Gulliver's Travels and a Modest Proposal

By Jonathan Swift

Book Overview

By turns a children's fantasy and a social satire for adults, Gulliver's Travels is one of the most popular adventure tales of all time. Gulliver's Travels describes the four fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a kindly ship's surgeon. Swift portrays him as an observer, a reporter, and a victim of circumstance. His travels take him to Lilliput where he is a giant observing tiny people. In Brobdingnag, the tables are reversed and he is the tiny person in a land of giants where he is exhibited as a curiosity at markets and fairs. The flying island of Laputa is the scene of his next voyage. The people plan and plot as their country lies in ruins. It is a world of illusion and distorted values. The fourth and final voyage takes him to the home of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses who rule the land. He also encounters Yahoos, filthy bestial creatures who resemble humans. This edition includes: -A concise introduction that gives readers important background information -A chronology of the author's life and work -A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context -An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations -Detailed explanatory notes -Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work -Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction -A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experience Enriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1416500391
• ISBN13: 9781416500391
• Release Date: August 2005
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

A closet libertarian.

It is not Jonathan Swift’s fault that the writing is archaic. This may be overlooked if it were not so redundant and trivial. It can easily put you to sleep. We all know that these stories are supposed to be a thin veil for an agenda. Everyone from H. G. Wells to Ayn Rand hit you over the head with their agenda from the first. But no, Jonathan rattles with 10 pages to describe what is in his pockets, including his hidden pocket. (Who Cares?) And the book is filled with mundane descriptions. I think he is using this to flesh out what would be a 25-page manifesto. It is not until you get halfway through the book that, except for a few snide remarks about kings, he finally coughs up his point. “…, Whether a private man’s house might not be better defended by himself, his children, and family, than by half-a-dozen rascals, picked up at a venture in the streets for small wages, who might get a hundred times more by cutting their throats?” He goes on to pick on just about all the politics and ventures of England at the time. Paranoid readers can see the parallels between the book and today’s news. However, if it is that important, then dump Swift and just watch the news. Anyhow, it is not worth the time to read this book unless you are interested in someone who defecates at the end of his chain and talks about it in detail.