Gulliver's Travels Worksheet - LSHS
Gulliver's Travels Worksheet - LSHS
Gulliver's Travels Worksheet - LSHS
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from Gulliver’s <strong>Travels</strong> by Jonathan Swift<br />
Name:<br />
Directions: Read pp. 590-606 in the British literature book and answer the following questions.<br />
from Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput<br />
1. A writer can satirize elements of real life by using a fantasy world as a point of comparison, but such a fantasy world needs to be at least<br />
somewhat believable to be effective. How does Swift construct his Lilliputian world to make it seem believable?<br />
2. What kind of person might Swift be satirizing by presenting the fantastical image of the six-inch representative of the king who claims royal<br />
authority over a giant twelve times his size?<br />
3. Why do the politicians dance on the rope for the king?<br />
4. What is the ridiculous ritual the Lilliputians must go through when swearing an oath?<br />
5. What is Swift satirizing with that ridiculous ritual?<br />
6. Gulliver’s articles of freedom begin with a tribute to the “most mighty Emperor of Lilliput.” What is ironic about Swift’s description of the king in<br />
this preamble, and how does his irony contribute to the satire on the Lilliputians?<br />
7. Explain why Gulliver’s display of respect—“I made my acknowledgements by prostrating myself at his Majesty’s feet”—is ironic.<br />
8. What is the conflict between the High-Heels and the Low-Heels? the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians?<br />
9. Why are the Lilliputians at war with Blefescu? What real countries do Lilliput and Blefescu represent?<br />
10. Swift is referring to a great deal of complicated British history in his stories about conflicts that seem harmless and silly—who wears high or low<br />
heels and how people break their eggs. Do you think this adds or detracts from the story? Explain.<br />
11. What might Swift be satirizing in regards to how the Lilliputians treat Gulliver?
12. Considering that Gulliver is physically capable of destroying Lilliput (“I might be a match for the greatest armies they could bring against me”),<br />
why do you think he acts so submissively?<br />
from Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag<br />
13. What is your first clue that Gulliver has landed in another fantasy world?<br />
14. How is Gulliver made to look ridiculous when he first presents himself to the farmer?<br />
15. Identify a target of satire in the exchange between Gulliver and the king about English culture.<br />
16. How is Gulliver himself the object of Swift’s satire in his response to the king’s unflattering description of the English?<br />
17. How does Swift use his fantasy world to deliver his satire on England’s interest in war in the paragraph on p. 605 that begins “He wondered to<br />
hear me talk…”?<br />
18. Who are Swift’s targets in the paragraph that begins, “He was perfectly astonished…” on p. 606?<br />
19. How does Gulliver’s opinion of the Brobdingnagians change?<br />
20. What can you infer from the following about the Brobdingnagians and their society from the king’s reaction to Gulliver’s account of English<br />
society:<br />
a. why the king is curious about England<br />
b. what the king thinks about English warfare<br />
c. what the king thinks about English history<br />
21. Which place would you have rather been: Lilliput or Brobdingnag? Explain.
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