Gulliver's Travels Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Part 1, Chapters 1-4

Lemuel Gulliver's father had a small estate in Nottinghamshire and had five sons, the third of which was Gulliver. At the age of fourteen Gulliver was sent to a college in Cambridge, where he studiously applied himself for three years. He was then sent to be an apprentice with Mr. John Bates, an eminent Surgeon in London. Gulliver studied with him for four years, and during his free time, he studied the disciplines that would benefit a traveler. Gulliver then went to study physic at the famous medical college, Leyden, with monetary support from his father and uncle John. After nearly three years of study, Gulliver secured for himself a position as a surgeon aboard the Ship Swallow, with the help of his mentor Mr. Bates. He voyaged with the ship for three years and then resolved to settle in London, where he set up his practice, again with the help of Mr. Bates. He also married Mrs. Mary Burton, but after Mr. Bates's death, Gulliver's practice began to fail. He decided to return to the sea in hopes of securing some wealth. He voyaged for 6 more years and returned to England where he spent three years living a domestic life.

Gulliver is called to the sea again and secures a profitable position aboard the Antelope. It sets sail on the 4th of May, 1699, while the voyage is comfortable at first, the ship soon runs into foul weather. The storms drive the ship northwest of Tasmania, where it is caused to collide with a rock. The ship begins to sink, and Gulliver gets into a boat along with some sailors from the crew. They row the boat with all their life, but the boat is overset by another flurry. Gulliver loses track of all his companions and just as he is about sink he finds the beginnings of a beach. The exhausted Gulliver finds himself on an island that seems completely devoid of human habitation and immediately falls asleep.

Gulliver wakes in the morning but finds himself unable to move, as he realizes that ligatures have been used to bind him to the ground. He soon perceives a human not much larger than six inches and screams in horror. He later learns that all of the people that had climbed aboard his body had been caused to jump off his body with fright and some of them had injured themselves. Gulliver attempts to free one of his hands and feels several tiny humans cast a volley of arrows at him. He covers his face with a hand, as the tiny humans target his face with volleys of arrows. Some of the warriors tried to stab him with tiny spears but are unable to pierce the leather jacket that he wears. Gulliver stops moving with the hopes that his captors would desist from attacking him, which they eventually do. A stage is then erected by the people, one that allows some important persons to climb up to Gulliver's eye level. An imperial person on the stage begins to make a seemingly eloquent speech in a language that Gulliver cannot fathom. However, he determines that the orator is trying to assure of him just treatment, and Gulliver obliges him by making several gestures of placation. He emphasizes his hunger by pointing several times at his open mouth. The number of people around him is always increasing, and they begin to bring him several loads of meat and casks of liquid that taste finer than any wines that Gulliver had ever had.

The tiny people make Gulliver understand that he is to be carried to the capital of their country, which lies about half a mile away. The people are masters of mathematics and had developed significantly in mechanics due to the patronage of their emperor. Gulliver learns that the emperor had learned of his presence the previous night, and had determined to have him brought to the capital in bondage. The water that Gulliver had been given had contained a sedative, so Gulliver finds himself falling asleep soon after ingesting some. The tiny people build a gigantic engine to transport Gulliver and set him on the engine with the help of many pulleys and poles. The engine is then pulled to the capital by a gigantic team of horses. Gulliver is taken to a large temple, that the people had abandoned after some tragedy. He is tied to a wall in the temple with a large chain and several padlocks. Many people of the capital come out to see the giant man, while the emperor climbs a neighboring turret to observe him from afar. Once Gulliver's leg has been secured the wall with the chain, he is allowed to rise. The people of the city are left stunned at the size of the standing Gulliver.

The country around causes Gulliver much wonder as it appears like a garden to him, and the surrounding town is like a painted city scene from the theatre. Gulliver spends the first few hours of his captivity under great duress for he has been unable to perform nature's call. Finally, he gives in to his body's demands and discharges himself in the privacy of his little home. That was the first and the only time that he acted with such uncleanliness for after that day, he performs the action first thing in the morning and makes sure to do it in the open air. Two servants are assigned to carry away that officious matter in wheelbarrows.

The emperor descends from the tower and rides his horse towards Gulliver, but the horse was unused to the sight of the large man. The horse rears up as Gulliver moves but the Emperor keeps his seat. The emperor makes sure to stay out of Gulliver's reach, and commanded his troops to supply Gulliver with food and liquor loaded into large vehicles. The emperor is accompanied by other persons from the royal household and they all sit around watching with awe as Gulliver empties the food vehicles with such speed and relish. The emperor with the help of his lawyers and priests around him attempts to speak to Gulliver and although Gulliver attempts to speak all of the languages that he knows of, they are unable to understand one another. The Emperor is a tall man among his people and carried himself with grace and majesty. The royal persons departed after two hours and left behind a host of guards to keep the rabble of people from crowding around Gulliver.

Some of the people in the crowd grew aggressive, and a few of them launched arrows at Gulliver. The colonel who is responsible for controlling the crowd decides that the best way to teach the people a lesson was to hand over the rebellious people to Gulliver, bound with ropes. Gulliver takes the people and puts all but one of them into his pockets, he scares the one but uses his penknife to set them all free one by one.

The Emperor has several meetings with his council to determine what needs to be done with Gulliver. The council worries that Gulliver may break loose and that feeding him would lead to a famine. They couldn't consider killing him with poison, as such a large carcass may end up causing a plague in the country. Soldiers report Gulliver's mild disposition towards the people who had attacked him, and so the Emperor is moved to compassion. He commands that the surrounding villages supply Gulliver with food, for which the treasury would pay, and commissions several tailors to make him clothes. He also sends some of his scholars to teach Gulliver their native languages. In three weeks, Gulliver has learned enough to have a rudimentary conversation, and the emperor visits him often. Every day Gulliver makes the same request, he asks for his freedom and the Emperor tells him that he must swear peace with his people. According to the laws of the kingdom, two officers are required to search Gulliver's person, and Gulliver complies. He takes the officers and puts them in each of his pockets, and they prepare their inventory. The inventory makes note of Gulliver's weapons, his money, and his watch. They seem to believe that it is his God, for Gulliver tells them that he rarely does anything without consulting it. 

The Emperor asks Gulliver to display his weapons and hand them over. All the soldiers are stunned at the bright sword that Gulliver bears and shocked at the sound of his pistol. All his possessions but the weapons are returned to Gulliver.

Gullivers does all he can to ensure that the people of Lilliput are put at ease in his presence. The emperor comes to see him often, and after some while together, he offers to show Gulliver some of their means of entertainment. The country of Lilliput has an odd tradition in which the officials of high office are required to perform rope balancing tricks at great heights for the entertainment of the Emperor.

The emperor finally began to consider Gulliver's request to be set free after he had continued to send numerous applications for his liberty. All of the emperor's cabinet and council are unopposed to the application, all but one of them, whom Gulliver claims had chosen to become his mortal enemy. Skyresh Bolgolam, the high admiral of the royal fleet, argues that Gulliver should be made to agree to certain terms before his release. Gulliver needs to swear that he wouldn't leave Lilliput without permission from the court and that he wouldn't enter the city without permission. He also has to ensure that he walks only on the high roads, never lie in the agricultural fields, and be careful not to trample anyone. He may be required to carry a messenger and return him to the capital in times of need. He also needs to swear assistance in defeating the soon to invade navy of Lilliput's enemy nation, Blefuscu. Lastly, Gulliver is required to deliver measurement of the Lilliput's dominion in his paces within two months. Compliance with all of these conditions is to be rewarded with a daily allowance of rations that equaled the rations for some 1700 Lilliputians. The emperor attends the ceremony of Gulliver's liberation, and Gulliver learns that his food allocation is calculated by comparing his size to the citizens of Lilliput to discover how much sustenance he would need. Gulliver finds some of the conditions to be dishonorable but he raises no complaint.

Gulliver's first request after liberation is to see the great city of Mildendo, and the emperor readily accedes to his request. Gulliver sees that the city is capable of hosting 500,000 citizens, and is shaped in a perfect square. The two principal streets cross one another to cut it into perfect quarters, and the palace is placed where the two streets meet. The emperor is eager for Gulliver to see his royal residence, but given Gulliver's bulk, he is unable to do so until he has built two stools to safely step over the palace without damaging the buildings. The emperor and empress are greatly pleased by Gulliver's presence.

A little time after his liberation from the chains, Gulliver is visited by Reldresal, the principal secretary of private affairs, and requests an hour of his time. Gulliver readily obliges him as the secretary had treated him very generously during the time of his confinement. Redressal explains that Lilliput is under severe strain due to an internal as well as external conflict. The internal conflict exists between two parties called the Tramecksan and Slamecksan, who are distinguished by their heels. The emperor seems to favor the low-heeled and has given all the important offices of his government to members of that party.

The external conflict with Blefuscu exists due to an odd religious doctrine that stipulates that an egg must be broken from the convenient end. Throughout history, all of the people had broken their eggs from the larger end but an emperor once had his hand injured in the attempt to peel an egg and so decreed that all citizens must break their eggs from the smaller end rather than the large. The country has seen several rebellions by the people who have refused to follow that doctrine, although the rebellions have always been quelled, the exiles have found refuge in Blefuscu. The war with the country has been a bloody one, and it is now known that they have outfitted a navy to mount a fresh offensive. The emperor had requested Redressal to lay the matters of the kingdom to Gulliver, and Gulliver replies that he would do his utmost to protect his majesty and the state from any invasion.

Analysis

Johnathan Swift begins Gulliver's travels in a format similar to actual travelogues of his time, as he begins by describing his upbringing and background much like other travelers. This seeming legitimacy helps to heighten the satire as Gulliver describes the more ridiculous events of his travels. Gulliver's encounter with the Lilliputians and later with other fantastical peoples are described as merely unusual, which helps add more layers to the narrative. The reader is certain to conclude that the Lilliputians are nothing but an imaginary people, whereas the gullible Gulliver presents them in the most realistically detailed prose. At the time of this book's writing, European nations were growing in power, in part due to their powerful navies. At the time, travelers from Europe were coming into contact with new lands, as well as with people of unique cultures. The first section of the book deals with a civilization of people that are far less powerful than Gulliver chiefly due to their minuscule size. This size difference may be a means to demonstrate the power of the English, over the people that they encountered and eventually colonized, for although Gulliver is held hostage by the Lilliputians, it is never in doubt that he lets himself be held captive willingly, and has the strength to escape from bondage. The Lilliputians do not see themselves as weak or without any means of defense, and instead, view Gulliver as the freak of nature. In this section, Swift attempts to highlight that size and power are both relative and thus foreshadows Gulliver's meeting giants later in the book.

Swift satirizes the English system of political appointments by describing the arbitrary and rather foolish custom of appointing officials through circus acts in the nation of Lilliput. Gulliver never presents his incredulity or amazement with these processes but allows the reader to infer on their own from his descriptions. The Lilliputian people go through a process of making Gulliver swear to abide by certain articles, however, it is evident that Gulliver can choose to violate any of those terms without incurring any significant danger. Through this example and the account of his inventory, Swift ridicules humanity's belief of its importance.