Title of the piece: Gulliver's Travels
Jonathan Swift
Year of writing: 1727
Genre of the work: novel
Main characters: Lemuel Gulliver- the son of a landowner, a surgeon on a ship, a traveler.

Plot

Lemuel Gulliver is a good surgeon. Works on the ship. But one day a tragedy happened - because of the fog, the ship crashes on stones. The surviving hero finds himself on land in the land of Lilliputia, where very small people live. There he begins to study the local language, makes friends with the emperor. The hero learns about the enmity with the neighbors of Blefuscu. But in the end, on various charges, he faces death, or torture, so he runs away. The next destination is Brobdingneg. This land is inhabited by giants. The farmer shows the guest for money. Lumuel meets the royal family, but here, too, dangers lie in wait. Then he visits the flying island of Laputa, where residents are interested in mathematics and music. Immortal people live in Luggnag, but they suffer from it, get sick and sad. The last trip was to the country of Guyhnhnms, which is inhabited by horses. Gulliver has traveled for over 16 years.

Conclusion (my opinion)

In the novel, Swift denounces pride and arrogance. He was worried about the decline of morality in society. He also condemns the illogical laws of England, hard life. Having delved into deep images, you can see the people around you in the fantastic characters.

Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Journey" tells about the adventures of the hero of the same name. He is a navigator. Often his ship is in distress, and the main character finds himself in wonderful countries. In the land of the Lilliputians, Gulliver is a giant, in the land of giants, on the contrary. On the floating island, the hero saw what excessive ingenuity can lead to ...

Swift's novel shows the state structure of England, contemporary to Jonathan, namely, its mores and the way of life of the people inhabiting it. And the author does it ironically. He also ridicules the vices of the people inhabiting his native country.

Summary of Gulliver's Journey in Parts

Part 1. Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians

The main character works of Lemuel Gulliver - a sea traveler. He is sailing on a ship. The first country he gets into is Lilliputia.

The ship is in distress. Gulliver wakes up on the shore. He feels that he is bound hand and foot by very small people.

The mountain-man, as the Lilliputians call the protagonist, has a peaceful attitude towards the local population. For this reason, he is fed, provided with housing.

The head of state of the Lilliputians himself goes to talk with Gulliver. During the conversation, the emperor tells about the war with the neighboring state. Gulliver, in gratitude for the warm welcome, decides to help little people. He draws the entire enemy fleet into the bay, on the shore of which the Lilliputians live. For this act he was awarded the highest award in the state.

Gulliver further local population calls "the horror and joy of the universe." One fine day, he becomes objectionable to the emperor, and the hero has to emigrate to Blefuscu (a nearby state). But in the neighboring state, Gulliver is a burden to the inhabitants ... He eats a lot ... Then the hero builds a boat and sails into the open sea. During the trip, he purely by chance meets a ship belonging to England and returns home. With him, Gulliver brings Lilliputian sheep to his homeland, which, according to him, have bred well.

Part 2. Gulliver in the land of giants

Gulliver does not stay at home, as they say, he is called by the wind of wanderings. He again embarks on a sea voyage and this time finds himself in the land of giants. He is immediately brought to the king. The king of this country cares about the welfare of his subjects. Gulliver notes that the people inhabiting the land of giants are not very developed ...

The king's daughter paid special attention to the person of Gulliver. She considers him her living toy. She even creates all the conditions for him to live. She is amused to watch her living toy, but he is offended and even, at times, painful from the games.

The whole country of giants is disgusting to Gulliver. And in their faces, he notices all the little things. And it's a sin not to notice a hair that looks like a hundred-year-old oak log.

The most, perhaps, the greatest hostility towards Gulliver is experienced by the royal dwarf, the former favorite of the royal daughter. After all, Gulliver is now a rival for him. Out of anger, he takes revenge on Gulliver. He puts him in a cage with a monkey, which almost tortured the protagonist to death.

Gulliver himself tells the king about the structure of life in England. And no matter how well His Majesty treats him, with all his might he wants to return to his homeland.

And again, his Majesty's chance bursts into the fate of Gulliver. The eagle grabs the main character's house and takes it to the open sea, where Gulliver is picked up by a ship from England.

Part 3. Gulliver in the land of scientists

The life of the protagonist is filled with events. By coincidence, he ends up on an island that soars in the sky, and then descends to the capital of this island, which is located on earth.

What catches the eye of the traveler? This is terrible poverty, squalor. But, no matter how strange it may seem, in this world of devastation and chaos it is possible to isolate islets where prosperity and order flourish. Why is this happening?

This state of affairs is caused by the reforms of the country's government, which do not improve the lives of ordinary citizens in any way.

Almost all people are academicians. They are very passionate about their research that they do not notice anything around.
The trouble with academics is that their scientific projects not brought to life. Scientific discoveries are "open" only on paper. Therefore, the country is falling into decay…. We can say that all these people are reinventing the wheel. And life does not stand still!

Picture or Drawing Swift - Gulliver's Journey

Other retellings for the reader's diary

• Summary of Kuprin Yu-yu

  In the story of Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin "Yu-yu" the author-narrator acquaints the reader with the history of his pet - cats Yu-yu... The story is told to the girl Nina

  The main characters of the story are the guys Kolya and Misha. Kolya's mom has to leave for a couple of days. She believes that her son is already an adult, and therefore he can be left at home alone. In order for the boy to have what to eat, his mother teaches him how to cook porridge correctly.

This work combines several genres. In the novel we will see a fascinating travel narrative, a pamphlet, it also contains dystopia, fantasy and a little riot. This novel can be called prophetic, since those who read it at any time will clearly see in it the specificity of the addressee of Swift's satire. The author amazes with his imagination, which will surprise anyone.

The main character is an ordinary doctor who finds himself on an incredible adventure beyond his desire. He only decided to go by ship from England, but soon he quite accidentally finds himself in the most unimaginable countries, in which, as usual, a completely ordinary life proceeds.

Lemuel was the middle son of his family. There were five of them in the family. He lived in Nottinghamshire, and having matured a little, he went to study at Cambridge college. After college, he studied with the surgeon Bats, and after that he independently studied medical practice. After graduating, he went to work on the ship as a doctor-surgeon.

Three years later, having traveled a lot, he decides to marry and marries Mary Burton, who is the daughter of a stocking merchant. For the next two years, he and his wife live in London, but after the unexpected death of his teacher, he has to return to the post of surgeon on the ship.

Here he is again on the ship and does not bode well, but soon a strong storm rises, their ship is wrecked, the team dies, and he miraculously floats to the coast and turns off for a long time.

When the hero regains consciousness, he realizes that he is attached huge amount ropes, and many small creatures make him enslaved, who are exactly like people, only very miniature in size.

All these small ropes are not so strong and Gulliver, straining a little, frees one hand, but small people shoot at him with arrows-needles. He calms down and decides to lie down a little longer and, after waiting for darkness, free himself.

Having erected a large staircase, apparently their ruler Gurgo climbs up to it. He speaks a lot, but it is not possible to understand him, since the language is unfamiliar to Gulliver. Lemuel explains to the little men that he is very hungry and is being fed.

The officials decide to take Gulliver to the capital and try to explain it to him, but he asks them to release him. They refuse him. Gulliver's wounds are treated with some incomprehensible herbs and they give him a drink, adding a lot of sleeping pills. Gulliver falls asleep. The hero is taken to the capital.

The hero wakes up in an abandoned temple, chained to one of his legs.The hero rises and looks around the neighborhood. He sees a beautiful city and well-tended fields. He relieves needs, and soon he is visited by a king, measuring no more than a fingernail, and explains that he will try to take good care of him.

The hero has been on this island for two weeks already, a special mattress and bed linen are being sewn for him. The state has no idea what to do with this huge man, because he eats a lot and soon they will go hungry.

It takes about three weeks and he masters their language a little. Gulliver wants to ask the ruler for release. Officials search him and confiscate a saber, a pistol, and bullets with gunpowder. Gulliver manages to hide a few things.

The giant begins to like the emperor and the little people and they dance especially for him, perform all sorts of tricks, and also return his hat, which he lost on the shore.

The only one who does not like Gulliver is Admiral Skairesh Bolgolam, he, by order of the king, writes an agreement in which the conditions of Gulliver's freedom are discussed. Gulliver is given a tour of Lilliput, as well as its capital. He is shown the palace. The secretary tells about the political situation in their country, as well as about the hostility of the parties and the possibility of an attack from another empire of Blefuski, which is located on another island.

Gulliver assists in the fight against Blefusk by tying the anchors of their ships and bringing them to the capital. The rulers of Lilliput really want to capture the enemy, but Gulliver is against this, and refuses to do the service.

Once a fire broke out in Lilliput and Gulliver, to help the citizens, urinates on him. The emperor is indignant.

The hero decides to write in his notebook everything that he sees in this strange country. He describes short inhabitants, small animals and miniature plants, he also writes about how people are buried here upside down and how they punish false informers. If in this country someone forgets to thank a resident, he can go to jail. Their children are not raised by their parents, but women and men live separately. Gulliver spends almost a year in this place. By this time, he has a chair with a table and completely new clothes.

The emperor becomes jealous and explains to Gulliver that he is too expensive for their treasury. Soon an indictment comes from Bolgolam, who accuses him of urinating on the palace, and also refused to conquer another state.Gulliver gets scared and runs away from the midgets.

Soon he gets to the sea and finds a boat there and, with the permission of the Emperor Blefuscu, he sails into the distance on it. Soon he is picked up by English merchants and brought to the Downs. For a couple of months he is with his family, but then he has to go back to work.

In June he leaves England by ship, but in April he again gets into a storm, after which very little drinking water remains on the ship. Together with the disembarked, he ends up on the island, where he notices the giants, who at that moment are already running after their comrades. The hero realizes that he is in a field with planted barley, but this plant is very large. It is found by a peasant and given to the owner of the field. The hero meets the owners and soon he dines with them.

The hero wakes up from the sight of overly large rats who want to eat them. The farmer's wife takes him out into the garden so that the hero can relieve himself. The owner's daughter makes Gulliver a crib, makes new clothes for him and calls him Grildrick. Soon, at the instruction of a neighbor, the hero begins to perform for the public, and after several weeks they go on a tour with demonstration performances. About ten weeks pass and they manage to visit many cities and villages.

Gulliver loses weight and becomes sickly in appearance and the owner sells him royalty... Gulliver and the queen talk about life on the farm, and after that the woman introduces him to her husband, who gives it to the scientists.

They build a house and sew clothes for the hero. He often dines with the king and queen. The queen's servant dwarf is very jealous of Gulliver.

Gulliver and the queen set off across the country, but the annoying dwarf is constantly trying to get rid of the hero. The queen wants to entertain Gulliver, so she asks to make him a boat and give him a basin of water so that he can swim. For the comb, Gulliver takes the king's hair. Gulliver talks about England and its customs, and the king strongly criticizes the rule of the country.

Three years pass. One fine day, the queen and her retinue decide to walk along the beach, but the eagle kidnaps the hero and he finds himself in the sea, where he is again picked up by an English ship and brought to Downs.

Sometime in early August, Gulliver leaves England on a ship. The villains soon attack. The hero asks the villains for mercy and one of the Japanese shows it. The entire ship is captured and captured. Gulliver is loaded into a canoe and thrown out in the middle of the ocean, but he is back on the island.

The island turned out to be flying. The citizens of this island call themselves Laputians and they look very strange. They feed him, teach him the language and sew new clothes again. Soon, the flying island arrives in the central city of the Logado kingdom. After some time, the hero realizes that Laputians love mathematics and music, and their greatest fear is cosmic cataclysms. Since the Laputian men are very brooding, their wives love to cheat on them.

After some time, the hero learns that the island flies from the fact that there is a magnet, which is located in the central part of Laputa. If the subjects revolt, their king covers the sun or lowers the island to this city. The king and his family never leave Laputa.

Once the hero decided to go down to Balnibarbi, this is a small continent. He stops with a dignitary who bears the name of Munodi. In this state, people are poorly dressed, the fields are empty, but the peasants still try to cultivate them. The dignitary says that once they were trained in a completely unique tillage, so something stopped growing on it. Munody was not interested in this then, so his fields are bearing fruit.

Soon, the hero finds himself in the Searchlight Academy. There, scientists are engaged in strange studies: obtaining sunlight from cucumbers, food from waste, trying to extract gunpowder from ice, and start building a house from above. The scientists also told him a lot, but he found it ridiculous. They also had proposals for new laws, for example, to change the back of the brain or to take taxes on human vices or virtues.

The hero leaves for Maldonado to leave Luggnagg. While the ship is waiting, he visits the island of Glubbdobdrib, which is inhabited by wizards. The main inhabitant of this island manages to summon spirits, among them were Hannibal, Caesar, Brutt, Alexander the Great and the inhabitants of Pompeii, he also talks with Aristotle, Descartes and Homer, with various kings, and ordinary, unremarkable people. But he soon returned to Maldonado and a couple of weeks later sailed to Luggnagg. Soon he was arrested there. In the city of Traldregdab, Gulliver has the opportunity to meet with the king, where he gets acquainted with a strange custom, it is necessary to lick the throne room. It has been three months since he has been in Luggnagg. Residents here are courteous and good-natured, he learns that some residents are born immortal. Gulliver dreams of what he could do if he was immortal, but people say that they only suffer from immortality. After Luggnagg, the hero comes to Japan, and then to Amsterdam. In April, he hits the Downs.

After such strange, long and difficult travels, Gulliver was given the position of captain of the ship. He accidentally recruits robbers, who will soon capture him and put him on a nearby island. There, monkeys attack Gulliver, and a very strange-looking horse saves him. The horse comes to his horse and they discuss something, periodically feeling Gulliver.

Horses bring the hero to their home, where he meets monkeys that look like people, but they are pets. He is offered rotten meat, but he refuses and shows that milk is more suitable for him. Horses also start to dine. This lunch is made up of oatmeal.

Gulliver is slowly mastering this language and soon tells one of the horses the story of his appearance.

Somehow he is caught naked by the servant of the horse with whom he lives, but he promises to keep the secret that the man is very similar to a monkey.

Gulliver talks about England, English horses, medicine and alcohol. The horse decided that the inhabitants of England did not use reason at all for its intended purpose, but only to increase vices.

In Guignnmas, family marriages are concluded for the birth of children, always of two different sexes.

Because great apes they are difficult to train, they decide to exterminate them, but soon they come to the decision to sterilize all the exu, and to send Gulliver out of the country, since he looks like an exu. Two months later, Gulliver sailed away.

From the trip, he loses his mind a little, since he believes that they want to send him to live with ex, although he has been on a Portuguese ship for a long time, but soon he receives medical treatment and he is sent to England.

In December, he comes home and decides to write a story about his adventures.

A short retelling of "Gulliver's Travels" in an abridged form was prepared by Oleg Nikov for reader's diary.

Jonathan Swift

"Gulliver's Travels"

Travels to some distant countries of the world by Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon, and then a captain of several ships

Gulliver's Travels is a work written at the intersection of genres: it is also a fascinating, purely novelistic narration, a travel novel (by no means, however, the “sentimental” one that Lawrence Stern will describe in 1768); it is a pamphlet novel and, at the same time, a novel that bears distinct features of a dystopia - a genre that we are used to believing belongs exclusively to the literature of the 20th century; it is a novel with equally clearly expressed elements of fiction, and the riot of Swift's imagination truly knows no limits. As a dystopian novel, it is also a Utopian novel in the full sense, especially its last part. And finally, undoubtedly, one should pay attention to the most important thing - this is a prophetic novel, because when reading and re-reading it today, perfectly aware of the undoubted concreteness of the addressees of Swift's merciless, caustic, murderous satire, this specifics is the last thing you think about. Because everything that his hero encounters in the process of his wanderings, his kind of Odysseus, all the manifestations of human, shall we say, oddities - those that grow into “oddities” that are both national and supranational in nature, are global in nature - all this not only did not die along with those against whom Swift addressed his pamphlet, did not disappear into oblivion, but, alas, it is striking in its relevance. And therefore - an amazing prophetic gift of the author, his ability to capture and recreate what belongs to human nature, and therefore has a character, so to speak, enduring.

There are four parts in Swift's book: his hero makes four journeys, the total duration of which in time is sixteen years and seven months. Leaving, or rather, sailing, every time from a completely specific, real-life port city on any map, he unexpectedly finds himself in some outlandish countries, getting acquainted with those customs, lifestyle, everyday life, laws and traditions that are in use there, and talking about his country, about England. And the first such "stop" for the Swift hero is the country of Lilliputia. But first, a few words about the hero himself. In Gulliver, some of the features of his creator, his thoughts, his ideas, a kind of "self-portrait" merged together, but the wisdom of the Swift hero (or, more precisely, his sanity in that fantastically absurd world, which he describes every time with an inimitably serious, unperturbed mine) combined with the "innocence" of Voltaire's Huron. It is this innocence, this strange naivety that allows Gulliver so sharply (that is, so inquisitively, so accurately) to grasp the most important thing every time he finds himself in a wild and foreign country. At the same time, a certain detachment is always felt in the very intonation of his narration, calm, unhurried, unhurried irony. As if he is not talking about his own "walks in agony", but looks at everything that happens as if from a temporary distance, and quite considerable. In a word, sometimes there is a feeling that this is our contemporary, some genius writer unknown to us is leading his story. Laughing at us, at ourselves, at human nature and human morals, which he sees as unchanging. Swift is also a modern writer because the novel he wrote seems to belong to literature, which in the XX century, and in the second half of it, was called "the literature of the absurd", but in fact, its true roots, its beginning - right here, at Swift, and sometimes in this sense a writer who lived two and a half centuries ago can give a hundred points ahead modern classics- precisely as a writer who has a sophisticated command of all the techniques of absurdist writing.

So, the first "stop" for the Swift hero turns out to be the country of Lilliputia, where very small people live. Already in this, the first part of the novel, as well as in all subsequent ones, the author's ability to convey, from a psychological point of view, absolutely accurately and reliably, the feeling of a person who is among people (or creatures) not similar to him, is striking, to convey his feeling of loneliness, abandonment and internal lack of freedom, constraint precisely by the fact that around - all the others and everything else.

In that detailed, unhurried tone with which Gulliver tells about all the absurdities, absurdities that he encounters when he gets to the country of Lilliput, there is an amazing, exquisitely hidden humor.

At first, these strange, incredibly small people (correspondingly, everything that surrounds them is just as miniature) welcome the Man Mountain (as they call Gulliver) quite warmly: he is provided with housing, special laws are adopted that somehow streamline his communication with the locals residents, in order for it to flow equally harmoniously and safely for both parties, provide it with food, which is not easy, because the diet uninvited guest in comparison with their own grandiose (it is equal to the diet of 1728 midgets!). The emperor himself has a friendly conversation with him, after Gulliver provided him and his entire state with assistance (he goes on foot into the strait separating Lilliput from the neighboring and hostile state of Blefuscu, and drags the entire Blefuscan fleet on a rope), he is granted the title of Nardak, the highest title in the state. Gulliver is introduced to the customs of the country: what, for example, are the exercises of rope dancers, which serve as a way to get a vacant position at the court (is it not from here that the most inventive Tom Stoppard borrowed the idea of ​​his play "The Jumpers", or, in other words, "Acrobats"?). Description of the "ceremonial march" ... between the legs of Gulliver (another "entertainment"), the rite of oath, which he takes on allegiance to the state of Lilliputia; its text, in which Special attention The first part, which lists the titles of “the most powerful emperor, joy and horror of the universe,” draws attention to itself - all this is inimitable! Especially when you consider the disproportionality of this midget - and all those epithets that accompany his name. Then Gulliver is initiated into the political system of the country: it turns out that in Lilliput there are two "warring parties, known as the Tremeksen and Slemeksenov", differing from each other only in that the supporters of one are adherents of ... low heels, and the other - high, and between them occur on this, undoubtedly very significant, soil "the most severe strife": "they claim that high heels are most consistent with ... the ancient state structure" of Lilliputia, but the emperor "decreed that in government institutions ... only low heels should be used ...". Why not the reforms of Peter the Great, disputes over the impact of which on the further "Russian path" do not subside to this day! Even more significant circumstances gave rise to a "fierce war" waged between "two great empires" - Lilliputia and Blefuscu: which side to break eggs - from the blunt end, or quite the opposite, from the sharp end. Well, of course, Swift is talking about his contemporary England, divided into supporters of the Tories and Whigs - but their confrontation has sunk into oblivion, becoming a part of history, but the wonderful allegory-allegory invented by Swift is alive. For it is not a matter of Whigs and Tories: no matter how specific parties are called in a particular country in a particular historical epoch, Swift's allegory turns out to be "for all times." And it's not about allusions - the writer guessed the principle on which everything has been built from the centuries, is being built and will be built.

Although, however, Swift's allegories certainly belonged to the country and the era in which he lived and the political side of which he had the opportunity to learn from his own experience "first-hand". And therefore, behind Lilliput and Blefuscu, which the emperor of Lilliput, after Gulliver's withdrawal of the ships of the Blefuskans, “conceived ... to convert to his own province and govern it through his governor”, ​​the relations between England and Ireland are easily read, which also did not go into the realm of legends, to this day a painful and disastrous day for both countries.

It must be said that not only the situations described by Swift, human weaknesses and state foundations amaze with their today's sound, but even many purely textual passages. You can quote them endlessly. Well, for example: “The language of the Blefuskans is as different from the language of the Lilliputians as the languages ​​of the two European peoples differ from each other. Moreover, each of the nations is proud of the antiquity, beauty and expressiveness of its language. And our emperor, taking advantage of his position created by the capture of the enemy's fleet, ordered the [Blefuskan] embassy to present credentials and negotiate in the Lilliputian language. " Associations - clearly unplanned by Swift (however, who knows?) - arise by themselves ...

Although where Gulliver proceeds to expound the foundations of Lilliput legislation, we already hear the voice of Swift - a utopian and idealist; these Lilliputian laws that put morality above mental merit; laws that consider denunciation and fraud to be crimes much more serious than theft, and many others are clearly dear to the author of the novel. As well as the law, which makes ingratitude a criminal offense; this latter was especially influenced by the utopian dreams of Swift, who knew well the price of ingratitude - both on a personal and national scale.

However, not all of the emperor's advisers share his enthusiasm for the Man of the Mountain; many do not like the rise (in the figurative and literal sense) at all. The indictment that these people organize turns all the blessings shown by Gulliver into crimes. "Enemies" demand death, and the methods are offered one more terrible than the other. And only the chief secretary for secret affairs Reldresel, known as Gulliver's "true friend", turns out to be truly humane: his proposal boils down to the fact that it is enough for Gulliver to gouge out both eyes; "Such a measure, while satisfying to some extent justice, at the same time will delight the whole world, which will welcome as much the meekness of the monarch as the nobility and generosity of those who have the honor of being his advisers." In reality (after all, the state interests are above all!) "The loss of eyes will not cause any damage to the physical strength [of Gulliver], thanks to which [he] can still be useful to His Majesty." Swift's sarcasm is inimitable - but hyperbole, exaggeration, and allegory are absolutely consistent with reality. Such "fantastic realism" of the early 18th century ...

Or here's another example of Swift's providence: “The Lilliputians have a custom established by the current emperor and his ministers (very different ... from what was practiced in former times): if, for the sake of the vindictiveness of the monarch or the anger of a favorite, the court condemns someone to severe punishment, then the emperor delivers a speech at a meeting of the state council depicting his great mercy and kindness as qualities known to everyone and recognized by everyone. The speech is immediately read throughout the empire; and nothing frightens the people more than these panegyrics to imperial mercy; for it has been established that the larger and more eloquent they are, the more inhuman was the punishment and the more innocent the victim. " That's right, but what does Lilliputia have to do with it? - any reader will ask. And in fact, what has it to do with it? ..

After fleeing to Blefuscu (where history repeats itself with depressing uniformity, that is, everyone is happy with the Woe Man, but they are no less happy to get rid of him as soon as possible) Gulliver sails in a boat built by him and ... accidentally meeting an English merchant ship, safely returns to his native land. He brings with him miniature lambs, which after a few years have multiplied so much that, as Gulliver says, "I hope they will bring significant benefits to the cloth industry" light in 1724).

The second strange state, where the restless Gulliver falls, is Brobdingneg - the state of giants, where Gulliver turns out to be a kind of midget. Every time the Swift's hero seems to find himself in a different reality, as if in some kind of "looking glass", and this transition occurs in a matter of days and hours: reality and unreality are located very close, you just have to want ...

Gulliver and the local population, in comparison with the previous plot, seem to be changing roles, and the treatment of local residents with Gulliver this time exactly corresponds to how Gulliver himself behaved with the Lilliputians, in all the details and details that can be said so masterfully lovingly describes, even subscribes Swift. Using the example of his hero, he demonstrates an amazing property of human nature: the ability to adapt (in the best, "Robinsonian" sense of the word) to any circumstances, to any life situation, the most fantastic, the most incredible - a property that all those mythological, fictional creatures, whose guest is Gulliver, are deprived of.

And one more thing is comprehended by Gulliver, cognizing his fantastic world: the relativity of all our ideas about it. The Swift hero is characterized by the ability to accept "the proposed circumstances", the very "tolerance" for which another great enlightener, Voltaire, advocated several decades earlier.

In this country, where Gulliver turns out to be even more (or, more precisely, less) than just a dwarf, he undergoes many adventures, eventually ending up again at the royal court, becoming the king's favorite interlocutor. In one of the conversations with His Majesty, Gulliver tells him about his country - these stories will be repeated more than once in the pages of the novel, and every time Gulliver's interlocutors will again and again be amazed at what he will tell them about, presenting the laws and customs of his own country as something quite familiar and normal. And for his inexperienced interlocutors (Swift brilliantly portrays this “simple-hearted naivety of misunderstanding”!) All Gulliver's stories will seem boundless absurdity, delirium, sometimes just fiction, lies. At the end of the conversation, Gulliver (or Swift) summed up a certain line: “My brief historical sketch of our country over the past century has plunged the king into extreme amazement. He announced that, in his opinion, this story is nothing more than a bunch of conspiracies, unrest, murders, beatings, revolutions and deportations, which are the worst result of greed, partisanship, hypocrisy, treachery, cruelty, fury, insanity, hatred, envy. , voluptuousness, malice and ambition. " Shine!

Even more sarcasm sounds in the words of Gulliver himself: “... I had to calmly and patiently listen to this insulting abuse of my noble and beloved fatherland ... But one cannot be too demanding of the king, who is completely cut off from the rest of the world and, as a result, is in complete ignorance of morals and customs of other nations. Such ignorance always gives rise to a certain narrowness of thought and many prejudices, which we, like other enlightened Europeans, are completely alien to. " And in fact - they are alien, completely alien! Swift's mockery is so obvious, the allegory is so transparent, and our today's naturally occurring thoughts on this matter are so understandable that it is not even worthwhile to comment on them.

Equally remarkable is the "naive" judgment of the king about politics: the poor king, it turns out, did not know her basic and fundamental principle: "everything is permitted" - due to his "excessive unnecessary scrupulousness." Bad politician!

And yet Gulliver, being in the company of such an enlightened monarch, could not help but feel all the humiliation of his position - a midget among the giants - and his, ultimately, lack of freedom. And he again rushes home, to his relatives, to his country, so unfairly and imperfectly arranged. And when he gets home, he cannot adapt for a long time: his own seems ... too small. I'm used to it!

In part of the third book, Gulliver first finds himself on the flying island of Laputa. And again, everything that he observes and describes is the height of absurdity, while the author's intonation of Gulliver - Swift is still imperturbably significant, full of undisguised irony and sarcasm. And again, everything is recognizable: both the little things of a purely everyday nature, such as the “addiction to news and politics” inherent in Laputians, and fear that eternally lives in their minds, as a result of which “Laputians are constantly in such anxiety that they cannot sleep peacefully in their beds. nor enjoy the ordinary pleasures and joys of life. " The visible embodiment of the absurd as the basis of life on the island are clappers, whose purpose is to make the listeners (interlocutors) focus their attention on what they are being told at the moment. But allegories of a larger scale are also present in this part of Swift's book: concerning rulers and power, and how to influence "rebellious subjects", and much more. And when Gulliver descends from the island to the "continent" and enters its capital, the city of Lagado, he will be shocked by the combination of endless ruin and poverty that will catch the eye everywhere, and peculiar oases of order and prosperity: it turns out that these oases are all that remains of past, normal life. And then there were some "projectors" who, having visited the island (that is, in our opinion, abroad) and "returned to earth ... imbued with contempt for all ... institutions and began to draw up projects for the re-creation of science, art, laws, language and technology on new way". First, the Academy of Projectors arose in the capital, and then in all any significant cities of the country. The description of Gulliver's visit to the Academy, his conversations with scholars, is unmatched in terms of the degree of sarcasm combined with contempt - first of all, contempt for those who so allow themselves to be fooled and lead by the nose ... And linguistic improvements! And the school of political projectors!

Tired of all these miracles, Gulliver decided to sail to England, but for some reason on his way home he found himself first the island of Glabbdobdrib, and then the kingdom of Luggnagg. I must say that as Gulliver moves from one outlandish country to another, Swift's fantasy becomes more and more stormy, and his contemptuous poisonousness - more and more merciless. This is how he describes the manners at the court of King Luggnagg.

And in the fourth and final part of the novel, Gulliver finds himself in the country of the Huegnhnms. Huyhnhnms are horses, but it is in them that Gulliver finally finds completely human traits - that is, those traits that Swift would probably like to observe in people. And evil and vile creatures live in the service of the Guygnhnms - ehu, like two drops of water, similar to a person, only devoid of the cover of civility (both figuratively and literally), and therefore seem to be disgusting creatures, real savages next to well-bred, highly moral, respectable horses-guignns, where honor and nobility, and dignity, and modesty, and the habit of abstinence are alive ...

Once again, Gulliver tells about his country, about its customs, morals, political structure, traditions - and once again, more precisely, more than ever before, his story meets him on the part of his listener-interlocutor first with distrust, then - bewilderment. then - indignation: how can you live so inconsistent with the laws of nature? It is so unnatural to human nature - this is the pathos of misunderstanding on the part of the horse-guignnma. The organization of their community is the version of utopia that Swift allowed himself in the finale of his pamphlet novel: an old writer who has lost faith in human nature with unexpected naivety almost sings primitive joys, a return to nature - something very reminiscent of Voltaire's "The Innocent" ... But Swift was not "simple-minded", and therefore his utopia looks utopian even for himself. And this is manifested, first of all, in the fact that it is these nice and respectable Guignnmas who expel from their “herd” the “stranger” - Gulliver, who has crowded into it. For he is too similar to the ex, and they do not care that Gulliver's similarity with these creatures is only in the structure of the body and in nothing more. No, they decide, since he is an ehu, then he should live next to the ehu, and not among "decent people," that is, horses. Utopia did not work out, and Gulliver in vain dreamed of spending the rest of his days among these kind-hearted animals. The idea of ​​tolerance is alien even to them. And that is why the general assembly of Guignnms, which in Swift's description resembles almost Platonic Academy in its scholarship, accepts the "admonition" - to expel Gulliver as belonging to the Exu breed. And our hero completes his wanderings, once again returning home, "retiring to his garden in Redriff to enjoy reflections, to put into practice the excellent lessons of virtue ...".

Gulliver's Travels is a multi-genre creation. Here are collected both adventure events and travels, and fantastic phenomena, love relationship and also the book is a dystopian novel with Swift's large-scale imagination.

The work consists of four parts. The protagonist of the novel, Gulliver, has been traveling the world for sixteen years and seven months. On his way, extraordinary countries and lands meet, where he meets new people, studies their traditions and laws. Gulliver is a reflection of some of the author's character traits and his thoughts.

The first country visited by the hero was Liltputia. Very small people live here. Swift was able to very accurately convey the state of a person who found himself in a completely different environment, experiencing a feeling of loneliness and inner constraint.

Initially, the people of the "small" state greeted the Man Mountain (Gulliver) rather warmly, showing their way of life and initiating them into political priorities. Swift, using the example of humorous images and absurdities of Lilliput, conveyed the problems that reigned in England at that time.

Soon the hero is forced to flee from a strange land to Blefuscu, but even here he is faced with misunderstanding and recklessness. Gulliver builds a boat and, having met an English ship at sea, returns to his native land. As proof of his travels, he takes small sheep with him.

The next country visited by the hero is Brobdingnag. This is the place where huge giants live, and Gulliver now takes on the form of a midget. The Swiftoff hero has to adapt to the elements of life in the territory of the giants.

Gulliver shows ingenuity and becomes a favorite at the court of the king himself. The hero tells him about England and its laws. Each time the characters listening to Gulliver's extraordinary stories are surprised and amazed, because their charters seem familiar to them. In the work, Swift summed up what is happening in the English state with the words and thoughts of his hero: a series of revolutions and murders, conspiracies and intrigues, hypocrisy, cruelty and hatred - all this plunged the king of giants into shock.

Jonathan expressed a certain sarcasm under the guise of the opinion of another ruler. This also applies to the political principles of the state.

Gulliver feels his humiliation in the country big people and he wants to return home again, despite the imperfection and injustice of his fatherland. And when he returns, he cannot adapt to the old rules for a long time.

The third book tells about the hero's travels on the flying island of Laputu. The author's writing principle is the same - absurdity, sarcasm and irony. The Laputian people surprise with their passion for politics and news, as well as the eternal anxiety that prevents them from living peacefully and enjoying themselves. Gulliver decides to return to England, but on the way finds himself on the island of Glubbdobdrib, and then to the kingdom of Luggnagg. Swift's fantasy takes on a new wave.

And in the last part of the work, Gulliver finds himself in the country of the Guignnms, which are animals - horses, but only in these creatures the hero discovers his true sincere human qualities. They serve guignnmon exu - an exact likeness to people, evil and vile creatures. Gulliver dreams of living among respectable horses, but his appearance does not allow him to become a full-fledged member of the Guignnms. And again he returns home and continues to reflect and analyze his wanderings.

7 CLASS

JONATHAN SWIFT

LEMUEL GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

(Summary)

Captain Gulliver's letter to his relative Simpson

Lemuel Gulliver, first a doctor, later the captain of the boat, gave the author a manuscript in which he told about wanderings in other countries and the amazing adventures that happened to him.

Publisher to reader

The author of these travels, Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, is an old and sincere friend of mine; besides, we are distant relatives on our mother's side. About three years ago, Mr. small area land and a cozy house near Newark in Nottinghamshire, in his homeland, where he lives now - apart, but highly respected by his neighbors.

Although Mr. Gulliver was born in Nottinghamshire, where his father lived, I have heard from him that his lineage is from Oxfordshire; in confirmation of this, I can add that Gulliver himself gave me this manuscript for safekeeping, leaving it to be disposed of as I see fit. I read it carefully three times. The writing style is very clear and simple; I can only blame the author for one shortcoming: he, imitating the manner of all travelers, describes everything too scrupulously. Undoubtedly, the truth is felt in everything, and it is not surprising, for the author became so famous for his truthfulness that among his neighbors in Redrith, when someone was assured of something, it became as if for a saying to say: “This is the same truth, as if Mr. Gulliver himself said. "

On the advice of several worthy personalities whom I, with the permission of the author, have introduced this manuscript, I now decide to release it into the world, hoping that at least for a while it will become a better entertainment for our young nobles than the usual chatter of politicians and party hacks.

This volume would have been at least twice as thick if I had not allowed myself to cross out the numerous passages devoted to winds, tides and floods, the deflection of the magnetic needle and compass readings on various voyages, as well as the most detailed descriptions of maneuvering a ship during a storm, outlined in nautical jargon ... I did the same with the longitude and latitude information. All this makes me fear that Mr. Gulliver will be a little unhappy; but I decided to make his essay as accessible as possible for the average reader. And if for my ignorance of navigation I made some mistakes, only I am responsible for them; when any traveler wants to get acquainted with the work in its entirety, as it came from the author's pen, then I will gladly satisfy his curiosity.

Richard Simpson

Part one.

Travel to Lilliput

The author tells a little about himself and his family. First motivations for travel. His ship crashes, but he escapes by throwing himself into the waves, and happily reaches the coast of the country of the Lilliputians. He was taken prisoner and taken into the interior of the country Gulliver studied at Cambridge, but the education costs for his father, a poor man, were too much of a burden, and three years later the dignitary had to leave his studies and go into science before being a London surgeon. Soon he was hired as a doctor on the ship "Swallow", where he served for three years. Arriving in London, Gulliver took off part small house and married Mary Burton, the store owner's second daughter. And two years later, Gulliver's medical practice underwent some difficulties, and he went to sea again.

On May 4, 1699, he sailed from Bristol on the ship "Antelope". But already on November 5, a flurry crashed the ship on a rock. Gulliver was thrown onto some shore. He tried to find some signs of people, but, not finding, fell asleep right on the shore. Gulliver slept for 9 hours, and when he woke up, he could not move: his arms, legs and long hair were tied to the ground, and his body was entangled with thin ropes. There was a hum all around. Next to him he saw a man, six inches tall, with a bow and arrow in his hands and a quiver over his shoulders. Behind him moved about fifty of the same people. Gulliver cried out in surprise, and they scattered in fright. But soon they returned, and one of them shouted: "Gekina degul!" But Gulliver did not understand anything.

After much effort, Gulliver was able to break the ropes and sit down. He was very hungry, so he asked for food with signs. Gurgo (the nobleman had such a title) understood him. Soon hundreds of natives-Lilliputians were already bringing him food and three barrels of light wine (half a pint each). A little later, a venerable official appeared, an envoy of the imperial majesty. The State Council accepted to transport the giant to the capital. He felt sleepy - because the wine was added with sleeping pills.

In order to transport Gulliver, the Lilliputians dug 80 pillars and one foot high, tied strong ropes (no thicker than twine) with hooks at the ends to them, and they were touched by the ropes that wrapped around the giant's neck, arms, legs and torso. 900 of the strongest men were pulling the ropes, and three hours later Gulliver was already lying on the platform, they were firmly tied to it. 1,500 strongest horses were dragged away half a mile from where Gulliver lay. We stopped at the square where the old temple stood. The giant was put on 91 chains the size of a lady's watch chain.

The emperor of Lilliput, accompanied by many nobles, comes to see the author in his imprisonment. Description of the face and clothing of the emperor. Scientists have been assigned to the author to teach him the Liliput language. By his meek behavior, he gains the favor of the emperor. The pockets of the author are searched and his saber and pistols are taken from him

The emperor approached Gulliver on horseback. He was almost a full fingernail taller than all the courtiers. The emperor tried to address the prisoner, but he did not understand anything. Then he returned to the city, leaving the guards with Gulliver. The giant had to sleep right on the ground. However, two weeks later, by order of the emperor, a bed was made with 600 mattresses of the usual size.

People came from all over the country to look at Gulliver. Scientists taught him the language, officials made detailed description his things. In the meantime, the emperor was deciding the further fate of the prisoner, the content of which could lead to famine in the country. It was also not possible to kill him, because such a huge corpse, rotten, would entail various misfortunes that would subsequently spread throughout the country.

Meanwhile, the natives were no longer afraid of the giant, and he gradually learned to communicate with them. The emperor even arranged for Gulliver an honorable entertainment - rope dances. "When someone dies or falls out of favor (which is often the case) vacates office, then five or six candidates ask the emperor for permission to entertain him and the court by dancing on a tightrope, and the one who takes off faster and does not fall, gets the position." ... Later, the owner came up with an original entertainment: ordering the Gulliverov to become like the colossus of Rhodes, spread their legs, and under it he lined up an army and conducted a ceremonial march. The parade was attended by 3,000 infantry and 1,000 horsemen.

Finally, the prisoner was released, after drawing up a list of conditions before that: Gul liver had no right to leave the property without official permission. He will not enter the capital without warning the residents two hours in advance, he will not lie down in meadows and fields. He has no right to take midgets in his arms without their consent. If the need arises, then Gulliver must be an accomplice in the fight against the enemy island of Blefuscu, must help in the construction of imperial buildings and deliver urgent orders.

Description of Mildendo, the capital of Lilliputia, and the imperial palace. The author's conversation with the first secretary about state affairs. The author offers the emperor services in hostilities

Dismissed Gulliver went to inspect Mildendo - the capital of Lilinutia.

Soon the chief secretary for secret affairs Feldresel arrived to him. He told Gulliverov that 70 months ago, two warring parties were formed in the empire - Tremekseni and Slemekseni (the names come from high and low heels on shoes). Hatred between both parties has reached the point that members of one will neither eat nor drink at one table, nor talk with members of the second. This constitutes a threat to the state, which also suffers from a threat from Blefuscu, the second great power in the world, almost as big as Lilliput. For 36 months, these states have been in a state of fierce war. And the reason is that in Lilliput, where they always broke eggs from the blunt end, an order was issued according to which they must be broken with the other, sharp one (because once His Majesty's grandfather cut his finger). And the emperors of Blefusuku began to incite the people to revolt and accused the Lilliput government of a religious schism.

The author in an extremely ingenious way prevents an enemy attack. He is given a high honorary title. Emperor Blefuscu's ambassadors come and ask for peace. A fire in the Empress's chambers due to negligence. The method invented by the author saved the rest of the palace

Gulliver, whose existence the enemies did not know, somehow took the most experienced sailors, and, having made ropes and hooks, set off to Blefusk's fleet. There he took his weapon, having taken the hooks of the holes that were in the bow of each ship, and tied the ropes from them together. After that, taking the tied together ropes with hooks, easily train the 50 largest enemy warships.

Safe and sound, he arrived with his booty to the royal port of Lilliput. The ambition of the monarchs has no boundaries, and the emperor expressed a desire that Gulliver would find an opportunity and bring the rest of the enemy ships to his ports. However, the giant and the wisest ministers in the state dissuaded him from such a decision.

The emperor did not forgive this - and, together with a hostile clique of ministers, began an intrigue against Gulliver, which, two months later, almost led to his death.

A delegation arrived from Blefuscu with a proposal for peace and a request for Gulliver to visit their country. The emperor reluctantly agreed to let the giant go.

One day in the middle of the night, Gulliver was visited by reports of a fire in the imperial chambers. Gulliver descended to the wind and did it so well that in three minutes the whole fire went out. But the empress was terribly outraged by Gulliver's act and promised to take revenge.

About the inhabitants of Lilliput; their science, laws and customs; system of upbringing children. How the author lived in this country. Rehabilitation in our eyes of one noble lady

A few words should be said about Liliputia and its inhabitants. Medium height the natives are slightly less than six inches, and are exactly the size of both animals and plants. They see perfectly, but only up close. They write from right to left and obliquely across the page. They bury the dead with their heads upside down, for they are of the opinion that in eleven thousand months the dead will be resurrected. And at that time, the earth should turn upside down. Crimes against the state are punished here extremely severely, but if the innocence of the accused is proven in court, then the informer's head is given to shameful execution, and a penalty in favor of the innocent is collected from his property. Fraud is considered a more serious crime than theft and is therefore punished with death. And everyone who proves that within 73 months he accurately fulfilled all the laws of the country, gets the right to certain benefits and the title of snilpel, that is, a lawyer who does not pass to the heirs. When appointing someone to a public office, Lilliputians pay more attention to moral qualities than ability. Ingratitude is considered a criminal offense in Lilliputia, according to the Lilliputians, the one who repays evil to the benefactor deserves death.

Lilliputians believe that parents cannot be trusted with the upbringing of their children, and therefore in every city there are public educational institutions where all parents, except peasants and workers, must send their children and where they are raised and brought up until they are 20 months old. Peasants and workers keep their children at home because they only have to plow and cultivate the land, and their upbringing does not have much weight for society.

Gulliver stayed in this country for 9 months and 13 days.

Once, when Gulliver was about to visit the Emperor Blefuscu, a venerable courtier secretly came to him, who stings that the giant is accused of high treason and other crimes for which they are punished with death, and showed the indictment. Rada decided to gouge out both eyes of Gulliver, and later they were going to punish him even more heavily. Three days later, a secretary was to arrive with an indictment.

With the official permission of His Majesty to visit the Emperor Blefusk, Gulliver wrote a letter to the secretary, informing him that he was arriving. On the same day, he went to the fleet, confiscated one of the ships, put his clothes in the ship and, dragging him along with him, reached the royal port of Blefuscu.

Three days later, upon arriving in Blefuscu, Gulliver noticed something at sea that looked like an overturned boat. He told the emperor that this boat was sent to him by fate to give him the opportunity to return to his homeland.

Some time later, an envoy from Lilliput arrived in Blefuscu with a copy of the indictment. The Emperor Blefuscu sent a very polite response after a three-day meeting, where he wrote that he could not send Gulliver tied up and soon both monarchs would be able to breathe a sigh of relief, for the giant was sent to the open sea.

On September 24, 1701, at six o'clock in the morning, Gulliver pulled on the sails. Soon he saw an English ship. There he met his old friend and told him about everything that had happened, but he did not believe it, thinking that the hardships endured darkened the friend's mind. But when Gulliver took out of his pocket the cows and sheep that he took with him all his suspicions were dispelled.

In England he made a lot of money by showing his cattle to a bunch of people, and then sold it for six hundred pounds.

He spent only two months with his wife and children. After that he boarded the merchant ship "Adventure" and set off on a second voyage.

Part two.

Journey to Brobdingneg

In this part, the hero finds himself in the land of giants. Here the heroes seem to change places. Now Gulliver is becoming a "midget" for the inhabitants of the country. And they behave with him the way he recently behaved with the midgets.

Gulliver again finds himself at the court of the local king, becomes his favorite companion. Most of all, the king was interested in the story of the hero's homeland. The owner said that, in his opinion, this story is "a bunch of riots, murders, beatings, revolutions and exiles, which is the worst result of greed, partisanship, hypocrisy, treachery, cruelty, rage, hatred, envy, malice and ambition."

The hero treats the king and the giants with sympathy, but feeling like a "midget" among them, also a captive, rushes home. And, having got to his native land, he again cannot sit still for a long time. Everything seems very small to him.

Part three.

Travel to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glabbdobdrib and Japan

On the flying island of Laputi, Gulliver sees a lot of absurdity. And the very fear that reigns in the heads of the inhabitants. This unreasonable fear prevents them from enjoying life and makes their existence a nightmare.

Going down to the city of Lagado, the hero sees terrible ruin and poverty. And next to this are small oases of normal life that once were here. So they lived on the continent by the time some "projectors" visited the island and decided to introduce the local order in their homeland. The Academy of Projectors evokes in Gulliver a sense of contempt and disgust for those who are trying to bring unrealistic ideas to life and are engaged in pseudoscientific "research". Tired of all this, he tries to return to England. But on his way come across the island of Glabbdobdrib and the kingdom of Luggnagg, where he meets sorcerers who can summon the shadows of the dead. Communicating with these ghosts, Gulliver learns that much that is written in the books does not correspond to the actual events of the past.

Having visited Japan, which at that time was closed to others, Gulliver returns to his homeland.

Part four.

Travel to the country of guіngnmіv

In the next country, Gulliver meets smart and friendly horses - guіngnmіv. At first, he is mistaken for a yehu - a savage man, whom the horses hold for slaves. However, they admit that the mind of the newcomer is much higher for the mind of the yehu - therefore they keep him more like an honorary prisoner than a slave.

At the end of the guigngnmi, Gulliver is kicked out, and he falls into severe depression. He can no longer communicate with people in whom he sees the hateful yehu.