gulliver iv v

7/24/2019 Gulliver IV V

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Summary: Chapter IV

After regaining his freedom, Gulliver goes to Mildendo, the capital city of the

Lilliputians. he residents are told to stay indoors, and they all sit on their roofs and

in their garret !indo!s to see him. he to!n is "## feet s$uare !ith a !all

surrounding it, and can hold "##,### people. he emperor !ants Gulliver to see the

magni%cence of his palace, !hich is at the center of the city, so Gulliver cuts do!n

trees to ma&e himself a stool, !hich he carries around !ith him so that he can sit

do!n and see things from a shorter distance than a standing position allo!s.

A'out t!o !ee&s after Gulliver o'tains his li'erty, a government o(cial, )eldresal,

comes to see him. *e tells Gulliver that t!o forces, one re'el group and one foreign

empire, threaten the &ingdom. he re'el group e+ists 'ecause the &ingdom is

divided into t!o factions, called ramec&san and Slamec&san. he people in the t!o

factions are distinguished 'y the heights of their heels.

)eldresal tells Gulliver that the current emperor has chosen to employ primarily the

lo!heeled Slamec&san in his administration. *e adds that the emperor himself has

lo!er heels than all of his o(cials 'ut that his heir has one heel higher than the

other, !hich ma&es him !al& unevenly. At the same time, the Lilliputians fear an

invasion from the Island of -lefuscu, !hich )eldresal calls the /ther Great 0mpire

of the 1niverse.2 *e adds that the philosophers of Lilliput do not 'elieve Gulliver3s

claim that there are other countries in the !orld inha'ited 'y other people of his

si4e, preferring to thin& that Gulliver dropped from the moon or a star.

)eldresal descri'es the history of the t!o nations. he con5ict 'et!een them, he

tells Gulliver, 'egan years ago, !hen the emperor3s grandfather, then in command

of the country, commanded all Lilliputians to 'rea& their eggs on the small end %rst.

*e made this decision after 'rea&ing an egg in the old !ay, large end %rst, and

cutting his %nger. he people resented the la!, and si+ re'ellions !ere started in

protest. he monarchs of -lefuscu fueled these re'ellions, and !hen they !ere over

the re'els 5ed to that country to see& refuge. 0leven thousand people chose deathrather than su'mit to the la!. Many 'oo&s !ere !ritten on the controversy, 'ut

'oo&s !ritten 'y the -ig0ndians !ere 'anned in Lilliput. he government of

-lefuscu accused the Lilliputians of diso'eying their religious doctrine, the

-rundrecral, 'y 'rea&ing their eggs at the small end. he Lilliputians argued that

the doctrine reads, hat all true 'elievers shall 'rea& their eggs at the convenient

end,2 !hich could 'e interpreted as the small end.


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)eldresal continues that the e+iles gained support in -lefuscu to launch a !ar

against Lilliput and !ere aided 'y re'el forces inside Lilliput. A !ar has 'een raging

'et!een the t!o nations ever since, and Gulliver is as&ed to help defend Lilliput

against its enemies. Gulliver does not feel that it is appropriate to intervene, 'ut henonetheless o6ers his services to the emperor.

Summary: Chapter V

Gulliver spies on the empire of -lefuscu and devises a plan. *e as&s for ca'les and

'ars of iron, out of !hich he ma&es hoo&s !ith ca'les attached. *e then !ades and

s!ims the channel to -lefuscu and catches their ships at port. he people are so

frightened that they leap out of their ships and s!im to shore. Gulliver attaches ahoo& to each ship and ties them together. he -lefuscu soldiers %re arro!s at him,

'ut he &eeps !or&ing, protecting his eyes 'y putting on the spectacles he &eeps in

his coat poc&et. *e tries to pull the ships a!ay, 'ut they are anchored too tightly, so

he cuts them a!ay !ith his poc&et&nife and pulls the ships 'ac& to Lilliput.

In Lilliput, Gulliver is greeted as a hero. he emperor as&s him to go 'ac& to retrieve

the other ships, intending to destroy -lefuscu3s military strength and ma&e it a

province in his empire. Gulliver dissuades him from this action, saying that he does

not !ant to encourage slavery or in7ustice. his position causes great disagreementin the government, !ith some o(cials turning staunchly against Gulliver and calling

for his destruction.

hree !ee&s later, a delegation arrives from -lefuscu, and the !ar ends !ith

-lefuscu3s surrender. he -lefuscu delegates are privately told of Gulliver3s &indness

to!ard the Lilliputians, and they as& him to visit their &ingdom. *e !ishes to do so,

and the emperor reluctantly allo!s it.

As a 8ardac, or person of high ran&, Gulliver no longer has to perform all the duties

laid do!n in his contract. *e does, ho!ever, have the opportunity to help the

Lilliputians !hen the emperor3s !ife3s room catches %re. *e forgets his coat and

cannot put the 5ames out !ith his clothing, so instead he thin&s of a ne! plan: he

urinates on the palace, putting out the %re entirely. *e !orries after!ard that since

the act of pu'lic urination is a crime in Lilliput he !ill 'e prosecuted, 'ut the


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emperor tells him he !ill 'e pardoned. *e is told, ho!ever, that the emperor3s !ife

can no longer tolerate living in her rescued $uarters.

Analysis: 9art I, Chapters IVV

;espite the fact that the history of the con5ict 'et!een Lilliput and -lefuscu is

'latantly ridiculous, Gulliver reports it !ith complete seriousness. he more serious

the tone, the more laugha'le this con5ict appears. -ut S!ift e+pects us to

understand immediately that the entire history Gulliver relates parallels 0uropean

history e+actly, do!n to the smallest details. he *igh*eels and the Lo!*eels

correspond to the at least, there is no !ay to prove

that one !ay is right and another !ay is !rong. Moreover, the -ig0ndians and

Little0ndians 'oth share the same religious te+t, 'ut they disagree on ho! to

interpret a passage that can clearly 'e interpreted t!o !ays. Similarly, S!ift is

suggesting that the Christian -i'le can 'e interpreted in more than one !ay, and

that it is ridiculous for people to %ght over ho! to interpret it !hen no one can really'e certain that one interpretation is right and others are !rong.

he te+t contains a num'er of allusions to events in S!ift3s life and to the politics of

0urope. =or instance, it has 'een suggested that the empress represents ?ueen

Anne of 0ngland, Gulliver3s urination on her $uarters represents S!ift3s !or& A ale


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of a u', and the empress3s disgust at Gulliver3s urination is analogous to ?ueen

Anne3s criticism of S!ift3s !or& and her attempts to limit his prospects in the Church

of 0ngland.

gulliver iv v

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