"Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift: Lemuel Gulliver has seen better days. With his medical practice faltering and the burdens of family life mounting, he ventures to the high seas, hoping to make his livelihood as a ship's physician. After a few moderately successful journeys, Gulliver's luck once again turns sour, as his ship is dashed and he's thrown overboard into a watery grave. Ah, but a quick, violent death isn't in the cards for good ol' Gulliver. Instead, he washes up upon a strange shore, awaking to find himself pinioned to the ground, surrounded by an army of tiny, tiny humans. Oh, I've been there, my friend. I've been there. And I've got the empty gin bottles to prove it.
It seems Gulliver is in the land of Lilliput, where self-importance can't be measured with a ruler. Despite being less than six inches high, the native Lilliputians are gigantic when it comes to ego, pride, and vanity. They're little people in every sense of the word. Yet Gulliver, being the gullible sort he is, actually fears the blustery threats of the Lilliputian king, who demands Gulliver's loyalty and service to the kingdom. Keep in mind, Gulliver could murder half the Lilliputian population with one misstep, but he's so eager to fit in with his new surroundings, he submits whole-heartedly to every Lilliputian whim.
Gulliver's presence in Lilliput is a tremendous burden to the local economy and food supply, since his every meal could feed the country's inhabitants for weeks, but the Lilliputian King sees one clear benefit in the accidental tourist. Lilliput is in desperate need of some muscle. Blefuscu, the other great empire in the region, is planning an attack. The two countries have been bitter rivals for years, the conflict stemming over which end of an egg to crack first, with the Lilliputians favoring the small end and the Blefuscans the big. Gulliver is happy to help his adopted homeland, and makes short work of the Blefuscu navy, snaring an entire fleet of ships in a makeshift net and carrying them back to Lilliput. With no way to defend against Gulliver's awesome might, Blefuscu surrenders.
But everything isn't all puppet shows and candy canes for good ol' Gulliver. Despite his heroic efforts to save Lilliput from invasion, he's still quite a strain to the local folk, and his popularity dwindles further when he accepts an invitation to visit the rival Blefuscans. Gulliver's attempt to save a Lilliputian palace from fire only makes things worse. In a scene eerily similar to one found in the classic film "Strange Brew," Gulliver extinguishes the flames as only he can, dousing them with urine. And public urination isn't acceptable in Lilliput. But, to be fair, it's also frowned upon in Greensburg, Pennsylvania... Squirrel Hill, Pennsylvania... and pretty much everywhere else I've lived.
When Gulliver refuses to destroy the rest of Blefuscu's armies and enslave its inhabitants, the Lilliputians first decide to kill him, but settle for merely blinding him by shooting poison arrows in his eyes. Aw, that's nice of them. It must have been Christmas time. Anyway, Gulliver gets tipped off about his impending punishment and runs for his life, fleeing to Blefuscu. There he's given safe harbor until he's able to fix a boat and return to his native England.
After two months with the wife and kids, Gulliver is ready for another sea trip, eventually getting stranded alone in the land of Brobdingnag, where the population is as big as the Lilliputians are small. It's a case of the ol' switcheroo. Now Gulliver is the Lilliputian. He's carried from town to town and put on display like a trained monkey, soon earning the favor of the Brobdingnag King and Queen. He continues to amuse the royal court with his various tricks, although their amusements are usually matters of life and death for Gulliver, as danger lurks around every corner. The difference in scale gives him an entirely new perspective on life. Surrounded by giants, Gulliver notices the coarseness of humans, including every disgusting physical characteristic up close and personal. His description of a woman's nipple was almost enough to change the way I thought of women's nipples. Luckily, I've been able to overcome it thanks to lots and lots of practice. And that should give you some idea as to why this review was so late.
The Brobdingnag people are a gentle, peace-loving sort. They're big in stature and in character. Gulliver spends much of his free time in leisurely discussions with the King, informing his highness all about England and its people. The more he talks, the more Gulliver realizes just how similar the English are to the petty Lilliputians. His embarrassment only grows when his stories are finished and the King proclaims the following verdict:
"I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth."
My high school teachers used to write the same thing on all my report cards.
Just when it seems Gulliver may live the rest of his life in Brobdingnag, a bird scoops up his little portable chamber and drops it in the sea, where he's eventually rescued by a fishing boat and returned to England. He's only home ten days before he accepts an invitation to sail to the East Indies. I never said Gulliver was bright. Let's see, first there was a storm, then he got left behind, so this time it's gotta be pirates. Before he can even shiver his timbers, the swashbuckling scoundrels place Gulliver in a boat and push him off into oblivion with limited supplies and little hope for survival. That's when he spies the island of Laputa, which, of course, is Spanish for "whore." Interesting thing about this island, though. It's one of them flying islands. Oddly enough, I used to love the old "Flying Whore" TV show. Sally Field is great.
A seat is lowered, lifting Gulliver to safety. Once rescued, he finds the people of Laputa to be completely lost in intellectual pursuits involving mathematics and music. The Laputians are all so absorbed in their mental exercises, their eyes are perpetually crossed and they can't respond to simple conversation without being prompted to do so by slaps to the face. Despite all their advanced learning, the Laputians haven't achieved common sense, spending the majority of their time devising new and absurd ways to accomplish simple tasks. It all makes for a rather scathing indictment of higher education and the scientific revolution.
From Laputa, Gulliver next travels to the island of Glubbdubdrib, where magicians reign supreme. But instead of pulling rabbits out of their hats, these guys raise the dead. I'd like to see David Blaine do that one. Gulliver decides to call up some of the greatest men in history, often learning just how hollow greatness can be.
The next stop is Luggnagg, home of the immortal Struldbrugs. Gulliver can't wait to meet the wise men and women who have conquered death, but the idea of immortality is far different than the reality.
Gulliver's final stop is Japan. Yeah, that's right, Laputa, Glubbdubdrib, Luggnagg, and Japan. Which one of these things is doin' its own thing? It's not long before Gulliver is safely back in England where he lives happily ever after. He couldn't possibly be stupid enough to get on another ship, right? Well, not so fast, my friend. This guy's all oatmeal north of the eyebrows. But at least this time he's the captain of his own ship. What could possibly go wrong? I mean, aside from a crew mutiny resulting in his being stranded on a distant shore. Oh, that wacky Gulliver.
Our fearless traveler now finds himself in the land of the Houyhnhnms, an intelligent race of talking horses. "Mr. Ed" reruns must get killer ratings over there. Remember that time Ed was surfing? Aw, that was great, that was fun. The Houyhnhnms are completely driven by reason and can't comprehend the concept of mendacity. This apparent mental maturity comes with a price, as the Houyhnhnms have few if any emotional attachments. They consider Gulliver quite the marvel, since he appears to be a highly-evolved version of a Yahoo, which are the humanoid creatures that roam the countryside like wild animals. Comparisons to the repugnant Yahoos sicken Gulliver, and he begins to worship the Houyhnhnms with fanatical idolatry. Nothing could please him more than spending the rest of his life in the company of the educated equine, but the Houyhnhnms can see no reasonable excuse for allowing a mere Yahoo to live among them as equals. Gulliver is given the choice of either accepting his role as a subservient Yahoo or return to his homeland. Deeply saddened, Gulliver once more voyages to England. The homecoming is not a happy one. He's no longer an Englishman but a Houyhnhnm surrounded by Yahoos. I know the feeling.
Published in 1726, "Gulliver's Travels" was an enormous success thanks to Swift's deft hand and satirical eye. Travel writings were all the rage back then, allowing Swift the opportunity to parody a popular literary genre while at the same time skewering the powers that be. And Swift takes enormous pleasure in showing the ridiculousness of English life. Whether religion, politics, or science, nothing is spared his wrath. There's also plenty of philosophy on display, as Swift contemplates the true nature of man. It's a remarkable achievement, a work of true genius.
I was just surprised to discover Gulliver took four separate voyages. I always assumed it was one continuous journey, like Ulysses' wanderings in the Odyssey. While it's rather implausible that any individual would keep going to the sea after so many calamities, I reckon Swift was trying to illustrate the futility of man and his cheerful hope for the future despite all evidence to the contrary.
Then there's the matter of Gulliver's wife and children. Twelve years pass between the discovery of Lilliput and Gulliver's trip to the Houyhnhnms. Exactly what were they doing that whole time? Is Swift making a statement about English society and the importance of business over family? Or did he just have no interest in developing the extra characters? Tough call. But I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
RATING: 