Reseña del libro "Gulliver´s Travels"
A parody of traveler’s tales and a satire of human nature, Gulliver’s Travels is
Jonathan Swift’s most famous work initially published in 1726. An immensely popular
tale that describes the story of Lemuel Gulliver, a man who loves to travel. A series of
four journeys are detailed in which Gulliver finds himself in a number of amusing and
risky situations. In the first voyage, Gulliver is imprisoned by a race of tiny people, the
Lilliputians, when following a shipwreck he is washed upon the shores of their island
country. In his second voyage, Gulliver finds himself abandoned in Brobdingnag, a
land of giants, where he is exhibited for their amusement. In his third voyage, Gulliver
once again finds himself stranded; fortunately, he is rescued by the floating island
of Laputa, a kingdom devoted to the arts of music and mathematics. He then travels
to the surrounding lands of Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan. Finally,
in his last voyage, when he is set adrift by a rebellious crew, he finds himself in the
curious Country of the Houyhnhnms. Through the various experiences of Gulliver,
Swift brilliantly satirizes the political and cultural environment of his time in addition
to creating a lasting and enchanting tale of fantasy.
Gulliver’s Travels has been the recipient of several headings: from Menippean
satire to a children’s story, from proto-Science Fiction to a forerunner of the modern
novel. Broadly, the book has three themes. First, a satirical view of the state of European
government, and of petty differences between religions. Second, a restatement of
the older “ancients versus moderns” controversy. Third, an inquiry into whether men
are inherently corrupt or whether they become corrupted. Gulliver’s Travels is Swift’s
best-known full-length work and an English literature classic.
