Summary and Understanding of Gulliver's Travels

In the first chapter, the author briefly describes himself and his family-the initial motivation of traveling-sinking at sea, swimming to escape-landing safely in Lilliput-being captured and escorted back to the mainland. In the second chapter, the emperor of Lilliput, accompanied by several nobles, came to see the author in custody-describing the emperor's appearance and clothes-scholars were ordered to teach the author the local language-and he was favored by the emperor because of his gentle personality. Knives and pistols were confiscated. In the third chapter, the author performed an unusual game for the emperor and nobles-describing all kinds of entertainment activities in the court of Lilliput-and the author was free after accepting certain conditions. In the fourth chapter, the author describes Miltondo, the capital of Lilliput, and the palace-the author talks about imperial affairs with a minister-and expresses his willingness to serve the emperor and fight the enemy. In the fifth chapter, the author used special strategies to stop the enemy's aggression-and was awarded a high honor. The author helped save the rest of the palace. The sixth chapter is about the residents of Lilliput: their academics, laws, customs and methods of educating their children-the author's lifestyle in this country-and he defends a lady. Chapter VII: The author got the news that someone was plotting to accuse him of serious treason, and he had to flee to Blefuscu, where he was welcomed. Chapter 8: The author was lucky enough to find a way to leave Blefuscu and had some experiences. The captain sent a long boat to get fresh water; In order to see where it is, the author followed the long ship-he was left on the shore; Caught by a local, and then taken to a farmer's home-where he was entertained, and then several incidents occurred-the description of the local residents. The second chapter describes the farmer's daughter-the author was taken to a market town. Then he was taken to the capital-details of the journey. In the third chapter, the author was called into the palace-the queen bought him from his peasant master and presented it to the king-he argued with his majesty's scholars-the court provided a room for the author-he won the queen's favor-he defended the honor of the motherland-and he argued with the queen's dwarf. The fourth chapter, the description of this country-suggestions for modifying modern maps. The way the author travels-a description of the main temples. Chapter five: Several adventures the author experienced-executing a criminal-the author performed sailing skills. Chapter six: The author's ways to please the king and queen-he showed his musical talent-the king asked about the situation in Britain, and the author described it-the king's opinion. Chapter VII: The author's love for the motherland-he put forward a suggestion that is extremely beneficial to the king. But it was rejected-the king knew nothing about politics-and the country's scholarship was far from perfect. And the scope is very narrow-the country's laws, military and political parties. The king and queen visited the border-the author's entourage-the author described in detail his departure from the country-and he returned to England. The third volume Lepitas Balny Barbiragnagle Cone's trip to Japan Chapter 1 The author started his third voyage-he was robbed by pirates-he came to an island-and he was connected with Lepitas. Chapter two. Their knowledge-the king and his court-the reception the author received there-the local residents felt scared and uneasy-the situation of women. The third chapter solves a phenomenon in modern philosophy and astronomy-the great progress of others in astronomy-the king's means of suppressing rebellion. Chapter 4 The author left Leipita-he was sent to Babi, Balny-and arrived in Balny, the capital of Babi-about the capital and its suburbs. Hospitality of an aristocrat-his dialogue with the aristocrat. In the fifth chapter, the author is allowed to visit the Lagardo Academy of Sciences-the general situation of the Academy of Sciences-the academics studied by the professors. In the sixth chapter, the Academy of Sciences is discussed-the author puts forward some suggestions for improvement. In chapter 7, the author left Lagardo-arrived at Nada in Muldor-had no boat to take-and made a short voyage to Greta Cone ---- and was received by the local administrator. Chapter VIII Overview of Zhanggeleda Cone (continued)-Revision of ancient and modern history. In the ninth chapter, the author returned to Nada Muldor-sailed to the kingdom of Ragnagg-the author was detained-escorted to the court-and the author talked about this topic with some famous people. In chapter 1 1, the author leaves Lagenager and goes to Japan by boat-from there, he goes to Amsterdam by Dutch boat, and then returns to England from Amsterdam. The fourth volume "Hui Hui rural travel notes" in the first chapter, the author went out to sail and became a captain-his subordinates conspired to keep him in the cabin for a long time. Later, he abandoned him in an unknown land-he entered this country-describing a strange animal "Wild Hu"-and the author met two "Hui Gui". Chapter 2: The author was taken home by a Hui Gui-the description of the house-the author was received-the food in Hui Gui. But he finally found a solution-the way of eating in this country. In the third chapter, the author got the help and guidance from the owner of Huisui. Seriously study their language-the introduction of this language-several "Huisui" nobles came to visit the author out of curiosity-and he briefly reported his voyage to his master. Chapter four: The master disagrees with the author's statement-the author describes his life and travel experience in more detail. Chapter five: The author was ordered to report to his master about Britain. The sixth chapter is about Britain under the rule of Queen Ann-the prime minister's character in a European court. The seventh chapter is the author's love for the motherland-the host expresses his views on the British constitution and administration according to the author's narrative. And put forward a similar example to compare-the master's view of human nature. The eighth chapter describes the great character of Yehu, the youth education movement and their national congress. Chapter IX There was a big debate at the National Congress of Yi Hui. How was the result of the argument decided-Wisdom's academics-their architecture-their funeral-their language defects. Chapter 10 The author's daily life arrangement, his happy life with Hui Zhi-because he often talks with them, he has made great progress in morality-their conversation-the author learned it from his master. But he obeyed-he built a boat according to law with the help of a servant and ventured out to sea. Chapter 1 1 The author's dangerous voyage-he arrived in New Holland and planned to settle there-was shot by a local man with an arrow-was caught by the Portuguese. Forced to board their ship-the captain's warm hospitality to him-the author returned to England. Chapter XII The author's notes are true and reliable-his plan to publish this book-he condemns those travelers who distort the facts-the author shows that his writing has no sinister purpose-some people object, the author answers-the author praises the motherland-he thinks that the king has no right to occupy the country he describes-conquer those. Talk about his future lifestyle; Give advice; Travel notes are over. The synopsis of the story is based on the surgeon Gulliver's four sea adventures. The first volume consists of four parts. Gulliver, a surgeon in Lilliput, survived the voyage, drifted to Lilliput, was tied up by Lilliput people and presented to the king. Gulliver's docile performance gradually won the favor of the king and the people. He gradually became familiar with the customs of Lilliput. With Gulliver's help, the villain defeated the "Blefuscu" empire, and he was also a villain, but Gulliver did not want to destroy the Blefuscu empire, which made the emperor very unhappy. At this time, the queen's bedroom caught fire. Gulliver was in a hurry and sprinkled a bubble of urine to put out the fire, but the queen was greatly annoyed. Fled from Lily Putian as soon as possible, then came to the ancient empire of Kublai, and finally returned to England safely. Volume II: The Travels of Brobdingnag (the original manuscript of the author was Brobdingnag) Gulliver was a giant in the eyes of the Lilliputians, but when he arrived in Brobdingnag, he was as small as a weasel in the field. Gulliver was caught in another storm and was blown to a foreign land. He was brought back as a plaything by a farmer from a big country. In order to make money, the farmer put Gulliver in a suitcase as a gadget and took it to various towns for performances and exhibitions. Later, it was bought by the queen and helped by the king. When the king summoned him, he boasted about the greatness, political wisdom and legal justice of his motherland, but all of them were attacked and refuted by the king of that country. Accompany the king to patrol the border. Because he was homesick, he pretended to be ill and came to the seaside to breathe fresh air. The eagle in the sky mistakenly picked up the box where he lived as a turtle. Several eagles fought in the air and the box fell into the sea. It was found by a passing ship. Gulliver returned to England by boat after being rescued. Volume III: Travel Notes of Lepita, Balny Babi, Lager nagel, Geller Cone and Japan (Flying Island). Gulliver went to sea again with good hopes. This time, Gulliver's boat was hijacked by a thief boat, Gulliver escaped by luck and was rescued by a flying island called Lepita. These people have unusual appearances and strange clothes, and they meditate all day. Kings and nobles live on a flying island, while civilians live on three islands, including Bobby and Balny. Gulliver left the island and went on a trip to Babi, Balny. He also visited the Lagardo Academy of Sciences on the island. This academy studies absurd topics, resulting in the desolation of the whole country, the collapse of houses and the lack of food and clothing for the people. Then Gulliver came to Witch Island. The governor of the island is proficient in magic and can summon any ghost at will. Gulliver met many ancient celebrities and found that many records in history books were not in line with historical facts or even upside down. Then Gulliver visited Laguna again. I met an immortal "Stru brug". Gulliver came to Japan after leaving this country. Then he returned to England by boat. Volume IV: Travel Notes of Hui Governing the Country. (Horse) Gulliver was exiled to the "land of wisdom", where the horse was a rational resident and the ruler of the country, while "(the names such as wild fox and wild goose are all a translation problem) was kept by the horse. Gulliver wants to stay in the "Hui" country. But the "Hui" countries decided to destroy Le Hu there, so Gulliver's wish failed to come true. In desperation, Gulliver had to leave the country by boat and go home. Gulliver has been a friend of horses all his life with the yearning for the "Huihui" country. He also refused to be worldly and was determined.

[Edit this paragraph] Theme idea

The lilliputian scene depicted in the first volume of the novel is the epitome of the British Empire. The perennial struggle and foreign war between the British Conservative Party and the Whigs are essentially just the intrigues of politicians on some links that have nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood. The second volume of the novel is a sharp attack by the King of Great Britain on Gulliver's proud British electoral system, parliamentary system and various political and religious measures. He also expressed doubts and negations about various systems and political and religious measures in Britain. In the third volume of the novel, the author points the edge of irony to the British philosopher at that time, the scientist divorced from reality and addicted to fantasy, the absurd inventor, the critic and historian who turned black and white upside down. In the fourth volume of the novel, the author uses Gulliver to answer a series of questions, and exposes the nature of war, the hypocrisy of law and the shameful behavior of getting the duke by hook or by crook. Looking at the overall plot of the novel, Gulliver's Travels has obvious political tendency. His critical edge focused on attacking parliamentary politics and reactionary religious forces in Britain at that time. The artistic features of Gulliver's Travels are mainly reflected in the use of irony. Sharp and profound satire is the soul of this work. At that time, Britain was the object of attack and satire by the author. Gulliver's first adventure was in Lilliput. In this tiny country, all parties are deadlocked, and neighbors not only want to defeat each other, but also enslave each other. The king of Lilliput used rope competition to select officials. In order to get a few colorful silk threads from the king, the officials did not hesitate to perform a clown-like absurd performance. This small court was the epitome of Britain at that time, even Lipu. In the second volume, the author criticized Britain by name. Gulliver introduced the history, system and present situation of Britain to the King of Great Britain in detail, as well as all kinds of defense for the country. But from the perspective of Great Britain, the history of Britain is full of "greed, competition, cruelty, hypocrisy, lust, insidious and ambition". In the words of the king, the author said, "Such a humble and incompetent person. The third volume satirizes the pseudo-science in Britain at that time through the boring and absurd scientific research conducted by the people of the Lagardo Academy of Sciences. The description of the island of Lepita criticizes the British exploitation and oppression of Ireland. The novel not only criticizes the social status quo, but also satirizes human nature itself at a deeper level. The fourth volume, the discussion about "money" is just so. Gulliver came to the country of horses without money and military police and explained to his horse owner, "Our wild horses there. There is not enough time. Because of their nature, they are either extravagant or insatiable. The rich enjoy the fruits of the poor's labor. The ratio of the poor to the rich is 1000 1. Therefore, most of us are forced to live a miserable life ... "The author notes the pure money relationship between people in capitalist society, and thus questions human nature. When the author satirized and attacked the British parliamentary politics and reactionary religious forces at that time mercilessly and acrimoniously, some ridiculed them bluntly, some used foreigners' words, some satirized people with metaphors, and some satirized people with animals. These things are very funny. The organic combination of the fantasy of the plot and the authenticity of reality also adds unique artistic charm to the novel. Although the author shows a fictional fairy-tale magical world, it is based on the reality of British social life at that time. Because the author's description is accurate, delicate and appropriate, people don't think it is a fictional illusion, and everything seems to be true. For example, when describing villains and adults, it seems that everything is true. Adults in big countries are twelve times bigger than Gulliver. Gulliver's handkerchief can be used as a carpet for a small national palace. An adult peasant woman's handkerchief covered Gulliver and turned into a sheet. When describing the operation of the flying island, the architecture of the palace and the structure of the town, the author also deliberately used the knowledge and data of mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy and medicine. In this way, the truth, harmony and symmetry of the local details of the characters are transformed into the truth, harmony and unity of the whole picture and scene. Greatly enhanced the realism and appeal of the work. The author's writing style is concise and clear. For example, Gulliver copied an official proclamation in Lilliput, praising the king as the "king of kings" who was "loved by the whole world" and "stood in the center of the earth with the sun above his head", and so on. Gulliver also quietly explained in brackets: "the circumference is about twelve miles." With this explanation, the boundless territory of "reaching the four poles of the earth" suddenly shrinks into a tiny place with a circumference of more than ten miles. This contrast is hilarious. The words in brackets show the author's simple and realistic narrative style. It seems that he has no intention to comment, but he is objectively and faithfully explaining the scale of lilliputian for us. He once declared: "I would rather tell ordinary facts in the simplest and simplest style, because I wrote this book mainly to report to you." It's not for your entertainment. "Although the scenes of Lilliputian, Adult and Wisdom are different, the situation of the protagonist is also different, but the layout and style of the whole novel are the same. The cause and effect of Gulliver's every trip to sea are explained in detail, and the complicated plot is described in order of time and spatial order. The text is concise and vivid, and the story is strong. So Gulliver's Travels has been refined and popular in European countries for hundreds of years.

[Edit this paragraph] Comments by famous experts

Swift enriches the moral meaning of his works with humor, exposes the absurdity with irony, and makes incredible events come true through characters and narrative framework. As far as the meanness and diversity of narrative are concerned, even Robinson Crusoe can hardly match it. -Scott Gulliver's Travels is a unique masterpiece. Like many European novels in the18th century, it inherited the structural method of vagrant novels. It copied the popular novels describing travel experiences at that time, especially the sea adventure novels, and told a series of adventures of Gulliver, the hero, drifting at sea. Undoubtedly, it was influenced by Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and other travel adventure novels to some extent. However, Gulliver's travel notes are similar in form, but completely different in nature. This is a story about the battle between buckets and books. It has some unique properties different from the realistic novels that began to rise in the18th century. -Comment on Gulliver's Travel Notes and its literary position in the literary history of Wu's On Fable Fiction: The works are full of satire on Gulliver's experience and knowledge, and he has told many times that he was in distress at sea and drifted to fairy-tale countries such as Lilliput, Adult, Bird Island and so on. The social reality in Britain has been mocked. Although the social ideals of "big country" and "clever horse country" retain the original characteristics of patriarchal society, they contain the social principles and values of enlightenment. The author exaggerates the satirical object to the point of cruelty and even absurdity, which has something in common with modern "black humor".

[Edit this paragraph] Character analysis

Gulliver, like Robinson, is an adventurous man who doesn't want to be alone and chat. He has a strong memory, is good at learning and observing, is good at thinking, has a unique thinking, is simple and gentle, is friendly to people, is personable, is easy to associate with people, is grateful for his kindness, is a gentleman, is willing to help his friends, is willing to risk his life for them, and is ready to fight against all those who are unfavorable to them. At the same time, he is clever and witty. He is clever in speaking and resolute in doing things. He can act according to circumstances and seize every opportunity to pursue freedom. He has strong self-confidence and believes that he can succeed. He is frank, patriotic and very tolerant of his face. He is full of hatred, disgust and contempt for those who are hostile to him, but respects noble people and learned scholars. Generally speaking, he is a traveler with questioning spirit, passion for truth and endurance. He is traveling. The insight into the deteriorating social reality has led to the conclusion that British society is uncivilized. Gulliver's image is the embodiment of the author's thought. The author endowed his own virtue to his characters, and Gulliver cared about others regardless of personal gains and losses. Gulliver is a positive ideal figure. He always speaks frankly about his weaknesses and mistakes, but never mentions his strengths. He is modest and studious. Try to understand the new reality with new eyes. He never gives up on himself. Even though he was seen everywhere as a plaything, he remained calm, maintained his dignity and talked with the king of a great country on an equal footing. He has the courage to help this lilliputian country resist foreign invasion. However, he flatly refused to serve the invasion and expansion policy of the king of Lilliput. Flinput (the finance minister of Lilliput) is suspicious, sinister, vicious and cunning. Related plot: Gulliver's kindness and generosity and his military achievements in capturing the ancient fleet were appreciated by King Lilliput, and Flinput was greatly annoyed. He suspected Gulliver of adultery with his wife, so he contacted other ministers to conspire against him. Finally, Gulliver was forced to flee to Blefuscu. Switzerland (the naval general of Lilliput) is jealous and cunning. Related plot: The King of Lilliput is ambitious. Gulliver crossed the strait and captured most of the fleet of the ancient country Blefuscu in the war with neighboring country Blefuscu. Since then, Gulliver has been highly valued by the king of Lilliput, and he is greatly dissatisfied with the opening up of Switzerland. King Brobdingnag, who conspired with the finance minister to murder Gulliver, was an enlightened monarch with great knowledge, rationality, kindness and ability to govern the country. Related plot: King Brobdingnag is knowledgeable and kind-hearted. He ruled the country with reason, justice and kindness, and he hated Gulliver's despicable politicians and bloody wars. Hui Wang is smart, hardworking, brave, kind and friendly. Ruthless.

[Edit this paragraph] Reader's comments

When I first saw this book, I thought it was a novel like Robinson Crusoe. But when I opened the book and read the preface, I realized that it was a satirical novel full of fairy tales. But the fairy tale color of the novel is only superficial and partial. Sharp and profound irony is its soul. He ironically revealed the characteristics of Britain at that time: "greed, partisanship, hypocrisy, cruelty, anger, madness, resentment, jealousy, lust, sinister and ambition." He satirically described the grotesque phenomenon of the inversion of man and beast: the horse became the carrier of reason, while man became a filthy, dog-shit and greedy animal (Hu Ye) willing to be enslaved by money, either profligate or insatiable. The author not only satirized all kinds of British society at that time, but I think it is more important whether the whole human society was defined. Wild foxes represent human beings, but the protagonist hates wild foxes so much. Every line in the book reveals the author's dissatisfaction with society. On the other hand, the life of the protagonist and Hui Hui in Hui Hui countries is the most unforgettable. Their country will not show evil. Words like: deception, doubt, cunning and so on. So there will be no cheating, suspicion, cunning, framing, conspiracy or bribery in their society ... The world is really a place full of happiness and happiness, so that when the hero left there, he shed sad tears.