Public reader discussion about Gulliver's Travels in the WeRead Catalog by Jonathan Swift.
By softSky55
I really like A.O. Scott. Back when I was younger I used to read his reviews, and I think I kept a little list of like 4 or 5 movies he actually praised. One of the best lines I remember was from his review of The Spirit, where he brought up Godwin by name and kind of rephrased it as “the longer an actor keeps working, the chance of him ending up in a Nazi uniform gets closer to 1,” talking about Samuel L. Jackson.
By ThunderCrown
Hey everyone! I just read *Gulliver’s Travels* and the fourth part really got me thinking, especially about stuff like what “truth” even means and how much relativism matters. I know it’s probably not a brand-new idea, but it hit me in a way I didn’t expect. My professor basically told me to go dig into it more and see if I can turn it into a paper, so I’m starting to look at philosophers like Levi-Strauss and Hannah Arendt. They seem pretty skeptical/anti-Enlightenment in how they talk about society and anything like objective truth, and I’m wondering if that connects well here. Has anyone run into any really good, solid takes on *Gulliver’s Travels* (or Swift) that get into this kind of philosophical angle? It feels kind of niche, so I’m not sure where to start. Also, I’m just an undergrad, so my research experience is pretty limited—so any pointers would be awesome.
By SpringOtter61
I wanted it to feel like one of those really old books, so I used a worn book-cover clip art, added a little “window,” and put one of the wood-carved prints from inside the original publication in there. Then I tried to make the letters look a bit pressed/embossed. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. :)
By cloud-drifts9935
I picked this up at first because it’s always in lists like “top novels of all time.” The book is pretty short, so I figured it’d be a fun, goofy adventure thing. Nope. I ended up feeling like it’s this really well-written, dark satire that basically attacks humans and how pointless everything is. I seriously don’t get how it’s treated as a kids’ book. Yeah, I’m sure some of the gross stuff got cut out for younger readers, but even so, it still comes across like civilization is doomed—because even if an individual person can be reasonable, once people band together we turn into cruel, thoughtless animals. The whole “point” is played out through those four mini stories. First the narrator ends up shipwrecked on an island full of tiny people (like 4 inches tall). At first they seem kind of impressive, but then they imprison him and are ready to violently execute him over something pretty small. Then there’s another shipwreck, this time on an island with giants (like 60 feet tall), where it flips and he has to deal with how fragile he is and learn some humility. And the last one is probably my favorite: he finds an island with smart horses living in this super rational, free, almost utopia vibe, and right next to them are these “Yahoos” (primitive humans) who act more like beasts than people. It’s a weird setup, but it really makes you stare at how brutal society can be. I’m not explaining it super well, but honestly: just read it. It’s short, it’s well done, and it’s entertaining… and it’ll probably stick in your head for a long time after.
By anchor_thunder1977
He basically had this wild “solution” for when people in a country are fighting: pick a bunch of leaders from each side, pair them up by how closely their heads match in size, and then have someone saw through the back of each pair so the brain gets split evenly. After that, swap the halves so each man gets the other side’s brain. I mean, it sounds like it would take crazy precision, but the guy was acting like if it was done skillfully the fix would be guaranteed—like the two half brains would sort it out on the spot and get everybody thinking calmer and more reasonably. And when it came to whether different leaders even have brains of different sizes or quality, he brushed it off like it was totally nothing.
By tenderRose1987
Colonialism, satire, poop, and maybe some kind of perfect government. Those are some of the things I took away from Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. I should say right away this wasn’t one of the greatest books I’ve read, maybe not even in my top 15. Still, I’ll agree with Orwell here that Swift’s writing is really smooth and his grasp of English is amazing. Once I got used to the old phrasing, weird punctuation, and all the rambling, I could start noticing the quieter satire and the criticism of what Swift clearly didn’t think was ideal. That line about being duty-bound as an English subject to send a memorial because any land discovered by a subject belongs to the Crown really stood out to me. It’s basically about colonialism, or just planting a foot somewhere “new” and claiming it. Over and over, the book shows these different classes the people are split into: master and subject, people of quality and laborers, majesties, citizens, commoners, brutes, animals, all that. Everywhere he goes, he’s the one being controlled by the people there. That flips the colonial explorer idea around completely. Instead of acting like some conquering hero, the English traveler ends up as a guest, servant, pet, or even a toy. He’s not doing the macho explorer thing at all; it’s more luck, brains, and a little bit of flattery that keep him alive long enough to get home. I thought the size difference in the three main lands mattered a lot too. In Lilliput he looks down, in Brobdingnag he looks up, and with the Houyhnhnms he’s kind of on the same level. With the Lilliputians, he literally looks down on them, and even though he respects their building and math skills, he doesn’t really see them as equals. In Brobdingnag he looks up to their strength and reason, but they definitely don’t see him the same way (“This made me reflect how vain an Attempt it is for a Man to endeavour doing Himself Honour among those who are out of all Degree of Equality or Comparison with him.”). It isn’t until he gets to the Houyhnhnms that he can actually debate ideas on even ground and really see reason clearly. To them, he’s a Yahoo, which is basically a disgusting, hated kind of brute, but they also decide that if he can learn their language, cover himself up, and have real conversation, then there must be some reason in him after all. In all three places, he gets asked about England and its government. And every time he explains how things work, he seems to realize how ridiculous human beings are. That feeling of explaining something and then hearing yourself and thinking “wow, this sounds stupid” is all over the book, and it’s especially funny when he talks to the other lands’ important people, like when he tries to explain lawyers to the Houyhnhnms. Once he really gets to know them and is told he’s a Yahoo too, he gets ashamed and wants to be more like the Houyhnhnms instead, since they’re his idea of what he should aim for, mostly by choosing Reason. Swift’s government jokes are spread all through the book. In Lilliput, there’s that bit where the narrator says the people think it’s a huge flaw in our policy that laws are enforced only by punishments and not rewards. Part of what makes it funny is that it’s so obviously true and so weakly enforced. The Lilliputians think any man can serve the public, but in 18th-century England that clearly wasn’t the usual belief. He does praise them in a few places, like for getting lots of exercise, how they educate children, and their family duties, among other things. Overall though, even when he doesn’t directly attack their laws, he still kind of looks down on them. Brobdingnag feels more like the “looking up” side, or maybe Swift’s version of a better government. The roles get reversed when the narrator explains English offices to the King of Brobdingnag and basically gets mocked for it. After hearing it all, the King says he can only conclude that the bulk of our people are “the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth.” But when the narrator gets to Houyhnhnm-land, he’s changed by the horses’ purity, innocence, and reason. They don’t really understand lying, disbelief, or falsehood. Reason matters most to them when they make decisions. That seems important because in 1726 we’re right in the Age of Enlightenment and the attempt to use pure reason and science to reach some absolute truth, even if that mostly didn’t work out in the next century. Swift clearly sees himself as part of that movement and lines up with reason, which is probably why he admires the Houyhnhnms so much. And the excrement thing? I honestly don’t know exactly where it fits as a major theme, but it’s definitely all over the novel. The whole fire-extinguishing scene in Lilliput was pretty funny and probably gross to readers back then. I kept picturing peeing on an ant hill. I was also really confused by all the random capital letters. I kept wondering if that was supposed to mean something. I did like the satire, even if the serious tone hides it pretty well. It’s kind of one long “whoosh...” at times. Hope that made sense.
By ticket-paper
Honestly, it’s pretty catchy.
By EarlyBear
So what even counts as “literature”? For this thread I’m just using the idea that it’s basically any written stuff that’s trying to be art. That would mean all kinds of things: fiction, nonfiction, poems, plays, songs, essays, religious writings, legal texts, science books, and whatever else. If you’re on the fence, just include it anyway. Drop your new suggestions as their own comment so people can vote easier (bonus points if you can share your favorite cover photo too). I’ll keep updating the chart pretty much daily, or whenever the voting slows down. For now: **1500–1599 — Most Influential from the West:** *Romeo and Juliet* — William Shakespeare. Runners up: *Utopia* (Thomas More); *The Prince* (Niccolò Machiavelli); *Gargantua and Pantagruel* (François Rabelais); *The Holy Bible in English* (William Tyndale); *95 Theses* (Martin Luther); *Essays* (Francis Bacon). **1600–1699 — Most Influential from the West:** *Don Quixote* — Miguel de Cervantes. Runners up: *Hamlet*; *Principia Mathematica*; the King James Bible; *Paradise Lost*; *Meditations on First Philosophy*; *The Pilgrim’s Progress*. **1700–1799 — Greatest from the West:** *Gulliver’s Travels* — Jonathan Swift. Runners up: *The Wealth of Nations*; *Candide*; *Robinson Crusoe*; *Songs of Innocence and Experience*; *The Sorrows of Young Werther*; the Constitution of the U.S.; the Declaration of Independence; *Tristram Shandy*.
By smallSparrow6827
Not sure if this is a long shot, but does anyone know books that are kinda like this? I’ve always loved Walter Wick’s artwork and I keep thinking about how cool it would be to be “inside” one of his photos. Like, maybe the whole thing is set in a dollhouse or based on something like Thumbelina?
By glade_fumose2610
Has anyone seen this particular addition before? I tried a reverse image search but didn’t get anything. Any ideas?
By wintercarrot
After reading *Gulliver’s Travels*, I felt like Swift was straight-up dunking on the British (at least at first), but it also seemed like it was bigger than just England. He throws in a bunch of crimes and nasty stuff and it feels like it’s everywhere, not only in one place. Then when Gulliver lives with the “smart horses,” it honestly messes with his head in a different way. He starts seeing people way differently, like humans aren’t as “civilized” as they think—they’re closer to the yahoos, especially when they’re chasing what they want and not thinking about the fallout. But I’m not totally sure I got it right. The whole “humans become yahoos” idea is what stuck with me, but now I’m wondering if there’s more going on, or if I’m just reading it wrong. I’d really like to hear what other people think, especially if you’ve read it. Also, I keep thinking about who/what the different places could represent. Like… were the houyhnhnms based on a real country or real people somehow? And what about the tribes and civilizations Gulliver meets as he goes from Lilliput to the horses to the yahoos? It left me pretty confused, so I feel like I need to talk it through with someone else. What do you think Swift was going for with the point of view, and with the similarities between humans and yahoos? What did you take away from it?
By WalksLetter
He wrote that thing, A Modest Proposal (about Ireland and English policies) where he basically says the kids of poor Irish families could be treated as food, since it’s supposed to be “delicious” and all that. The whole angle feels super dark, and I’m not even fully sure how anyone reads it straight without getting that creepy irony. I get why people call it one of the best examples of sustained irony in English, though.
By SilverBeaver
Ugh, but honestly, it feels like back through history the smartest people always kind of got what was happening. They might not have had the fancy terms for it or the whole lab/peer-reviewed theory setup, but they still saw it. And human nature doesn’t really change—at least not in any real, noticeable way. That’s why I think Swift’s satire hits so hard. Using Gulliver as this seafaring explorer, he gets to poke at all those ugly, messed-up parts of people. I’m really curious what everyone else thinks about this book though. Like, if you read it years ago, what did you think then and what do you think now?
By featherfuzzy81
I never really thought about this until reading about Gulliver in Lilliput, where those two places were apparently fighting over whether eggs get cracked from the top or the bottom. Somehow I’d only ever assumed the center was the only option. I tried cracking both ways, and I ended up doing way better when I crack it closer to the skinny top—now I don’t even go back. Anyone else have the same “wait, what?” moment? And if you’re team cracking at the bottom, are you secretly trying to start beef or what?
By CloverReads
I’m trying to find a more modern book (late 1900s to now) for adults that’s kind of like Gulliver’s Travels or Sinbad/Odyssey—where the main character(s) end up traveling to weird, exotic places and each stop has its own adventure. I’m okay if there’s some bigger storyline, but I mostly want it to focus on the exploring and the “new discoveries” feeling. I’ve heard the Books of Babel series might match that vibe—does it really fit what I’m looking for?
By skyValley
This is kind of random, and I’m realizing I’ve probably already spent like 30 seconds just thinking about it while I type, but I should also say up front I was super young when I read it and my memory of the book is pretty fuzzy (and I’m sure I’ve mixed it up with other stuff I’ve read since). Sorry if this ends up being a messy question! I read *Gulliver’s Travels* when I was little, and I don’t remember a ton. But I do remember feeling really affected by the part where the palace is on fire, and I was honestly awestruck when he ends up on that island where everyone is bigger than him. This weekend my boyfriend and I were out getting Christmas ornament stuff and the book came up. He kind of scoffed and said he only really knows the Jack Black movie, and that he thinks it’s just a dumb comedy. I was confused, because I remember it more like an adventure, not really like a comedy—at least that’s what it felt like to me. But then again, I haven’t thought about it in years, and I can’t even swear my memory is accurate. So… was it actually more slapstick/funny than I remember, or did the movie make it seem worse/way different than the book?
By simon_seattle7
I really enjoyed this book—does anyone have suggestions for similar books or other media?
By chapter-lilac
This is probably my favorite version of that old Jonathan Swift story. What do you think about the movie?
By Garden
I’ve got a copy of Swift’s book I got as a gift when I was 13. It’s one of those “edited for young readers” versions, with Leonard Weisgard’s illustrations, and it was published by Junior Deluxe Editions. Now that I’m an adult, I’m kind of wondering if I should’ve grabbed an unabridged one instead. For anyone who’s read the abridged version I have, or any other shortened edition, or the full unabridged—what am I actually losing out on? I know it still covers the four big journeys, but I’m not sure how much political stuff or satire gets cut, and whether that would matter much to someone reading it today. I’ve tried looking at reviews, but they’re not really clear, and the sheer number of editions is making my head spin. Any thoughts would be really appreciated—thanks!
By EpilogueSilent1979
Kinda feels like this doesn’t get the credit it deserves, since it’s usually boiled down to some kids’ story. But after finishing the whole thing, it seems like the impact on literature and society goes way deeper than just history. A few parts even felt kinda relevant to life in Western society right now. I’m honestly surprised I don’t see it praised more. That’s it, I guess.