By: Miranda Lewis & Heaven Phillips

By: Miranda Lewis & Heaven Phillips

SUMMARYThe Lilliputians inhabit the first island Gulliver visits. They all stand about six inches tall, with proportionally tiny buildings and trees and horses. The Lilliputians are ruled by an Emperor who appoints his high court officials according to their skills with rope dancing rather than their actual abilities. In other words, they're not exactly governed according to rational principles. The court of Lilliput mostly seems to spend its time plotting against one another. Gulliver, unfortunately, forms one of the primary targets of these plots. His enormous size makes him both expensive and dangerous for the Emperor to keep, so, even though he has made himself useful in Lilliput's wars against Blefusc, Gulliver eventually has to flee the country to avoid having his eyes put out.

• Similarly shallow is the difference between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians. The story goes that, apparently, when this Emperor's grandfather was a child, he cut himself when he cracked a boiled egg on its big, rounded end. Following this accident, the current Emperor's great-grandfather laid down the law: no more cracking eggs at the big end. Now, the entire island of Lilliput can only crack eggs at the little end. This change completely outrages some Lilliputians, who raise rebellions and flee to the neighboring island of tiny people, Blefuscu, a haven for Big-Endians.

IDENTIFY• The cause of the Little-Endians versus the Big-

Endians is an allegory of the long (long) wars between Protestants (Little-Endians) and Catholics (Big-Endians) in England. During Jonathan Swift's lifetime, battles between Catholics and Protestants provided at least some of the fuel for the Glorious Revolution, Scottish Jacobite rebellions, and the War of the Spanish Succession between England, France, Austria, and Spain. The accusations that Lilliput makes against its neighboring island across the channel, that they are sheltering Big-Endian exiles and plotting against Lilliput, is a reference to the French harboring Catholic exiles following Henry VIII's break with Rome to found the Anglican Church

COMPARE & CONTRAST

Jonathon Swift uses satire in his description of the Lilliputians trying to shame man from his moral demise.

This is the same device used by Chaucer to describe the Pilgrims in Canterbury Tales. Swift accuses the Lilliputians of hypocrisy, ingratitude, and cruelty.

I think that our society has gotten better since Chaucer's society.

I side with Chaucer.

EVALUATE

Swift- 1700’s During Jonathan Swift's lifetime, battles between Catholics and Protestants provided at least some of the fuel for the Glorious Revolution, Scottish Jacobite rebellions, and the War of the Spanish Succession between England, France, Austria, and Spain.

Chaucer-1300’s

I think that the Society has kind of gotten better and worse at the same time.

PERSONALIZE

In today’s Society there are a lot of people who are little when it comes down to backing away from a fight or argument. I think that little Endians means a person with little self esteem and act low on themselves. I think that a big Endians means a person that is perfect and never get talked down to. I think that we are what I call Normal people because we make mistakes and Like the little Endians and we sometimes walk away from trouble.