Questions for discussion:
Part I
The Island of Lilliput
What do the Lilliputians do upon seeing Gulliver on their island?
How is their physical appearance described in the novel?
How does Gulliver feel in the land of diminutive people?
What is ironic about the way they present themselves and their actual actions? (i.e. as they take the inventory of Gulliver’s belongings, they miss out two items: what are they and what do they symbolise? What do they think about the shape of the world?)
How does a Lilliputian gain a position of power? What kind of a satirical comment emerges from this?
What regulations do they have regarding the education system?
What is the political conflict they have on the island? What does it symbolise?
What country are they in war with? What is the main reason of this political dispute?
Why does the King of Lilliput charge Gulliver with treason?
What does Swift satirise in this section of the novel?
Part II
A Voyage to Brobdingnag
What do the inhabitants of Brobdingnag look like? How does Gulliver view himself in this land occupied by giants?
What happens to Gulliver after he is captured by the farmer?
How does Gulliver describe his home country to the King of Brobdingnag?
How does the King of Brobdingnag respond to Gulliver’s account of his country?
What kind of a debate on the notion of size emerges in the light of these two sections?
In what ways could these two sections be considered allegorical?
