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Notes on Gulliver's Travels

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Notes on Gulliver's Travels
Robert Appelmann
Gulliver’s Travels - Notes
Jonathan Swift: * Irony – What could Swift be pointing out with this work? * Eating Babies, Ladies Dressing Room, Death of a Late Famous General, etc. * Anglo-Irish of late 1600’s to middle 1700’s * Classical Period, Enlightenment
Gulliver’s Travels General: * Gulliver: * Third of Five Sons * Never mentions his brothers or any family aside from his Wife and Children * Very unemotional, proper * Talks little of home or his wife and children * Intelligent and Curious, European, Surgeon -> Captain, Fickle * Many skills * Navigation, Surgeon, Music, Math, Fencing, Science, Language * Dynamic Character * Learns at a faster rate the language of different cultures * Retains memories of previous adventures and draws upon them often * “Travels” – Foster’s Quest * All the alcohol seems to be good everywhere he goes * Comment on social life in Europe * He gets new clothes in all the new places * Is immersed into their cultures * Fear controls many of those-involved’s actions * Description of “necessities of nature” * Ironic and may point out flaws in European Society * People of Lilliput: * Rome * Rich but could hardly supply Gulliver * Treat Gulliver as a Monster and Giant (Weapon?) * Small, Tempers, Proud * Smaller version of English society to shed new light * People of Brobdingnag: * Focused on Gulliver’s Government, state of State etc… * Feudalism * Pages, Knights, Main weapon sword (Gulliver revealed them Gunpowder) * Not overly opulent yet could easily supply Gulliver * Treat Gulliver as a pet * Called Barbarians though compared to Europeans by Gulliver (European) * Magnified English * More easily see flaws in them * Laputans: * Focused on Gulliver’s Knowledge
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