My name is Lemuel Gulliver and I'm trying to find my way home to England. This novel's full title is Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in four parts, by Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon and then a captain of several ships. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and in this installment of Mojo Notes, we'll be exploring ten pieces of trivia about Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
How long have I been away? They said your ship was lost. I thought you were dead. How long have I been gone?
Nearly nine years. Born in 1667 in Dublin, Ireland, Jonathan Swift was mainly brought up by his uncle after his father's death. Following his university graduation, he worked as a diplomat's secretary. Swift soon began writing satire, poetry, and political works.
Unfortunately, his physical and mental health worsened and he died in 1745. Number 9. Influences and Inspirations. Gulliver's Travels was partially inspired by Swift's involvement in English politics and his experiences with human nature. The book is considered a satire with elements of fantasy and parodies the genre known as traveler's tales. Where are we?
We are on the flying island of Labuta. By presenting a somewhat negative view of humankind, Swift also challenged ideas from the Enlightenment era. I want to go back to my cell.
This place is full of yahoos. Number 8. Settings and Era. Each part of the novel details one of Lemuel Gulliver's voyages to various locations. While places like Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Leputa, and the country of the Huinums are fictional, The story follows Lemuel Gulliver's voyages by sea. On his first trip, he lands on Lilliput, where he meets people who are six inches tall.
He's a whopper! He's under constant guard, father. His next voyage takes him to Lilliput, where he meets people who are six inches tall.
him to Brobdingnag, where the people can grow to over 70 feet tall. Next, Gulliver finds himself on Laputa's Flying Island. Before reaching Japan, he also visits the Balna Barbi mainland, the magician-filled Glub-Dub-Drib, and Lugnag with its aging immortals. Drink from this water and you will never fear death. Never.
On his last voyage, Gulliver experiences the land of the Huynhims, where intelligent horses rule primitive humans named Yahu's. Huynhims! That's quite enough of that, thank you. Horses that talked. Horses that built houses.
That built cows. That kept pets. Number 6. Lemuel Gulliver.
Hi. I fear I may shock you with my personal experience of their practices, but I believe it's vital that you share my deep revulsion at the antics of our neighbors. As the novel's narrator, Lemuel Gulliver is a smart Englishman with a background in medicine, navigation, and mathematics.
The island was controlled by a giant magnet. By ingenious movements, it could be made to rise or fall. The only disadvantage to this, as far as I could see, was that whenever the lodestone was moved, all the compasses on the island moved as well.
So the Leputians had absolutely no idea where they were going. Thanks to his love of traveling and learning about people, he's been on many different adventures. Readers easily relate to Gulliver in the beginning, because he's honest, naive, and uses common sense to survive. As he becomes more arrogant, readers start taking him less seriously and laugh at his absurd actions. His curiosity and trip-taking ultimately drive him crazy.
Let me out of here! There's been some terrible mistake! and cause him to reject others, especially human society.
What is your argument, sir? I think the proposition being advanced is that this society of horses is superior to our own. Is that your suggestion, sir?
I'm not suggesting it, I'm insisting on it! Yes, sir! Number 5 The Lilliputians and Brobdignagians The Lilliputians are a tiny, small-minded, self-important, hypocritical people. who are surprisingly dangerous despite their size.
The giant has shown mercy. How marvelous. Ruled by an emperor who's reliant on low-heeled shoe wearers to make important decisions, they're constantly at war and represent England's political situation during Swift's time. We must execute him. Execute him?
You can't do that. Are you with us, Lord Chancellor, or with a monster? While Gulliver is large and potentially powerful in Lilliput, He's powerless in Brobdingnag, where the people laugh at Gulliver's weaknesses. I'm a man just like you! Though the gigantic Brobdingnagians were swift warning that larger forces could potentially end English dominance on the world stage, they're mostly a peaceful people, with simple laws and rules based on reason.
A farmer brings in his crop and takes home some of his neighbors. Look, each takes his share and no one goes hungry. But unless some people are starving, how can there be structure to society? Gulliver doesn't feel safe or equal to them, despite their kindness.
Doesn't it mean the poor have no recourse to the law? Well, the poor are too busy working to need justice. Number 4. The Lepushans, Huynhams, and Yahoos.
The Lepushans are people who use magnets to control their floating island home. They represent the dangers and limitations of abstract and theoretical knowledge, as these have made them oblivious to each other and all human concerns. These masters are engaged in contemplation of the universe.
Do you wish to enter into discourse with them? Well, yes. If you permit me, sir.
Since the Lepushan king harshly rules the island and the land below, One of the cities successfully revolts. This rebellion is a symbol of Great Britain's relations with Ireland. In the country of the Huinims, Gulliver encounters horses that represent the strengths and flaws in reason, as they are smarter than the greedy, violent, and dirty human-like creatures called Yahoos. I can't sleep here!
You saw how they tried to attack me! And the smell is unbearable! What if they try to set on me in the middle of the night? Doze!
Doze! Yahoos! Yahoo's. Number 3. Values and Themes. One of the novel's main themes is politics, and whether a proper form of government exists, especially as related to the ideas of might versus right, and the individual versus society.
It explores the practical use of science, the limits of human understanding, how class and rank affect society, and the relationships between lies and the truth. Swift also appears to support a morality that favors loyalty and kindness over greed and dishonesty. You don't understand.
You cannot understand where I'm being. Tell me what's wrong. Help me to understand.
Number 2. Modern Popularity. Published under a pen name in 1726, Gulliver's Travels was an instant hit and has been in print for almost three centuries. While terms like Lilliputian and Yahoo have become English expressions, the novel itself has spawned multiple sequels. Number 1. Screen Adaptations.
Gulliver's Travels has been adapted for the screen on numerous occasions, including animated productions targeting children and a well-received live-action TV series. In 2010, a fantasy comedy with the same name added a modern setting to the tale. Where am I?
I'm going to close my eyes, and then I'm going to open them and I'll be home in bed. Okay. Okay.
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Could I deny my true nature any longer? Was this the real man? A brute? When I caught sight of myself in the lake, I wanted to turn away in disgust.