1.- What was Gulliver recommended
to do by Mr. Bates?
After studying in Leyden, Holland, Gulliver
returned to England, where his master, Mr. Bates recommended him to be surgeon
to the ship Swallow. And he continued making voyages into the Levant during three
years and a half.
When he went back, he resolved to settle in
London; to which his master encouraged him. Bates also recommended him to
several patients. He took part of a small house in the old Jewy. And being
advised to marry, he did so to Mrs. Mary Burton.
Nevertheless after two years his master died, and
his business starts to fail. Therefore he determined to go to the sea, was
surgeon successively in two ships, and made several voyages for six years. During
the travels he read many books, and when he was ashore he observed dispositions
of the people, as well as he learned their languages.
2.- Could you find the exact date
when Gulliver took shipping in the Downs?
The 20th day of June1702, two months
after Gulliver retuned from his first voyage, he left again his native country
and took shipping in the Downs, in The Adventure.
They wintered at the Cape of Good Hope, for they
discovered a leak and their captain felt sick of an ague, and they couldn’t
leave till March. When they were by the Strait of Madagascar they encountered a
southern wind, called the southern monsoon, and a great storm followed by a
strong wind west-south-west, , which drew the ship off course. When a long boat
was sent to fetch water, Gulliver was left on shore, and seized by one of the
giant natives, who carried him to a giant farmer’s house. That is how Gulliver
discovered the land of the Brobdingnagians.
3.- In which voyage was Gulliver
taken by pirates?
Soon after the third Gulliver’s travel had
started, his ship was attacked by pirates. One of them spoke Dutch, and the
other was Japanese. The Japanese pirate told them they will not die, but the
Dutchman pirate punished Gulliver for talking him back by sending him out to
sea in a small boat with only four days worth of food.
That was when Gulliver discovered Laputa, the
floating island. The inhabitants lower the island and invited Gulliver to visit
the country. Gulliver found out that Laputants had servants who struck the ear
of the listeners and the mouth of the speakers with a flapper during the
conversation, in order to prevent their master minds from wandering off. When
the king decided to punish a particular region of the country, Laputans moved the
island over it and kept it above it, depriving the lands below of sun and rain.
They were also used to hear the music of the spheres, but were very bad reasoning..
Gulliver visited the academy of Lagado, where the
people were only interested on music, mathematics and speculations on nonsense
experiments, but he got bored and wanted to go back to England.
4.- How can the towns of Maldonado
and Portsmouth be said to be similar?
Both Maldonada and Portsmouth are port cities,
and pretty much the same size, so it is easy to find some acquaintance and though
receive good hospitality, as Gulliver did when he got to Maldonada. There he
was advised to go to Glubbdubdrib, the island of the magicians, where Gulliver
was able to talk to the spirits of dead people like Hannival, Caesar, Aristotle
and Descartes, as the emperor of Gubbdubdribhad had skills in necromancy. Then
Gulliver returned to Maldonada again and sailed to the kingdom of Luggnagg, where
lived some immortal people, called the Struldbrugs. The immortals became more
unhappy, envious and sad as they got older. Gulliver refused a job to stay in
Lugganagg, and left the country.
5.- What nationality was the ship
Gulliver returned to Amsterdam in?
Gulliver left Luggnagg with a lot of large pieces
of gold, real diamonds and a letter of recommendation from the king to the
emperor of Japan. Gulliver hoped to get the opportunity of returning into
Europe in a Dutch ship. So he pretended to be a Dutch merchant, shipwrecked in
a very remote country. However he asked the emperor to be excused of performing
the ceremony imposed in his countrymen, of trampling upon the crucifix, as he
had been thrown into his kingdom by his misfortunes, without any intention of
trading. The emperor suspected he must be a Christian, nevertheless thanks to
the letter, he told the officers to keep the secret, as if he were discovered
by the Dutch, they would cut his throat during the voyage.
6.- What does the word Houyhnhnm
mean?
The Houyhnhnm was a race of horses endowed with
reason, which ruled the Yahoos’ country, and were described in the fourth
Gulliver’s travel.
After six months at home Gulliver set sail on The
Adventure. When the sailors mutinied and became pirates left Gulliver ashore.
It was then that he knew about the Yahoos, horrible human creatures, which had
the worst vices of men, and are ruled by the horses. The horses thought
Gulliver was a Yahoo, though superior to the rest of his specie.
Gulliver remained two years among these noble,
intelligent horses, and told them about Europeans. Afterwards the master of
Houyhnhnms got to the conclusion that the Europeans were not different from the
Yahoos, and so did Gulliver.
Mercedes Martín, Advanced level . Year 2
Full answers, cheers!
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