that it needed to improve, and that it was hypocritical in promoting and enforcing its values in its colonies, which he considered were "no means proper objects of our zeal, our valour, or our interest."

Gulliver/Swift asserts that he writes "for the noblest end, to inform and instruct mankind."

For all of the wit, style, and wisdom of the novel, it's confronting to experience how close it gets to outright misanthropy, possibly because of Gulliver's sense of repulsion by his own family.

At the same time that you experience the shock of recognition, you have to ask whether the tone of the satire hasn't become too harsh and unforgiving.

You have to wonder about Swift's judgment and his capacity for mercy, but then perhaps his novel might not have been as effective or enduring if it had been sanitized.

Though, to be honest, I still haven't quite recovered.

SOUNDTRACK:

Blancmange - "Living on the Ceiling"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L03PJ...

Telemann - "Loure der gesitteten Houyhnhnms & Furie der unartigen Yahoos"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-GoW...

Jessica Dragonette - "Faithful Forever" [1939 Soundtrack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2Tgz...

OST - "It's a Hap-Hap-Happy Day" [1939 Soundtrack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZCPX...

OST - "All's Well" [1939 Soundtrack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr11n...

Swift Smarts: "Gulliver's Travels"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEbtS...

Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" is a remarkable work of satire that remains highly relevant today, just as it was in the eighteenth century. It is truly impressive how this book has stood the test of time. However, it is incomprehensible and deeply unsettling to me that thousands of Goodreads readers rate this book a 1 or 2. It makes me wonder if Swift was right about the Yahoos.

This is my fourth encounter with Lemuel Gulliver. My grandmother introduced me to him as a child, and I read about him again in college for an eighteenth-century literature course. In my late 20s, I revisited the story, and this week, I discovered a heavily annotated paperback copy from 1960 in the basement of my apartment building. It immediately diverted my attention from my daily life. Interestingly, this copy once belonged to "Jeff Hodge, Box 387, Amherst." If you happen to know him, please let me know, and I will return his book.

Regarding Gulliver, in my earlier readings, I admit that I enjoyed the imaginative elements of the tale as much as, if not more than, the satire. The conflicts between Lilliput and Blefuscu, the mechanics of the floating island of Laputa, and the wild inventions in the Grand Academy of Lagado were all fascinating. Swift's imagination was vast and clever, and Gulliver was a highly sympathetic character. Although I do feel sorry for his neglected wife and children, his wanderlust was perhaps a necessary part of his character. Nevertheless, it is the relevance of the satire that makes this book as applicable to the 21st century as it was to Georgian England. One doesn't need to know about Whigs and Tories to appreciate it.

In the era of so-called fake news, the shock of the Houyhnhnms on hearing "the thing which is not" still holds a compelling wisdom. And who can resist the humor and contemporary relevance of the description of learning at Lagado? It could easily apply to many top American colleges today and perhaps even our political authorities. Swift's criticism of various aspects of his age, such as slavery, class structure, colonialism, and gender inequalities in education, is rather striking. His willingness to take risks and publish a book that challenged the ruling party, the established seats of power, and the social customs of his fellow citizens is truly impressive. Like Gulliver, Swift is an honest writer who makes us face the truth about ourselves.

Needless to say, this is not a "children's book," but it is precisely the kind of book that children should read at an early age and then revisit throughout their lives. It has the power to make us think, question, and grow.

(Book 983 from 1001 books) - Gulliver’s Travels (1736), Jonathan Swift

"Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World in Four Parts by Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon & then a Captain of Several Ships" is a remarkable work by Jonathan Swift.

The story is divided into four parts. In Part I, Gulliver embarks on a Voyage to Lilliput, a land of tiny people. His ship遭遇风暴and he is washed ashore. When he wakes up, he finds himself a prisoner of the Lilliputians, who are about fifteen centimeters tall. He stays in Lilliput for a while. The Lilliputians have been at war with a neighboring country over the way to crack an egg. The king of Lilliput decides to use Gulliver's help to defeat the enemy, but when Gulliver refuses, the king orders him to be blinded. Gulliver escapes and makes his way to the neighboring country, where he builds a ship with the help of the people and sails away.

Part II takes Gulliver to Brobdingnag, a land of giants. His ship is wrecked again and he is cast ashore. The people of Brobdingnag are huge, and Gulliver is taken to the king's court after being captured and put on display. The king orders a small box to be made for Gulliver to live in. Gulliver goes on a sea voyage with the king, but a giant eagle drops his box into the sea.

In Part III, Gulliver finds himself in Laputa, a flying island. He is rescued by the Laputians, who are scientific people but spend all their time on ridiculous and useless subjects. They give Gulliver the means to continue his travels, and he visits several other places, including Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan.

Finally, in Part IV, Gulliver arrives in the land of the Houyhnhnms, where intelligent horses rule over savage humans. Gulliver, as a human with a certain degree of understanding and intelligence, is considered a dangerous threat by the horses and is expelled from the land.

Gulliver's Travels has been adapted into many different forms, such as comic strips, animated films, movies, and television series. The story, told in the form of a sea voyage by Captain Lemuel Gulliver, has different versions with some differences, but all versions share certain common elements that form the basis of the modern edition. The story begins with a brief description of the character's life and introduction, and then continues with the account of Gulliver's travels. It is a fascinating and thought-provoking work that has endured for centuries.

It is extremely difficult to accurately describe what Swift's masterpiece truly means to me.

Gulliver's Travels is a remarkable book that I will likely be grappling with for the remainder of my life, and I intend that in a very positive sense.

It is a wild and savage jeu d'esprit, a work that delves into the realm of religion without once mentioning God.

It is a philosophical end-game, written in unadorned and straightforward prose.

It presents a deeply pessimistic view on human nature, a scathing and lacerating attack on the primacy of Reason within Enlightenment thought.

It is also a pacifist tract, and indeed, one of the funniest books ever penned.

An earlier Penguin edition featured a foreword by the British critic (and MP!) Michael Foot, which is one of the most incisive and penetrating pieces of literary analysis that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.

This foreword added an extra layer of depth and understanding to my appreciation of this already remarkable work.