Gulliver's Travels

Gulliver's Travels

This story is a adventure. A man called Lemuel Gulliver suffers a shipwreck and is stranded on four very special places.

Gulliver is a surgeon who loves to travel, although this becomes his downfall. He does'nt earn a lot being' a doctor so he decide to travel with a ship as a ship doctor. In the story he travels to four different places and the book is divided in four parts, one for each voyage.

The first voyage takes him to the land of Lilliput. A country were the people are just about 6 inches tall. He is washed ashore the land after his ship is wrenched at sea. But when he wake up these small people have take him as a prisoner. After convincing them he comes in peace his is eventually realized and becomes a favorite by the court.
Lilliput is at war with the Blefuscudians and the reason for the mistrust is ridiculous reason like how the eat an egg. Gulliver eventually has to escape Lilliput in a raft he made from hundreds of small trees.

The second voyage takes Gulliver to the giants' world of Brobdingnag. He is the found by a farmer who is about 72 feet tall.
the farmer and his daughter eventually take Gulliver to the queen were he becomes a favorite by the court and entertain them with music.
When Gulliver tell the king and queen of Brobdingnag about Europe they strongly disapprove it. They especially don't like the thinking of guns and cannons. They don't believe that there is another country then their own. So the thought Gulliver must be a joke of the nature. Gulliver eventually manages to escape by an eagle that pick him up in his box the giant made for him as a house.

On the third trip Gulliver's ship is attacked by pirates and is stranded on a rocky island near India. From there he's rescued by a flying island, which is called Laputa. Laputa is populated by scientists who invent the most strange and unnecessary inventions Gulliver ever have seen. He makes fun of them and thinks they are uncunning fools. Gulliver also take a short side trip to the island of Glubbdrubdrib were he discuss history with ghosts of historical figures. Gulliver visit many places on this voyage and eventually he come to Japan by a douche tradesman who take him there. From Japan he gets home to England.

The forth and last voyage take Gulliver to the land of the Houyhnhnms, the horse people. The land is also inhabited by a humanlike creature called "yahoos". Yahoos are wild and animal like in their behavior. Cavemen come up in my mind thinking of these Yahoos. The horses of Houyhnhnms on the other hand are wise and a cunning people. But they despise the yahoo because of their wilderness and ignorance. The yahoos are stupid and have no language. Gulliver is ashamed to look so much alike the yahoos and the horse people eventually expel him from their household because he's a danger to their civilization. Even if they admit he's have more reason and intellect then the normal yahoo, he's too much alike them. 
When Gulliver comes home this time he doesn't want to see other people. He's despising them just as he despise the yahoos. He can't even spend time with his family. Gulliver close himself  in his house and spend most of his days talking too the horses in his stables.

These stories is made by Jonathan Swift in the middle of the 1700 (18th centaury) and is a satire of the society in Europe back then. Swift were political active and very modern for his time. For example, the island of Laputa dropped big rocks at their ground enemy and this were a early tactical bombardment that never had been used as a warfare.
But Jonathans political message in the book were missed and the book became classed as a children's book.
Gulliver wrote a political text, but not literal. He hid the political meaning behind the humor and adventure. Because even if you're not political interested this book can be a very exiting read.  Its adventure, excitement, strange made up worlds, love and war.
Personally I enjoyed the adventure before the hidden meaning but it's surely is a fun way too criticize. The reason why Jonathan hid the massage in a book like this is because it was in many ways dangerous to criticize your government and society back in these days.

As mentioned the book is divided in to four stories, four parts, four voyages. All parts are written in "I"-form so everything is happening when you read it.
The stories is written very humoristic and can easily be misplaced as an unserious book. It's highly exaggerated and almost ridicules, but in a strange cozy way. It is a classic and there is no doubt why. Actually, the ridicules things and the very interesting characters is so interesting that you could study them for years.

Its hard to know what audience Swift targeted, If he tried to target someone. Maybe he'd just wrote this satire and hoped that someone would read it. But if you look at the story today I'd say it is a children's book. You should read this without thinking about the political massage and just take forth the child in you. Just enjoy the read and adventure. Admire, hate and love the characters in the story and don't read it for what it is.

I'm sure the massage in the book work today as well. The society hasn't changed to...