After Reading

Comprehension: Recall and Interpret

1. Describe the Lilliputians’ initial reaction to Gulliver.

2. What is unusual about the Lilliputians’ size?

3. Summarize the Lilliputian emperor’s command concerning eggs and the controversy it causes.

4. What does the king of Brobdingnag think of the English?

5. What technology does Gulliver describe for the king of Brobdingnag in an effort to win his favor?

6. When the Lilliputians first see Gulliver, why do they treat him as they do? What does their behavior suggest about human nature?

7. What might the Lilliputians’ size symbolize?

8. What point about human behavior does Swift make in his description of the Lilliputian “egg controversy”?

9. Gulliver is physically smaller than the king of Brobdingnag and his people. In what other sense is Gulliver shown to be “small”?

10. What does the king’s reaction to the technology Gulliver describes suggest about the Brobdingnagians? About people who use the technology?

Literary analysis: Evaluate and Connect

11. Examine Narrator Gulliver’s Travels is told from the first-person point of view, which means the reader is limited to Gulliver’s perceptions —what he sees, hears, or experiences. What do Gulliver’s reactions and thoughts in the following events from the story tell us about his character?

• his temptation to injure the Lilliputians (lines 90–100)

• his response when asked to fight the nation of Blefuscu (lines 321–324)

• how he feels when the king of Brobdingnag insults England (lines 436–444)

12. Analyze Fantasy In order for a fantasy tale to succeed, the world that is created needs to be somewhat believable to the reader. How does Swift create a believable fantasy world in Lilliput? Cite examples from the text.

13. Make Inferences Reread lines 420–425. The king of Brobdingnag asks Gulliver if he is a Whig or a Tory. What does the king’s laughter suggest about Swift’s attitude toward political conflict in England?

14. Interpret Satire in Historical Context Swift’s descriptions of people and events are intended to satirize specific individuals or aspects of English society and politics. Find examples of such descriptions from the selection, and interpret what Swift is satirizing.

15. Compare Texts In his letter to his friend Alexander Pope on page 642, Swift says that although he hates nations and communities, he reserves his love for individual people. Based on the excerpts you read from Gulliver’s Travels, do you agree with Swift’s self-assessment? Support your answer.

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