This is a Multiple Choice exercise for students reading the full version of Gulliver's Travels.
We start with the first of four, A Voyage to Lilliput.
Read the questions and choose the best option.Then write a comment to your teacher about how you have enjoyed the exercise, that part of the book or whatever opinion you´d like to share with us.
Gulliver in Lilliput on PhotoPeach
Read the questions and choose the best option.Then write a comment to your teacher about how you have enjoyed the exercise, that part of the book or whatever opinion you´d like to share with us.
Gulliver in Lilliput on PhotoPeach
I have liked the book and its political and social satire where Swift very well criticized and ridiculed our corrupt society and political order. Sometimes during the reading even seems that Swift hated mankind as a whole and each person itself very much. Especially I liked the way he described the system of childern´s education in Lilliput country which is in ironical way also describes our todas´s system of children education. On the whole in A Voyage to Lilliput Swift satirize the human nature, the stupid political life of emperors, ministers, deputies, courtiers, etc.
ResponderEliminarSo it is not only a good adventure story for childern, but also it is a perfect example of satire and ironical book of our modern system of life in general and politicians in particular.
Mila
To be honest, I didn’t like “A voyage to Lilliput”, the first part of “Gulliver’s travels”. I found the reading very tedious because it hasn’t dialogues, and from my point of view, this makes the story more difficult to read.
ResponderEliminarAnyway, I liked a few situations, as when Gulliver used his urine to extinguish the fire in the palace. I had seen this scene in a recent film about Gulliver’s travels, but in that moment I thought that it could be an invention of the screenwriter, for doing the film more enjoyable. Another interesting thing is the way that the political parties of Lilliput are described, a sharp criticism to the two political parties that there was in England in the 18th century.
Isaac Cernuda
That's a good point of view.
EliminarYou are right, there are some funny scenes that don't seem to be part of an 18th century book.
Thank you for your contribution.
When I started to read the book I realized that I knew the story, even I could remember some details like the way Gulliver arrived to Lilliput or how he found himself when he woke up, with his arms and legs fastened to the ground or even the arrows. Perhaps I started the book sometime a lot of years ago, I don't know, but if I did it I only read a few pages. Although I find this book very difficult to read, I've enjoyed it a lot. I think it's a pleasant and entertaining story and I'm surprised to think that it was written 300 years ago. I enjoyed reading funny parts like the way Gulliver was fed, the inventory or how he put out the fire. It's also a very descriptive book, the author describes the conditions of his liberty and the lifestyle of the inhabitants of Lilliput very deeply. And, like a good adventure story, the action when Gulliver escapes from Lilliput and from Blefuscu.
ResponderEliminarReading this book has been a bit difficult for me because the vocabulary is complicated and the style is strange (I imagine it's from the 18th century). Moreover, at the begining the capital letters confused me. I felt disappointed when I couldn't understand some sentences.
ResponderEliminarHowever, there are some episodes which paid my attention. The first one was that the cause of the war was the way of breaking eggs. This shows how ridiclous some conflicts are. I enjoy the reading when he extinguished the fire with his urine.
Estefanía Díaz
Thank you, Estefanía for your contribution.
EliminarGulliver's Travels, the Jonathan Swift's book, is made for four separate stories , four travels, which the writer tell us about the human behavior in and its relation to power.
ResponderEliminarThe first two trips show us how the biggest Gulliver fits in a 18th century society. He's accepted because he's an useful phenomenon. But for the ambitious and jealous rulers the useful giant becomes dangerous soon. They release Gulliver can think. Put his eyes out may be the best way to get total obedience.
Criticism of 18th century society that the writer does is forceful. Ridiculous rites of the political class are showed in order to readers can judge and compare with the current situation. The first trip is a beautiful parable burning relevance.
Paco
Thank you very much, Paco for sharing with us your points of view.
ResponderEliminarI think this is a quite interesting book because it was written a lot of years ago, however it seems more recent because of some things. In the first travel to Lilliput, it tells us about a war between two countries because an absurd reason. Moreover, they also use Gulliver in their own interest, even they threat him like a hero. For example, when he saves the royal palace from fire or when he takes the ships away from the enemy. But when he tries to give his opinion and gets his own way, he becames a problem. So they don´t want to kill him, just remove his eyes to blind him because he will be more useful for them. These kind of things are happening nowadays in real life, so it seems a modern book in this way.
ResponderEliminarAlberto Suárez García
Thank you very much, Alberto; it's a very good point of view!
EliminarI think that this book is a great book.
ResponderEliminarFIRSTLY I had already read gullivers travels many years ago,when I was a child and in that moment I couldnt see the true sense that Jonathan swift wanted to print out to his story.
SECOND,This book can be well-read both for a child and for an adult,for the child may be an adventures book and for the adult the same but in addition would be a book whose plot critizes the society of that moment.
FROM my point of view one of the critiques more succeeded in the trip to LILLIPUT is a stupid civil war for a thing as absurd as the form of eating an egg.These kind of things are happening nowadays in real life.Another good critique is when GULLIVER it reports us that Lilliputians punish bad behaviour as we do now,but they also reward good behaviour ,which we have never done till this moment.
IN conclusion I was hooked to the first travel,perhaps some words and expressions are a little bit difficult for our level,however the plot is implausible at the same time as is a thought provoking chapter.
DAVID FM.
Thank you, David.
Eliminargood use of adjectives to describe books
Although I was quite difficult to read this first part of the book, I liked the way the author criticizes the society of his time through the customs of the Lilliputians. In my opinion, with the experience of Gulliver in this country of dwarfs, Swift alludes to the slavery in those days around the world showing a prisoner who is well fed, respected and heard, and repulsing the invasion and annihilation of the inhabitants,as occurred with the discovery of America.
ResponderEliminarSwift uses the subrrealismo fun to read, for example,when he explain the reason for the rivalry between Lilliput and Blefuscu with how to crack eggs, or as Gulliver extinguished the fire originated in the emperor's palace after drinking that delicious wine called Glimigrim. I think it's a good way to denounce the type of political system in many countries and the atrocities,that often, the human can make being, and the reasons, why they occur, are so absurd as to confront two countries as crack an egg properly.
CRISTINA LÓPEZ SUÁREZ
Thank you very much, Cristina.You've proved to have taken the essence of the chapter
EliminarSUMMARY PART ONE: A voyage to Lilliput
ResponderEliminarGulliver's travels is an advanture book written by Jonathan Swift and it is considerated something more than an advanture book.
At the begining, Gullibert tells us about his confortable social position. His father had a state in Nottinghamshire, they had a fortune and in this way he could study, read and travel a lot. Altouth he was an inteligent man who had dad a lot of interesting experiencies. At the same time, this situation is being criticed by the author.
Gullivert traveled a lot by the sea looking for new fortunes. In 1699 he did a new trip where they had problems with a violent storm. The ship sank and he appeared alone in an island. When he woke up he was prisoner by very small human creatures who had made several slender ligatures across his body. He could only move his head and he saw thousands of these creatures organised around him. They were called Liliputians bucause they live in Lilliput island.
These small creatures were around twentyfive centimetres and they looked after him with food and drinks. In a few days
Gulliver was called Man Mountain and he was considerated a friend of Lilipputians. In this way he could watch their organization, their children education and all the things in their lives, taking care the rules they had made to Gullibert. All the Liliputians though a man mountain like Gullibert could be an interesting friend for their security.
One day, there was a fire and all the Liliputians were worried. They asked him for help. Gulliver decided to urine and the fire finished. This could be a good idea but the empereor considerated that as an insult, and he acussed him of hight treason.
Perhaps with this description the author wants to critizice the way the society change the opinion, and a person can be a prisioner, helper and a treacherous in a few days.
He escaped to other island near Liliput called Blefuscu, where he prepared his return to England. He got a small ship, then he prepared little povisions and he kept a cow and a sheep in his pocket. He was lucky and in two days an English merchant found him and carried him to England where Gulliver showed the proves of his fantastic vollage, the cow and the sheep.
Thank you very much, Susi, that's a good review.I know it's not an easy book for you to read, you got it. Congratulations!
ResponderEliminarI think the main character has an open mind and a great capacity to learn. It is possible that these virtues were not very frequent at that time. I`m surprised at the ease at which Gulliver accepted his situation as a prisioner an slave. I am also stuck at the speed at which he leart the language of the new country. Gulliver got to handle it enough to have political conversations fluently.
ResponderEliminarThis issue seems to be the most interesting for the protagonist and the leaders of Lilliput.
I think the author wants to put an emphasis on openness and tolerance writing about these topics.
All in all it has been hard to me to read this first trip. This is due to the style in which it is written, the large number of adjectives and the constant use of units of measure to describe the size of people, things and distances. The latter are diferent from the international system, infrequent, and I found it difficult to make compare.
Susana Martínez