Book Review: Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
My first review for the blog! I’m currently finishing up reviews for books I already read this year, so there will be a slew of reviews, but please bear with me. ♥︎
Indeed I must confess, that as to the People of Lilliput, Brobdingrag, (for so the Word should have been spelt, and not erroneously Brobdingnag) and Laputa; I have never yet heard of any Yahoo so presumptuous as to dispute their Being, or the Facts I have related concerning them; because the Truth immediately strikes every Reader with Conviction.
— i.
I told him, that since Fortune, whether good or evil, had thrown a Vessel in my Way; I was resolved to venture myself in the Ocean, rather than be an Occasion of Difference between two such mighty Monarchs.
First, let me start off by saying that this book was one wild ride. It revolves around the travel narrative of a character named Gulliver, and before the novel even begins, it’s kind of obvious by the end of his adventures, he loses his mind to an extent. The book follows his travels to unusual/magical places, and it is split into four parts, signifying the four separate journeys. I’ll review the book part by part without giving anything away, but if you just want to skip to my overall thoughts, just skip to the bottom!
— ii.
For they reason thus; that whoever that whoever makes ill Returns to his Benefactor, must needs be a common Enemy to the rest of Mankind, from whom they have received no Obligation; and therefore such a Man is not fit to live.
So part one is probably the part that most people are familiar with. Gulliver makes it to the island of Lilliput, and discovers that its inhabitants are really tiny people—like one person is the length of your hand. This part is also known for satirizing the current political conflict in Britain at the beginning of the eighteenth century between the Whigs and Tories (Lilliput and their enemy island, Blefuscu. Despite Gulliver being really unlikeable, I found the satire in the story, especially the satirizing of the political landscape at the time, to be quite interesting. I ended up doing more research about it and spent an entire afternoon down a rabbit hole of eighteenth century British politics. That was fun.
Anyway, the writing is still a bit weird, not as weird as Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe (review can be found on my GoodReads), but still strange, especially with the capitalization of nouns. I found Swift’s writing to be more cohesive, but also the story in general is way more interesting. When part one ended, I found myself becoming more involved with Gulliver’s story, despite his terrible character. Everything around him is great, it’s just him himself that is easy to hate, at least until the last part of the novel.
— iii.
I hope, the gentle Reader will excuse me for dwelling on these and the like Particulars; which however insignificant they may appear to grovelling vulgar Minds, yet will certainly help a Philosopher to enlarge his Thoughts and Imagination, and apply them to the Benefit of publick as well as private Life; which was my sole Design in presenting this and other Accounts of my Travels to the World; wherein I have been chiefly studious of Truth, without affecting any Ornaments of Learning, or of Style. But the whole Scene of this Voyage made so strong an Impression on my Mind, and is so deeply fixed in my Memory, that in committing it to Paper, I did not omit one material Circumstance: However, upon a strict Review, I blotted out several Passages of less Moment which were in my first Copy, for fear of being censured as tedious and trifling, whereof Travellers are often, perhaps not without Justice, accused.
Part two is quite literally the opposite of part one—Gulliver ends up on the island of Brobdingnag, an island where the people are literal giants, and he is the tiny person, the size of a hand. Honestly, this part made me pause the book for a few weeks. It was a let down compared to the first, in a way. Gulliver’s misogyny literally reeked through the lines of the book, and the plot wasn’t as fascinating as part one was. It was still unique, but I felt that this part could have definitely been a lot shorter/more concise for sure, I think it would have made it way more bearable.
— iv.
For Instance: Whereas all Writers and Reasoners have agreed, that there is a strict universal Resemblance between the natural and the political Body; can there be any thing more evident, than that the Health of both must be preserved, and the Diseases cured by the same Prescriptions?
Part three was probably the most boring for me of the entire novel. It wasn’t like part two where if it were just cut shorter it would have been good. Gulliver travels to the island of Laputa, an island where the people live by mathematics and scientific reasoning for every possible detail (a satirical interpretation on the rise of scientists in the eighteenth century). There were a lot of solid quotes that really made me stop and think, but overall, the book continued to be completely flat, and I felt like not much was going on.
— v.
They will have it that Nature teaches them to love the whole Species, and it is Reason only that maketh a Distinction of Persons, where there is a superior Degree of Virtue.
By the last part of the novel, I was prepared to give the book a solid two stars, considering the direction it was going in. I’m really happy I was proven wrong. The fourth part of the novel is by far my favourite of the whole book, and actually made Gulliver more tolerable than before. He ends up on an island run by talking, rational horses, called the Houyhnhnms. Humans on this island are as degenerate as a species could possibly get. They’re grotesque, smelly, disgusting, and cannot think or speak properly (which is why the Houyhnhnms were shocked when Gulliver stumbled upon their island). The more Gulliver learned about the Houyhnhnms, the more likeable he became, because he adapted to their ways. The underlying significance of this is to show how humanity is awful. Even when Gulliver explained how back in Europe, humans were rational, the Houyhnhnms disagreed because even though they can think and speak for themselves, their bodies were groomed to be unprotected against climate, and they used reason/rationality for corrupt, selfish purposes. By this point of the novel, Gulliver was completely disgusted with himself and humans in general, and liked to be away from his society/human contact. I honestly thought, what a mood, same. Jonathan Swift was just so brilliant about this entire part, it made me wish it was more like that for parts two and three.
— vi.
For they have no Conception how a rational Creature can be compelled, but only advised, or exhorted; because no Person can disobey Reason, without giving up his Claim to be a rational Creature.
Overall, the book and the writing was decent. I enjoyed parts one and four. While parts two and three weren’t great, they were bearable enough for me to push through until the end, despite their flatness. I’d recommend the book for anyone who’s looking for a different adventure novel, a magical realist satire, or really just something completely out of our era, if you can stand the misogyny.
If you’ve read the book, let me know what you thought of it in the comments below!
Rating: ★★★ | GoodReads
