literature - reading and understanding

GULLIVERS TRAVELS

Hello dear students.

You are going on a voyage through the wonderful world of Jonathan Swift´s Gulliver´s travels.

You are going to read the novel and discuss its content with your fellow students.  During the progression of this  assignment I am going to give you different questions to think about while you read. Those questions are going to be discussed during our meetings on Mondays and Tuesdays.

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We will first travel to the world of the Lilliput

Chapter questions

Chapter 1

1. How does Gulliver end up stranded in Lilliput?

2. How do the Lilliputians offer Gulliver something to drink?

3. How does Gulliver earn the title of Nardac in Lilliput?

4.  Instead of killing him outright, the Lilliputians decide on which of the following punishments for Gulliver?

5. What is the line of doctrine over which the Blefuscudians and Lilliputians differ?

6. How tall are the lilliputians?

7. What washes up on the shore of Lilliput?

8. What is Gullivers role on the first voyage?

9. Who is Gullivers enemy in Lilliput?

10. How does the Lilliputians decide who gets a high place in the court?

11. How does Gulliver learn to speak the Lilliputian language?

12. Who raises the Lilliputian children?

Discuss:

1. How would you describe the lilliput?

2. Can there be a reason to why Swift made the lilliputians so small?

3. If we look at today, who could the lilliputians be? Could we make a comparison to something?

Part 3 questions

1. How does Laputa differ from a normal country?

2. What unusual kind of servants do the better-off Laputans have?

3. What is unusual about Laputan food and clothing?

4. What makes the island fly?

5. What, generally, does the Academy of Lagado do?

6. What is the architect Gulliver sees at the Academy trying to do?

7. What is the first physician Gulliver sees at the Academy attempting?

8. What is the first activity Gulliver sees in the more theoretically oriented part of the Academy?

9. What are the political professors doing to cure politicians?

10. Who are the Struldbruggs?

11. What misconception does Gulliver have about them?

12. Why does Gulliver, under a misconception, think of the Struldbruggs?

13. What are the Struldbruggs really like?

14. What is the attitude of other people toward them?

15. What is one of the reasons for this attitude?

Overall questions

1. Does Gulliver change as the story progresses? Does he learn from his adventures?

The Big questions

1. Does Gulliver change as the story progresses? Does he learn from his adventures?

2. Is Gulliver an everyman figure or does he have a distinctive personality of his own?

3. What is the significance, if any, of the order in which Gulliver’s journeys take place? 

4. How does each adventure build on the previous one?

5. Why does Gulliver keep traveling despite his many misfortunes?

6. What is the significance, if any, of the order in which Gulliver’s journeys take place? How does each adventure build on the previous one?