Rating: 
Summary: "Gigantic" Fun!
Review: In Jonathan Swift's masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels, he calls in to question the very aspects of human nature, and how he views our character in general. Swift leads the reader on numerous journeys with the protagonist, Gulliver. The way in which he changes our perspective of our lives causes the reader to ask the question, "What is my nature?" Swift is a satirist whose strong points are made apparent through his excellent writing style. This novel was very enjoyable and caused me to think about what we, as humans, are capable of, whether it be good or bad. This novel takes the reader to four completely different worlds where we begin an investigation into human nature, and all its capabilities. However, Swift does tend to mull over human nature and its weaknesses more than it's strong points. We begin to see a pattern in Swift's tale that leads us to believe that he does not put too much trust in us. Swift makes apparent the corruption that is strong within our government and every day lives. Although we do begin to see our flaws, we realize at the end of the tale that we are also given the precious gift of free will that allows us to make the right decisions. It is a very pleasurable reading experience that allows room to think and analyze the book. I would recommend this book to anyone age fifteen or above. It is truly enjoyable with plot twists and surprises to keep the reader interested to the end!
Rating: 
Summary: Gulliver's Travels
Review: I recently read Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. It is an interesting and different kind of novel. Gulliver is a ship's surgeon who journeys to several different places around the world. Gulliver first adventures to Lilliput, which is inhabited with six-inch humans who are characterized as "odious vermin". In Book two, he is in Brobdingnag, the land of the physical and moral giants. Thirdly, he lands on Laputa where science and reason live. Gulliver's final voyage leads him to the land of the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos. Here he discovers the use of perfect reasoning from the horse-like Houyhnhnms and the crude and undesired manner of the human-like Yahoos. Gulliver is a simple, objective character that we can easily trust. As his name would reveal, he is very gullible. Through each of his travels Gulliver reports to us as if we were as gullible as he is. He is incapable of reasoning unlike the Houyhnhnms whom he admires greatly. Swift uses satire a great deal in order to point out human weaknesses. Swift wrote this book during the Age of Reason in which science and technology were used to solve all problems. Throughout much of this book, especially while Gulliver is in Laputa, Swift uses satire to point out that scientific pursuits can not morally save us.
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Summary: .......
Review: In my opinion, Gulliver's Travels is one of the best stories of all time. Jonathan Swift is a very talented writer who knows how to connect with the reader like no other writer does. He, in a way, resembles Andy Kaufman with his humorous criticism and sarcasm. Swift, in many ways, is a comic himself. He uses satire and sarcasm at the right times and always has a quick solution to everything. He is also a ventriloquist by using Gulliver as a puppet to talk through. Swift writes and talks about political immorality and satirization of all governmental aspects of mostly England and the United States. Swift calls on the governmental members to look upon him or her self and review him or her self to think whether he or she got their job as a result not concerning ability. I think Swift makes a great point in including this in his novel. Overall, I believe this book calls for great respect and a slap to the face of any individual who doesn't appreciate it's core memorandum. I strongly urge anyone remotely interested in literature to pick this book up.
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Summary: Politics, science, and the like
Review: _Gulliver's Travels_ is Jonathan Swift's biting satire of just about everything he thought was wrong with society. Lemuel Gulliver, the main character and narrator, begins his strange and fantastic journey naive and overly praising of his society, and as he continues his travels, becomes increasingly disillusioned to the point of absurdity(as he rejects the company of his wife and children in favor of horses, who are naturally wise and good and better than human beings in every possible way). A witty satire with an interesting plot.
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Summary: Wonderful Introduction for Children to this Classic
Review: My daughter and I have been reading (and re-reading!) the DK Classics (of which "Gulliver's Travels" is part of) for several years, since she was 5. These books are very colorful, with lots of illustrations and photos of genuine artifacts, maps, and people from the era in which the story is set. Side panel text gives background information about the author, pictures and story. These "additions" (which do not detract from, but only enhance the story) help the young reader (and the adult too!) put the story into context. It is like getting both a classic and a pictorial history book rolled into one! The text is easy to read. My daughter is now 9, and reading the books on her own. Not only has she developed an appreciation for classic literature, but for history as well. These are great books for parents to read with their children. I highly recommend them!
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Summary: HUMANS: BIG AND LITTLE; UNWISE AND UNCOUTH
Review: GULLIVER'S TRAVELS can be looked at from at least two different viewpoints. Traditionally, it is critiqued on a stand alone basis as a satire written by a misanthrope. If taken within his overall body of work, however, it can still be perceived as a satire, but one written by a man with a deep concern for mankind.Parts I and II take a look at the foolish side of Englishmen, their religion, their politics, and their government. Parts III and IV satirize humanity on a much broader scale. In Part I, we find Lemuel Gulliver shipwrecked on the Island of Lilliput where the average inhabitant is about six inches tall. The Lilliputians are actually small in both body and mind. English politics and religion are here taken to task by descriptions of the doctrinal differences between those who wear high heels and those who wear low heels and by the dispute between those who break their eggs at the large end and those who prefer the small end. Like England, through much of history, the Lilliputians are constantly at war with their traditional enemies from across the chanel. In Part II, Gulliver is again stranded, this time in Brobdingnag, where the size proportions are just the opposite as in Lilliput. Here, Gulliver is tiny in comparison to the inhabitants. Here, too, Swift takes England and, for that matter, most of mankind, to task for being petty and contentious. After Gulliver has described European manners, customs, and behaviour to the king, the king observes that, "I cannot but conclude (that) the bulk of your natives (are) the most pernicious race of odious vermin . . . . to crawl on the face of the earth." Part III takes on the world of scientists, philosophers, and all of their ilk. On the flying Island of Laputa, the Continent of Lagado, and the Islands of Sorcerors and Immortals, Gulliver meets wise men who spend their lives in speculation but are incapable of dealing with the simplest practical problem, professors who spend their lives attempting to extract sunlight from cucumbers, and immortals who reveal history to be nothing more than a series of deceptions. Finally, in Part IV, he finds himself in the country of the Houyhnhnms, who are horses with the power to reason. These reasoning horses lead clean and simple lives in contrast to the beastlike humans, known as Yahoos, who are filthy, brutal, and uncouth. In the Yahoos, Gulliver recognizes the human race, and, after finally returning home, he can never again be comfortable in the company of other humans. Read by itself, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS is a satire on the foibles, weaknesses, and petty corruptions of the human species in general, and Englishmen in specific, as written by a rather embittered misanthrope. That is a correct reading, but not the only one. Read in the context of many of Swift's other works, particularly his many political pamphlets, I think that a case can be made that GULLIVER'S TRAVELS is a satirically inventive work written by a man who really cares about the future of humankind, and, using Gulliver as his example, that it is never too late to see the light. As an aside, Gulliver's visit to Lilliput has, through the years, enchanted countless numbers of children. It is in this section that we get a peek at Swift's humorous side.
Rating:
Summary: HUMANS: BIG AND LITTLE, UNWISE AND UNCOUTH
Review: GULLIVER'S TRAVELS can be looked at in at least two different ways. On a stand alone basis, it is a satire written by a misanthrope, but if taken within the context of his overall body of work, it can also be perceived as a satire written by a man with a deep concern for mankind. Part I and Part II satirize Englishmen, their religion, politics, and their government. Parts III and IV satirize humanity on a much broader scale. In Part I, we find Lemuel Gulliver shipwrecked on the Island of Lilliput where the average inhabitant is about six inches tall. They are actually small in both body and mind. English religion and politics are satirized by descriptions of those who wear high heels and those who wear low heels, and by the dispute between those who feel their eggs should be broken at the big end and those whose preference is the small end. Like England, through much of history, the Lilliputians are constantly at war with their traditional enemies from across the chanel. In Part II, Gulliver is again stranded, this time on Brobdingnag, where the size proportions are just the opposite as in Part I. Here, Gulliver is tiny in relation to the inhabitants. Here, too, England, and to some extent all of humankind, are taken to task. After Gulliver has described European manners, customs, and behaviour to the king, the king comments that "I cannot but conclude (that) the bulk of your natives (are) the most pernicious race of odious vermin . . . . to crawl on the face of the earth." Part III takes on the world of scientists, philosophers, historians, and "projectors." On the flying Island of Laputa, the continent of Lagado, and the Islands of the Sorcerers and Immortals, He meets wise men who spend their lives in speculation but can't handle the practical necessities of life, professors who dedicate their lives to extracting sunlight from cucumbers, and immortals who reveal history to be nothing more than a series of deceptions. Finally, in Part IV, he finds himself in the country of the Houyhnhnms, who are horses with the power to reason. These horses lead clean and simple lives in contrast to the humans, known as Yahoos, who are filthy, brutal, and uncouth. In the Yahoos, Gulliver recognizes the human race, and after finally returning home, he can never again be comfortable in the company of other humans. Read by itself, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS is a satire on the foibles, weaknesses, and petty corruptions of the human race in general, and English politicians in specific, as written by a rather bitter misanthrope. That is a correct reading, but not necessarily the only one. Read in the context of many of Swift's other works, particularly his many political pamphlets, I think that it can be perceived as a satirically inventive work written by a man who really cares about the future of the human race. As an aside, Gulliver's visit to Lilliput has, through the years, enchanted countless numbers of children. It is in this section that we get a peek at Swift's humorous side.
Rating:
Summary: Gullivers Travels
Review: In Gulliver's travels book 1 Gulliver is shiped recked and while he is asleep he floats to the shore of the Liliaput. While he is asleep on the shore a liliapution finds him and goes back and tells the king. The king gets all of his men so that they can move him into the city. When they get Gulliver into the city they tie him up by his ankle to a old temple. The temple is no longer in use because there was a murder in the temple and they say that there is a curse in it. At first the liliaputions are nice to Gulliver but they begin to start doing cruel things to him. They started to demand task that Gulliver was not up to doing. They would tell him that he has to go to there rivaling enemies and capture all of them and turn them into slaves. Gulliver begins to get annoyed with the little guys. So he leaves the island of liliput and goes to the rivaling island Bleufuscu and makes friends with them. While Guliver is there he decides that he wants to go home. While he is sitting on the beach he sees a piece of wood out in the sea. He swims out there to get it. When he brings it back he does some touching up on it and turn it into a boat. He gets some of the Blefuscians to help him build some sails and he puts them on his boat and sails away.
Rating:
Summary: A classic
Review: Orwell was a big fan of this book and you can see that reflected in his style. Swifts prose is clear and concise. It is a book which contains something for everyone, on the surface the stories are enjoyable simple tales, yet underneath Swift's satire bites very hard. I recommend it to everyone. Buy it.
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Summary: Gulliver -an ironic book?
Review: Gulliver`s Travels is esentially a book about human nature , its capacities and its limitations . The first voyage to Liliput is the most charming as it is used the play of proportions .Gulliver is a giant among the people so small that they look like"tiny animals ". The liliputans represent the weak creature who yet has much courage , inventedness and curiosity in the face of the danger . Their moral smalness suggest that nomatter the size , man is a political animal and at the same time the emptiness of public grandour of which swift laughs ironically.As an examle , the qualities required for officers in the state to obtain a social position:ballancing on the rope ; the desire of getting as many titles as possible . Gulliver became an embarassment because of his good consumption of food . His enemies wanted to put him to death . His punishment is changed to blinding . Their thinking is selfish . His carcasses will be smaller at his death and less likely to produce infections in the country ; by starving him he will be smaller . the idea is that where political action is in question , morality has nothing to do with the matter . - Lilliput shows the smallness in man , his pride in money , his political uselessness . THE SECOND VOYAGE -Gulliver himself makes in his comments some links between the first and the second voyage . They are linked on the very device they are based: the relative size . The device is a satiric one . - the brobdingnags are large men and as a result of this we see clearly our phisical graceness . - Gulliver has to face different degrating physical adventures . - He is put in a cage like an animal . - Swift let us understand that physical size means moral largeness . Giants are generous , warm and human . The Brobningnag will remanin an ideal in this respect , as they are reffered to in the last chapter of the book . - B. is not a perfect state ; it has beggars and men who exploit others . The B. visited by Gulliver is fortunate in its monarch , who unlike the emperor in Liliput , is very good with his subjects . He refuses to accept Gulliver`s offer of the secret of the gunpowder ; he is an enlighted king who loves his people and wants to do his best for his subjects moral and physical state . THE 3RD BOOK - it was in fact the last book to be written by swift . It is not so closely connected with the other two and thus it is less satisfactory . - presents the flying island of Laputa . - the island has a politcal reference . what is satirized is the abstract thinking . People are normal in size , but distorted in physical appearance . - they have no eye for the outworld ,for reality . - their human shape is distorted by their loss of human quality ; they live in a world of phantasy . - the capital prooduce a certain atmosphere in which man`s activity is replaced by the chance of a machine . - the excessive intellectualism of the flying island led to separation from the real world . THE 4TH BOOK - Guliver is in relation with the Yakoo`s bodies on one side and horses rational mind on the other side . The 4th voyage with its theme differing creatures is a synthesis of both reason and passion . Gulliver stresses strongly on the physical unpleasantness of the Yahoos and their habits , which are a version of all passion for jewel and gold . They are the corrupt passion entirely divorced from the reason . -
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