CliffsNotes on

Gulliver's Travels

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Book Summary

Jonathan Swift Biography

Early Years and Education
Swift's Career
Swift's Major Literary Works
About Gulliver's Travels

Summary, Analysis, and Original Text by Chapter

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 List

Character Map

Character Analysis

Lemuel Gulliver
The Lilliputians
The Brobdingnagians
The Houyhnhnms
The Yahoos

Critical Essays

Philosophical and Political Background of Gulliver's Travels
Swift's Satire in Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver as a Dramatis Persona

Study and Homework Help

Full Glossary for Gulliver's Travels
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Summary, Analysis, and Original Text by Chapter

Book II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag: Chapter 2

In this chapter, Swift demonstrates that the giants are kind and decent. It is a delicate process because, on the surface, Gulliver seems to be mistreated, yet the farmer is careful with Gulliver, and Glumdalclitch (Gulliver's name for the daughter) is especially loving with him. The farmer, it is true, almost kills Gulliver out of thoughtlessness, but he is never cruel or malicious to Gulliver (as the Lilliputians were). No normal Brobdingnagian is malicious; only children and the deformed are of that temper. These giants are not perfect; they are akin to us. Even the best of us are, sometimes, thoughtless and greedy. As for the rest of us, we are sometimes malicious — like the Lilliputians.

There is a stray political comment in this section that is of interest. Gulliver notes that the King of England himself would have felt isolated and different were he to be in a foreign land. This statement refers to George I. The English, and especially the Tories, made much of George's German origin.


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