Readings Classics: Gulliver’s Travels

Description

Gulliver’s Travels describes the four voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship’s surgeon. In Lilliput he discovers a world in miniature; towering over the people and their city, he is able to view their society from the viewpoint of a god. However, in Brobdingnag, a land of giants, tiny Gulliver himself comes under observation, exhibited as a curiosity at markets and fairs. In Laputa, a flying island, he encounters a society of speculators and projectors who have lost all grip on everyday reality; while they plan and calculate, their country lies in ruins. Gulliver’s final voyage takes him to the land of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses whom he quickly comes to admire – in contrast to the Yahoos, filthy bestial creatures who bear a disturbing resemblance to humans.

Author Biography

Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish author, poet and essayist. He was born in Dublin in 1667. He received a bachelors in arts from Trinity College, Dublin. He was famous for his outstanding satire and produced impressive works such as A Tale of a Tub, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, Gulliver’s Travels, among others. However, it was Gulliver’s Travels that won him enduring fame. He published most of his writings under pseudonyms. John Ruskin called him one of the three most influential people. Similarly, George Orwell declared him the most admirable person in spite of having disagreements on various matters. Swift also worked as a statesman’s assistant and engaged in political pamphleteering. In his later years, he became a cleric as dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. He died in 1745 and was buried next to his lifelong love Esther Johnson inside Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral.