Gulliver's Travels - (Expert and Famous Teacher Interpretation Edition)

Author: Swift
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-10-01
Features: The satire in Gulliver's Travels is a multi-edged sword. The first to be criticized and mocked is contemporary England, or the world's then-emerging "modern society." Gulliver's adventures take place in Lilliput. There he can drag an entire fleet of warships with one hand, and at a single meal he consumes a large number of chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep, along with many barrels of wine. To transport this giant creature to the capital, the Lilliputians mobilize five hundred craftsmen, countless ropes, nine hundred "giants" tasked with lifting and carrying, fifteen thousand "tall" imperial horses, and so on. In such a miniature nation, all ambitions, sycophancy, political struggles, and wars inevitably appear petty and insignificant. Party disputes are divided based on the height of shoe heels, with the "High-Heeled Party" and the "Low-Heeled Party" locked in fierce rivalry; neighboring countries not only seek to conquer and enslave each other but also debate trivial "principles," such as which end of an egg to crack first. The king selects officials through rope-dancing competitions, so all court officials, hoping for promotion, risk breaking their necks practicing this circus skill; to earn a few colorful ribbons tied around their waists as rewards from the king, officials perform various ridiculous acts. This court reminds readers of England in every way. Even the finance minister who betrays Gulliver, Flimnap, is considered to be based on the prototype of the then-English cabinet leader, Walpole.