Gulliver’s Travels: A Voyage to Lilliput.
- Jonathan Swift
Gulliver’s Travels is the story of a person’s voyages to different parts
of the world. The book is divided into four sections, each section
describing a different journey. Gulliver’s journey to Lilliput was his
most adventurous journey where he met people of less than 6 inches
of height. The thesis statement for this paper is that journey to a new
place makes a person aware of his/her country’s politics, religion, and
cultural norms and values.
An Overview of Gulliver’s Voyage to Lilliput
Gulliver was traveling through the East Indies in Asia when he was
shipwrecked. He swam to an unfamiliar shore for survival. When
Gulliver found himself in the custody of a large group of tiny people,
he became worried and upset. He was presented to the Emperor of
Lilliput. Upon getting the assurances from Gulliver, the Emperor
ordered his armed army personnel to release him and allowed him to
live in Lilliput. Gulliver showed a good behaviour while living with the
tiny people and helped them solve many of their problems. However,
he did not fulfill the orders of the Emperor to enslave the
Blefuscudians and reduce the country to Lilliput. This refusal of
Gulliver led him to the anger of the Emperor who sentenced him to be
blinded. Gulliver became frightened because of the situation and
managed to swim over to Blefusco for survival. The people of Blefusco
welcomed Gulliver and did not return him to the Lilliputians even
after getting their message to hand him over. Meanwhile, he was
rescued by an English ship, which was passing by the island. The
journey came to its end with the return of Gulliver back to his home.
A journey to a new place makes a person aware of his/her
country’s politics. In the first journey of Gulliver, he was imprisoned
by the Lilliputians. His imprisonment and struggle for freedom reveal
the political aspect of the journey. The king ordered to make Gulliver
blind so that he could see the world he way the king wanted to show
him. “It would be sufficient for you to see by the eyes of the
ministers”. If we talk about Gulliver’s own country, England, we can
say that at that time, England was the most powerful country of the
world. England was perceived as the center of the world politics.
There were two main parties, which included High heels, the
conservative ones and Low Heels, the progressive ones.
A journey to a new place makes a person aware of his/her
country’s religion. Along with describing the political mindset of
Lilliputians, Gulliver also highlighted their superstitious mindset. They
bury their dead with their heads directly downward, because they
hold an opinion, that in eleven thousand moons they are all to rise
again”. The Lilliputians seemed to be superstitious and used to fight
against those who were accused of making schisms in religion.
Gulliver seemed to be criticizing the religious beliefs of both
Lilliputians and the English. He was being mocked for the religious war
that was going on in England.
The journey to Lilliput made Gulliver aware of the morality of
the Lilliputians. Lilliputians took good care of Gulliver and provided
him with every comfort that they could. Lilliputians also ensured his
safety. “Gulliver is given a strong guard to protect him” (“Gulliver’s
Travels”). However, the response of the Emperor towards Gulliver
upon not obeying his commands destroyed the image of Lilliputians.
Gulliver found himself superior to Lilliputians because of his high
morals. He believed that his own country’s morality to be very high as
compared to the morality of the Lilliputians.
The journey to Lilliput also made Gulliver aware of his own
personality. He learned that morality is more than anything to a
person is. He learned that a person should not fulfill the wrong orders
of anyone, as he disobeyed the Emperor in the voyage to Lilliput. He
also revealed his caring and loving nature in the book. “My gentleness
and good behaviour had gained so far on the emperor and his court”.
Summing it up, a journey to a new place makes a person aware
of his/her country’s politics, religion, and cultural norms and values.
Gulliver’s journey to Lilliput was full of experiences and adventures,
which formed the most attractive part of the whole book.
