CliffsNotes on

Gulliver's Travels

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About the Author

Early Years and Education
Career
Major Literary Works

About the Novel

Introduction
A Brief Synopsis
List of Characters and Places
Character Map

Summaries and Commentaries

Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 1
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 2
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 3
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 4
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 5
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 6
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 7
Book I: A Voyage to Lilliput: Chapter 8
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 1
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 2
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 3
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 4
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 5
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 6
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 7
Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 8
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 1
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 2
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 3
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 4
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 5
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 6
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 7
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 8
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 9
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 10
Book III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan: Chapter 11
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 1
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 2
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 3
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 4
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 5
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 6
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 7
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 8
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 9
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 10
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 11
Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 12

CHARACTER ANALYSES

Lemuel Gulliver
The Lilliputians
The Brobdingnagians
The Houyhnhnms
The Yahoos

CRITICAL ESSAYS

Philosophical and Political Background
Swift’s Satire
Gulliver as a Dramatis Persona

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Summaries and Commentaries

Book IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms: Chapter 1

After five months at home, Gulliver is offered and accepts the position of captain of the merchant ship. During the voyage, several of his crew become ill, and Gulliver is forced to hire replacements. Unfortunately, those hired are pirates who organize a mutiny on the ship and leave Gulliver on an island where he encounters a pugnacious, “odious” group of animals that look and act like primates and that attack him by climbing trees and defecating on him. Their attack ends when a horse appears on the road. This horse studies Gulliver with great curiosity and is soon joined by another horse, both of which seem to converse using words which Gulliver understands as Yahoo and Houyhnhnm.

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