Informal Journal Essay - 681 words

Informal Journal In Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver first encounters the tiny Lilliputians after he is shipwrecked. He wakes up to find himself bound by countless tiny threads that the tiny people used to restrain and contain him. Their tiny size is purely symbolic in nature, because Jonathan Swift's tale is mainly a satire on England. The Lilliputians stood no more than six inches high in size, but overtook and had control over Gulliver who was vastly larger than them. In this size discrepancy, Swift was recognizing that England was only a tiny island but was able to employ its knowledge and skills to overtake and become the world's most influential and dominant force. Despite England's tiny size, it had the ability to defeat any nation that might pose a threat and try to conquor it. There is also further commentary on England through both the size and the attitude of the Lilliputians.


Although they are incredibly small from Gulliver's point of view, they do not see themselves in the same way that he does. Their view of themselves is that they are of normal size, and Gulliver is freakishly large. While there may be some commentary on England's over-inflated ego and view of itself, it is also a reminder to England and European society that size, strength and power are relative, and that Europe could not be certain that larger, Gulliver-like power could not come along to conquor them. There is further symbolism in the size of the Lilliputians. While Gulliver is learning more about their ways, he finds that their culture is based on very small, trivial issues, which is parallel to their small stature. One such practice is that they choose their government officials by rope dancing. The Lilliputians see these practices as completely normal, but to an outsider like Gulliver, the practices are completely ridiculous.


This particular scene is more satire on the British government; the actual government also elected their ministers in a trivial man ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: the lilliputians, gulliver, european society, the brobdingnagians, swift

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