Book Summary of Gulliver's Travels, Part I

Gulliver's Travels Part One
The first part of this novel, which consists of chapters 1-8,is very interesting and should keep the readers attention. It starts off telling of young Gulliver's childhood. It mentions three years at college, and his dreams of being a sailor. After his brief time at school he become an apprentice to Mr. James Bates.
After explaining the early years of Gulliver's life the author begins to tell about a few of Gulliver's voyages at sea. Eventually returning home, Gulliver spent three years at home with his family. While Gulliver was at home he started a business which soon failed. Soon after this he accepts an offer to be the surgeon upon a ship named The Antelope captained by William Prichard.
On the 5th of November 1699, during his voyage on The Antelope, his ship hit a rock that was hidden by the dense fogs of the morning. Luckily he and a few of his shipmates managed to lower a lifeboat and clear the wreckage. Eventually the crew became exhausted by the hard work of paddling and the lifeboat was eventually overturned by the bad weather. Gulliver swam for almost three English miles until he reached a point in the water he could walk. Walking for what seemed to be along time he eventually made it to shore on a tropical island and immediately went to sleep.
Upon his awakening, Gulliver found himself tied to the ground and surrounded by thousands of soldiers. They were no more than six inch's tall and armed with bow and arrows, and spears. After weeks of imprisonment he became friends with the Lilliputians. After they gave him his liberty he agreed to capture a fleet of 500 man-of-war battle ships. Then he soon returned to England with his family.
Jonathan swift uses satire frequently in his novel. One example is the strict formality of the nobility in their civilization. When Gulliver puts the fire in the princess's apartment out by peeing on it she is not grateful but upset with his crude method of fire fighting. Receiving no gratitude for his good dead he remained imprisoned for some time longer.