"Pride, the inevitable vice of the stupid."

In the imagination of the readers - and also non-readers - of this novel, there is the image of Gulliver lying on the beach of Lilliput, with many little people walking on him, the same image that I see now depicted on the cover. It is a partial and limited image of this masterpiece by Swift. Because, in my opinion, Gulliver's journey to Lilliput, which is the first of the four stories told in the novel, is perhaps the least interesting from the perspective of the literary value of the work. Certainly, it is the most fantastic and entertaining story, together with the immediately following one, in the upside-down kingdom of Brobdingnag, where the inhabitants are as tall as towers and Gulliver is smaller than the court dwarf of the Queen. Their reading, accompanied by the vivid images in front of the eyes of the adventures of poor Gulliver, who, among other things, ends up three-quarters of his body inside the osso buco eagerly devoured by the Queen of Brobdingnag, has entertained me and stimulated my imagination.

In the last two voyages narrated in the book, the tone changes and a sarcastic criticism of the customs and ideas of so-called civilized societies prevails, where intellectual pride and Machiavellian sophistries reign. And so in the kingdom of Lagado - where the only sciences studied are mathematics and music but whose inhabitants only create failures, crooked houses and ridiculous clothes - a fierce criticism of Cartesian rationalism is read, which considers mathematics the only methodological model of all knowledge (there is no room for fantasy and invention). While the Houyhnhnm, animals similar to horses, whose country is the destination of Gulliver's last journey, govern and keep as slaves other beasts, the yahoo, completely similar to humans, and live according to a philosophical conception assimilable to naturalistic Enlightenment, in the perfect binomial Nature-Reason that makes them rational and immune from human vices such as lying, dissimulation and everything that leads to intellectual doubt.

Despite the tone of admiration for this last people, whose life seems perfect, criticisms also emerge of this system of thought, which knows no doubts but only cognitive certainties, "since Reason teaches us to assert or deny only the things of which we are certain; and beyond our knowledge, neither one nor the other thing is possible.." Gulliver (that is, Swift), always a foreigner among his kind, after having led us in allegorical voyages through utopian countries with the aim of putting the customs of the contemporaries to the test, comes to a very bitter conclusion, an appeal-less condemnation, albeit with a smile on his lips, of the human race that abuses Reason to debase it in vices and defects that make it greedy and insensitive: "my reconciliation with the species of yahoo in general would perhaps not be so difficult if they were content with the vices and follies to which Nature has destined them... but when I see a mass of deformities and diseases, both physical and spiritual, swollen with pride, then immediately all the limits of my tolerance collapse". A teaching of universal value, left to us by a great writer who is considered a precursor of the Enlightenment, but also capable of anticipating its negative aspects.

This was my favorite required reading in high school.

Well, actually, it was probably tied with Animal Farm. It came as a very pleasant and unexpected surprise.

The reference points I had were the cartoon retellings of this from my youth.

I only really had an image of Gulliver vs the Lilliputians.

And that was only the most basic "giant in a land full of very small people" storyline.

Well, they were trying to entertain children, so it doesn't have to get much more complex than that.

But, the book is made up of more stories than just Gulliver as a giant.

Hence the Travels - plural.

The content of these stories is witty and not-so-thinly veiled political and social commentary.

In the end, it didn't feel like required reading at all.

It was a truly enjoyable adventure I was glad to take!

Moreover, the different lands and cultures Gulliver encounters add a rich tapestry to the narrative.

From the tiny Lilliputians to the giant Brobdingnagians, each story offers a unique perspective on human nature and society.

The book's satire is both sharp and humorous, making it a delight to read.

Even though it was assigned reading, I found myself completely engaged and eager to discover what would happen next in Gulliver's travels.

It's a classic that continues to resonate with readers of all ages.

I was inspired to revisit Gulliver’s Travels by a recent reading of Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau, and also by More’s Utopia, which I have read a couple of times over the past few years.

It was fascinating to read GT with these two books in mind. More, who gets a reverent name-check in Book III, seems the presiding spirit for the first two books, with their airy, poised satire and subtle modulations of register. The floating magnetic island of Laputa, which communicates with its earth-bound subjects by lowering down strings on which they tie their petitions, only needed to be condensed into a perfectly chiselled paragraph to be quite at home in Calvino’s fabulous gazetteer.

I can see why many readers find Books I and II the most successful parts of the book. They are the parts where the book’s constituent elements are most completely in harmony. The Lilliput book devolves into a political morality tale halfway through, while the Brobdingnag book introduces the motif of the rational Other’s view of the iniquities of European culture.

Perhaps as a result of having read Dr Moreau so recently, one aspect of GT that struck me was its misogyny and sexual squeamishness. Gulliver’s lack of sexual instinct and his disgust for women’s bodies are especially obvious in certain passages. This element of visceral, bodily disgust makes Swift’s satire distinctive and disruptive.

He is clearly steeped in the classical tradition of satire, but also seems close to Christian moralizing traditions. Swift is often described as misanthropic, but anthropophobic seems a more accurate term for the acute physical repulsion Gulliver feels towards humanity at the end of his travels.

However, the book is also very funny. For example, I loved the suggestion by a professor in Lagado’s “School of Political Projectors” for a fiscal system in which people are taxed on their outstanding qualities and talents, as estimated by themselves.

I just read this review through prior to posting it and it struck me that I’m leaning perhaps too heavily on the work’s darker aspects.

I truly enjoyed Gulliver's Travels to a much greater extent than I had initially anticipated.

The satire within the book was exceptionally clever in several aspects. For instance, the Lilliputians, where those wearing higher heeled shoes were taller and represented the "high church" as opposed to the shorter (lower heeled inhabitants) "low church", was a brilliant concept. Additionally, the flying island (England) in part 3 being able to slam down on smaller islands (Ireland) was an interesting analogy that added depth to the story. The contrast of Gulliver being a giant in the first story and then small among giants in the second story, along with how the respective inhabitants treated him, was also quite engaging.

Throughout the four travels, Jonathan Swift evolved and broadened his scope. He transitioned from specific political satire of his home country, England, to a scathing indictment of humanity in general with his portrayal of the Yahoos. His view and critique of mankind in the last story became really quite vicious.

The adventure aspect of Gulliver's Travels was also well executed. However, the formula of a shipwreck each time could have been varied a little in each story to add more diversity. Maybe going underground in a cave, getting lost in the jungle, or something else different could have worked just as effectively.

Overall, I rate this book 4 stars.

\\n  \\n    Book Review\\n  \\n

If you've never heard of Jonathan Swift before, perhaps this will jog your memory. In one of his other famous works, A Modest Proposal, he shockingly suggests that we should eat babies to survive. Whaaaaat? You're probably thinking I'm crazy for talking about this. But there are a few things to remember. Swift is Irish, and it's all satire. So let's not take it too seriously.


Now, the point of this review is not A Modest Proposal, but Swift's other famous work, Gulliver's Travels. Swift wrote these novels/essays about 300 years ago, when the government controlled everything. He was a rebel, but a good one, and his works are truly fantastic.


In Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver encounters several new species of people on his travels, such as the Brobdingnag folks and the Lilliputians. It's not a non-politically correct book; rather, it's a satire that comments on society's values and the things people say and do. The language may be a little stilted, but it's still an enjoyable read.


If you're looking for something satirical, give Gulliver's Travels a try. Read the first two voyages, and you'll get the drift. It's a bit lengthy, but you can even skim a little. The things Swift has to say are still mostly relevant to how we feel about government today, just with different priorities and levels of occurrence.


Gulliver's Travels was one of the fastest published and absorbed works of literature in history. People loved it! America wasn't even a country when this was published. So, give it a chance and see for yourself.



\\n  \\n    About Me\\n  \\n

For those new to me or my reviews, here's the scoop. I read a lot, write a lot, and now blog a lot. First, the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com. There, you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge, and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. You can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

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There are numerous instances in this novel where a person benefits significantly from having an understanding of the historical and political events that were taking place during Swift's era. However, for the most part, this remarkable satire focuses on the process of politics, thought, and folly, rather than being a roman a clef type of scathing attack. As a result, the discerning modern reader should have no problem.

And man! Swift's biting social satire encompasses everything from the methods by which we elect politicians (and the very pursuit of politics) to the absurdity of intellectual pursuits when they come at the expense of physical awareness or practicality. He takes on the silliness of the entire world and mocks it with a sharp wit. This is a book that is eminently quotable, often hilariously funny, and offers a thoughtful and thought-provoking examination of things that are commonly accepted but perhaps shouldn't be.

This is one of those classics that everyone thinks they know, but in reality, they don't. Yes, I'm aware that you've seen the island of Lilliput with the tiny people tying Gulliver up on the beach, but no, that's not what the book is truly about. Unfortunately, none of the adaptations of this book have been nearly as funny (and while the funny ones are indeed more humorous than the stodgy TV miniseries that have been produced, they are generally lacking in substance and courage), nor as striking or bold. Consequently, what people think of the book is almost entirely incorrect and misled. For the reader who is not particularly familiar with satire, this might, at times, be a bit difficult to understand, but with a little concentration (wait, they are elected to political office by jumping higher than anyone else on a tightrope?), a wealth of mirth and delight will be revealed.

Please read this book. It's a joy to reread each time, and although it requires some effort, it manages to delight even the jaded and bored kids in my Brit Lit class.

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I only remember the story of the Lilliputians from childhood, and that was obviously edited. Now that I have read the entire bizarre novel, I realize it is much more than that.

It is a satire on the political and class structures in England at the time (17th & early 18thC). Without the extensive notes in my edition and the discussion by one of the GR classics groups, I certainly would not have been able to understand the subtext of this work.

Although in Swift's contemporary time, this was dubbed a parody of the travelogues of the day, it is a fantastical work with a touch of science fiction thrown in. The first two books flow well into one another as mirror images of Gulliver's perspective. However, the 3rd book was disjointed to me, and the 4th book definitely capped off Gulliver's journey both literally and thematically.

Now I know where the term Yahoo came from. Gulliver portrays the bestial nature of man in this class of creatures. He is so disgusted by the Yahoos that when he returns to the lands of man, he is unable to reintegrate into his family life and society. He can no longer distinguish between the Yahoos and mankind in general.

As Gulliver interacts with all these different cultures in his travels, his outlook on life changes. It goes from one of wonder and curiosity to cynicism and finally disillusionment in humanity in the present, without any potential for improvement.

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

Swift’s masterpiece, the brilliant satire Gulliver's Travels, was published in 1726. Swift lived in the 18th century, a time of great societal changes. The legacy of the Enlightenment culminated in the French Revolution, causing significant political and cultural upheavals. Meanwhile, European exploration of the world advanced, leading to increased colonization of the Americas and other parts, intensifying mass migrations and expanding the slave trade globally.

The novel is divided into four parts, each chronicling one of Gulliver's adventures. It has an epistolary form, with Gulliver himself as the narrator. Swift presents the events as they occurred, striving for emotional detachment and objectivity, without deep reflections. He never breaks character, and we see the world solely through Gulliver’s eyes, making the narration somewhat unreliable. The language is similar to that of Robinson Crusoe, with long, detailed descriptions, a somewhat dry and preachy tone, and racist and imperialist overtones. However, Swift uses this form to ridicule the adventure genre of novels, making inappropriate jokes and unexpectedly describing excretory bodily functions or genitals. He also weaves a fantastic story that could, in parts, be considered speculative fiction. Through the narrator's claims of imaginative events, he precisely mocks those who include untrue events in their travelogues and pass them off as true. Through his satirical overtones, Swift critiques colonialism and slavery, European governments, rulers, scientists, doctors, attorneys, and the complete human nature.

The first of Gulliver's adventures, in the land of Lilliputians, is the most famous. The Lilliputians are people only 15.24 centimeters tall. Here, Swift highlights the human tendency to consider themselves the most important creatures despite their small size, unaware of their insignificance in the universe. The government of Lilliput is unable to make and adhere to important decisions, and their ruler abuses power. The Lilliputians have a heavily bureaucratic society, with absurd rules and social conventions and brutal punishments for non-compliance. Their obsession with rules stems from an inflated ego, as they need a rigid system to hide their insignificance. They also attempt to use Gulliver as a weapon in their petty wars, showing how someone's grandiosity can lead to their exploitation by others. Gulliver is endangered by their numbers and is eventually accused of high treason. Their court and punishment system is not a reflection of justice; rather, the more innocent a person is, the heavier and more brutal the punishment. The absurdity of the legal system is thus highlighted. They have a conflict with another nation over the best way to break an egg - on the smaller or larger end. Here, Swift comments on the conflict between Catholics and Protestants. Gulliver is not surprised by the absurdity of the conflict over breaking an egg, demonstrating how people are well-adapted to insignificant differences causing large divisions and violence among mankind.

On his next adventure, Gulliver visits the land of Brobdingnag, a land of giants. The giants of Brobdingnag contrast with the Lilliputians, showing that the concept of a person's size, significance, and power changes as the world around them changes. Gulliver's dominance and grandiosity, as well as his vulnerability, are relative concepts, depending on the size of those around him. In Brobdingnag, Gulliver experiences constant anxiety and a feeling of inferiority as he goes from being colossal to insignificant and endangered. The residents of Brobdingnag have a tendency towards extremes, being prone to both greed and tenderness. Here, Gulliver is exploited again by a farmer, showing that exploitation is a matter of opportunity, not size, social status, or wealth. The king and queen of Brobdingnag are not malevolent and care for Gulliver, but at the same time, they regard him as a funny puppet. For them, it is unimaginable that Gulliver is a complete person, a man with a homeland, history, laws, and philosophy. The king is interested in Gulliver's stories only as entertainment, mirroring the European sentiment of the time towards foreigners and other cultures, considering them fun and interesting but not to be taken seriously. The king also has a very narrow, limited perspective of the world. He has absolute authoritarian power, the country is isolated, they do not travel, they learn only a few subjects in education, only those with practical significance, and they are not interested in philosophy and abstract ideas. They are very bodily, sensual, and sexual, prone to pleasures and celebrations, with no interest in the progress of the mind or culture. Their king does not understand war or democracy, representing a peaceful but limited and isolated monarchy. After being rescued from the land of giants, Gulliver cannot get used to the size of normal people and considers himself bigger than them.

Gulliver’s third adventure is in the land of Laputa, a floating island. Swift uses this setting to satirize scholars, scientists, philosophers, Pythagoreans, and the Enlightenment. In contrast to Brobdingnag, in the land of Laputa, mathematics and music are of the highest importance, and the importance of theory and science is taken to an extreme. The Laputans know complex geometry but are unable to build proportionate houses or make a decent suit. Their theoretical knowledge is deeply impractical, as they conduct absurd experiments that are useless or even destructive, complicating matters to an obscure level that becomes counterproductive. The wise man of Laputa embodies the futility of the search for knowledge as a means to an end, without considering the practical and concrete world. This reflects Swift’s thought that the philosophers of the Enlightenment were too theoretical in their thinking, to the point of obscurity. It is a critique of schools, educational institutions, and societies of top intellectuals. Gulliver also visits the land of sorcerers, where he encounters the spirits of the past - Alexander the Great, Caesar, Homer, Aristotle, and Descartes. Here, Gulliver realizes how knowledge of history is manipulatively used for someone's interest, as the history he knew was full of misinterpretations, and he learns that all knowledge of history is subjective.

The last adventure takes Gulliver to the land of noble talking horses, Houyhnhnms. The Houyhnhnms use the benefits of a rational mind combined with moral virtues, creating a country where the common good is of the greatest value. They tell only the truth and live without lies, injustice, corruption, class, diseases, in an atmosphere of seemingly minimal suffering and inequality. They maintain domination with physical strength and reason. Here, friendship and goodwill replace romantic love and family. Marriages are arranged for the production of specifically two children of different sexes, and they exchange children if they are of the same sex, granting absolute gender equality but at the loss of emotional connections. The Houyhnhnms have no emotional experiences of love (the death of a member of society is insignificant), which gives meaning to life. They do not celebrate or rejoice, creating a peaceful but somewhat cold utopia with the loss of individual identity and diversity.

In this utopian society, the ideal of the Enlightenment where reason rules everything, the horses rule over the Yahoos - the savage, hairy, primitive, animal-like men. The Houyhnhnms reject the primal human nature reflected in the Yahoos, exposing their tendency towards superiority if one looks and behaves differently, rejecting everything that is not in line with their ideal of culture and reason. Benevolence and friendship are reserved only for their kind, embodying the basic idea of colonialism. Gulliver idealizes the Houyhnhnms, blind to their hypocrisy and narcissism, and wants to integrate into their society. In his quest to merge with the collective, he tries to give up the human identity that makes him different, ashamed of his similarity to the Yahoos.

But Gulliver is deceived because he identifies with the horses. The Houyhnhnms are a reflection of himself - his superiority he felt towards every culture he encountered, but also his superiority he feels towards European society.

Gulliver is ultimately the antihero who used the exploration of the world and different societies to make the faults of human nature visible to him, but without being aware that he himself is also part of society, akin to the human nature he keeps critiquing, full of flaws. Gulliver is both “gullible” and full of prejudices and false concepts. He is grandiose, egocentric, pliable, without a firm attitude, restless, adventurous, insensitive, unsympathetic, always running from everything less than ideal, even if that means running away from his pregnant wife and children. Gulliver seeks the phantom of a perfect society and rejects the dark and primal side of human nature as unworthy of love. He criticizes and mocks others but never ridicules himself and his shortcomings. It is no wonder that Gulliver becomes a figure of repulsion and rejection in any society - he ultimately cannot integrate even into the society of narcissistic horses he regards as ideal. Unlike Don Quixote, his illusions and prejudices remain until the end, as does his disgust of others.

Through the novel, in each adventure and the culture Gulliver encounters, we see a progression of political systems from the unjust, brutal authoritarian bureaucracy of Lilliput, to the benevolent but ignorant monarchy of Brobdingnag, to the leaders who value science and philosophy in Laputa, and, finally, to the land of Houyhnhnms, the society that values reason, morality, and equality - the utopian society that revolutions promised in the 18th century. But even the ideal society, enlightened by reason and morality, dominates tribes and races that are different, those they decide are not decent or cultural enough to be equal. The morally superior horses violently push against the primal part of human nature symbolically represented by the Yahoos, revealing the criticism of enlightened, morally superior European societies that continue to flourish in colonialism and the exponentially growing slave trade, brutally oppressing different cultures they call “savages” in the period known as the "century of lights" or the "century of reason". Colonization is the ultimate expression of pride and narcissism. Even worse than open tyranny is the oppression that comes from moral superiority.

Recommended for readers going through the literary canon, lovers of satire, misanthropes, social critics, and also for narcissists who think all humans are corrupt, except themselves.

Gulliver's Travels is a remarkable work that draws upon at least five traditions of world literature. These traditions have been active from classical times to the present day. They include the literal travel account, which provides a detailed description of the places visited. Realistic fiction presents a believable and relatable story. Utopian fiction imagines an ideal society. Symbolism uses symbols to convey deeper meanings. And the fantastic voyage takes the reader on an extraordinary adventure.

Interestingly, the use of fantasy to make a serious statement, which was virtually eliminated by two centuries of emphasis on realism, is now reappearing in our own day. However, it has unfortunately taken a wrong turn. Instead of making a positive statement, most authors are now doing it in a negative way. This may be due to various factors such as the current social and political climate.

Nevertheless, it is important to remember that fantasy can still be a powerful tool for making positive statements and inspiring change. We should encourage authors to use it in a more constructive and meaningful way.

# Biblioteca Afectivă

In today's world, who still reads the works of Jonathan Swift? And who knows that the email service we all use, yahoo.mail, is actually related to this wonderful novel? I will only comment on a very amusing episode.

In "Gulliver's Travels" (III: 5), the narrator visits the great academy in Lagado and sees, in one hall, the machinery of Raymundus Lullus. But the great academy also has a section of philologist scholars who are dedicated to the construction of a universal language accessible to any being in the universe.

What does this new language look like? Here is the first project. Polysyllabic words are reduced to lexical units consisting of a single syllable. Verbs, adjectives, and participles are eliminated. Only nouns, monosyllabic names, remain. People will communicate with each other only through syllables: pa, vu, ga, di, ke, zo. Fortunately, Swift's scholars are not satisfied with just that. The perfect language will also do without syllables. They have conceived a new project.

Now, words are completely abolished. If nouns always designate things and only things, it is more appropriate to bring the things themselves when you want to express something. The language is truly universal and can be understood by anyone. We discuss by showing things and only things. Man no longer makes sounds, does not move his lips, but points with his finger. The advantage of this language, in the opinion of Jonathan Swift's academics, is the protection of the throat and lungs. The excessive pronunciation of propositions leads to the corrosion of the throat and the reduction of the volume of the lungs. It is better to keep your mouth shut: in this way, you also protect yourself from viruses and remain perfectly healthy until death.

But is it possible to communicate with things and only with things? We no longer say the proposition "The apple is red." We simply present a red apple. If we need light, we show a match, a candle, a lamp with a wick soaked in oil. If we want to praise something sweet, we offer the other person a raisin, a piece of brown sugar candy, a kiss. Nothing could be simpler, right?

I don't often give one-star reviews. In fact, I make an effort not to waste my precious time reading books that might potentially deserve such a rating.

When I was in grade school, I didn't have a liking for the excerpts of Gulliver's Travels that were assigned to us. Then, when the entire book was assigned at university, I thought perhaps my ability to appreciate it might have developed and grown.

However, to my disappointment, the answer was a resounding nope.

Despite the existence of numerous juvenile adaptations, this is most definitely not a story that is suitable for children. In fact, it's hardly fit for anyone. The so-called "story" seems to hinder its satire, and vice versa. It appears that Swift would have been better off sticking to writing essays.

Gulliver's Travels holds some interest as a historical work, but as an example of "classic English fiction," it has been seriously misclassified.