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.The answer to this question is less obvious, and the text does not give us a simple explanation.The debate between the Big-Endians and Little-Endians does provide some clues, however.The egg controversy is ridiculous because there cannot be any right or wrong way to crack an egg, so it is unreasonable to legislate how people must do it.Similarly, we may conclude that there is no right or wrong way to worship God—at least, there is no way to prove that one way is right and another way is wrong.Moreover, the Big-Endians and Little-Endians both share the same religious text, but they disagree on how to interpret a passage that can clearly be interpreted two ways.Similarly, Swift is suggesting that the Christian Bible can be interpreted in more than one way, and that it is ridiculous for people to fight over how to interpret it when no one can really be certain that one interpretation is right and others are wrong.The text contains a number of allusions to events in Swift's life and to the politics of Europe.For instance, it has been suggested that the empress represents Queen Anne of England, Gulliver's urination on her quarters represents Swift's work A Tale of a Tub, and the empress's disgust at Gulliver's urination is analogous to Queen Anne's criticism of Swift's work and her attempts to limit his prospects in the Church of England.Within the story, Gulliver's urination on the palace is not merely an offense to the Lilliputians' sense of decency, it is also a suggestion of their insignificance, to which they respond indignantly.Although Gulliver's urination is intended to prevent a disaster, it is also an assertion of his ability to control the Lilliputians—even by the most profane of actions.The episode illustrates again the importance of physical power, which can turn a normally insignificant and vulgar action into a lifesaving act.Gulliver's refusal to obey the emperor's orders to destroy the fleet of Blefuscu is a sign that he feels some responsibility toward all beings.However small, the inhabitants of Blefuscu still have rights, one of which is freedom from tyranny.Granted almost godlike power by his unusual size, Gulliver finds himself in a position to change the Lilliputians' society forever.Summary: Chapter VIGulliver describes the general customs and practices of Lilliput in more detail, beginning by explaining that everything in Lilliput— their animals, trees, and plants—is sized in proportion to the Lilliputians.Their eyesight is also adapted to their scale: Gulliver cannot see as clearly close-up as they can, while they cannot see as far as he can.The Lilliputians are well educated, but their writing system is odd to Gulliver, who jokes that they write not left to right like the Europeans or top to bottom like the Chinese, but from one corner of the page to the other, “like the ladies in England.” The dead are buried with their heads pointing directly downward, because the Lilliputians believe that eventually the dead will rise again and that the Earth, which they think is flat, will turn upside down.Gulliver adds that the better-educated Lilliputians no longer believe in this custom.Gulliver describes some of the other laws of Lilliput, such as a tradition by which anyone who falsely accuses someone else of a crime against the state is put to death.Deceit is considered worse than theft, because honest people are more vulnerable to liars than to thieves, since commerce requires people to trust one another.The law provides not only for punishment but also for rewards of special titles and privileges for good behavior.Children are raised not by individual parents but by the kingdom as a whole.They are sent to live in schools at a very young age.The schools are chosen according to the station of their parents, whom they see only twice a year.Only the laborers' children stay home, since their job is to farm.There are no beggars at all, since the poor are well looked after.Summary: Chapter VIIGulliver goes on to describe the “intrigue” that precipitates his departure from Lilliput.While he prepares to make his trip to Blefuscu, a court official tells Gulliver that he has been charged with treason by enemies in the government.He shows Gulliver the document calling for his execution: Gulliver is charged with public urination, refusing to obey the emperor's orders to seize the remaining Blefuscu ships, aiding enemy ambassadors, and traveling to Blefuscu.Gulliver is told that Reldresal has asked for his sentence to be reduced, calling not for execution but for putting his eyes out.This punishment has been agreed upon, along with a plan to starve him to death slowly.The official tells Gulliver that the operation to blind him will take place in three days.Fearing this resolution, Gulliver crosses the channel and arrives in Blefuscu.Summary: Chapter VIIIThree days later, he sees a boat of normal size—that is, big enough to carry him—overturned in the water.He asks the emperor of Blefuscu to help him fix it.At the same time, the emperor of Lilliput sends an envoy with the articles commanding Gulliver to give up his eyesight.The emperor of Blefuscu sends it back with the message that Gulliver will soon be leaving both their kingdoms.After about a month, the boat is ready and Gulliver sets sail.He arrives safely back in England, where he makes a good profit showing miniature farm animals that he carried away from Blefuscu in his pockets.Analysis: Part I, Chapters VI-VIIIThroughout much of Part I, Swift satirizes European practices by implicitly comparing them to outrageous Lilliputian customs.In Chapter VI, however, Gulliver describes a number of unusual Lilliputian customs that he presents as reasonable and sensible.This chapter, which describes improvements that could be made in European society, is less satirical and ironic than the previous chapters.We may infer that Swift approves of many of these institutions.Clearly, there is a good case to be made for treating fraud as a more serious crime than theft and for making false testimony a capital crime.The very fabric of society depends upon trust, so dishonesty may be even more damaging than theft and violence.In general, the customs of Lilliput that Swift presents as good are those that contribute to the good of the community or the nation as opposed to those that promote individual rights or freedoms.Ingratitude is punishable by death, for instance, because anybody who would treat a benefactor badly must be an enemy to all mankind [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.The answer to this question is less obvious, and the text does not give us a simple explanation.The debate between the Big-Endians and Little-Endians does provide some clues, however.The egg controversy is ridiculous because there cannot be any right or wrong way to crack an egg, so it is unreasonable to legislate how people must do it.Similarly, we may conclude that there is no right or wrong way to worship God—at least, there is no way to prove that one way is right and another way is wrong.Moreover, the Big-Endians and Little-Endians both share the same religious text, but they disagree on how to interpret a passage that can clearly be interpreted two ways.Similarly, Swift is suggesting that the Christian Bible can be interpreted in more than one way, and that it is ridiculous for people to fight over how to interpret it when no one can really be certain that one interpretation is right and others are wrong.The text contains a number of allusions to events in Swift's life and to the politics of Europe.For instance, it has been suggested that the empress represents Queen Anne of England, Gulliver's urination on her quarters represents Swift's work A Tale of a Tub, and the empress's disgust at Gulliver's urination is analogous to Queen Anne's criticism of Swift's work and her attempts to limit his prospects in the Church of England.Within the story, Gulliver's urination on the palace is not merely an offense to the Lilliputians' sense of decency, it is also a suggestion of their insignificance, to which they respond indignantly.Although Gulliver's urination is intended to prevent a disaster, it is also an assertion of his ability to control the Lilliputians—even by the most profane of actions.The episode illustrates again the importance of physical power, which can turn a normally insignificant and vulgar action into a lifesaving act.Gulliver's refusal to obey the emperor's orders to destroy the fleet of Blefuscu is a sign that he feels some responsibility toward all beings.However small, the inhabitants of Blefuscu still have rights, one of which is freedom from tyranny.Granted almost godlike power by his unusual size, Gulliver finds himself in a position to change the Lilliputians' society forever.Summary: Chapter VIGulliver describes the general customs and practices of Lilliput in more detail, beginning by explaining that everything in Lilliput— their animals, trees, and plants—is sized in proportion to the Lilliputians.Their eyesight is also adapted to their scale: Gulliver cannot see as clearly close-up as they can, while they cannot see as far as he can.The Lilliputians are well educated, but their writing system is odd to Gulliver, who jokes that they write not left to right like the Europeans or top to bottom like the Chinese, but from one corner of the page to the other, “like the ladies in England.” The dead are buried with their heads pointing directly downward, because the Lilliputians believe that eventually the dead will rise again and that the Earth, which they think is flat, will turn upside down.Gulliver adds that the better-educated Lilliputians no longer believe in this custom.Gulliver describes some of the other laws of Lilliput, such as a tradition by which anyone who falsely accuses someone else of a crime against the state is put to death.Deceit is considered worse than theft, because honest people are more vulnerable to liars than to thieves, since commerce requires people to trust one another.The law provides not only for punishment but also for rewards of special titles and privileges for good behavior.Children are raised not by individual parents but by the kingdom as a whole.They are sent to live in schools at a very young age.The schools are chosen according to the station of their parents, whom they see only twice a year.Only the laborers' children stay home, since their job is to farm.There are no beggars at all, since the poor are well looked after.Summary: Chapter VIIGulliver goes on to describe the “intrigue” that precipitates his departure from Lilliput.While he prepares to make his trip to Blefuscu, a court official tells Gulliver that he has been charged with treason by enemies in the government.He shows Gulliver the document calling for his execution: Gulliver is charged with public urination, refusing to obey the emperor's orders to seize the remaining Blefuscu ships, aiding enemy ambassadors, and traveling to Blefuscu.Gulliver is told that Reldresal has asked for his sentence to be reduced, calling not for execution but for putting his eyes out.This punishment has been agreed upon, along with a plan to starve him to death slowly.The official tells Gulliver that the operation to blind him will take place in three days.Fearing this resolution, Gulliver crosses the channel and arrives in Blefuscu.Summary: Chapter VIIIThree days later, he sees a boat of normal size—that is, big enough to carry him—overturned in the water.He asks the emperor of Blefuscu to help him fix it.At the same time, the emperor of Lilliput sends an envoy with the articles commanding Gulliver to give up his eyesight.The emperor of Blefuscu sends it back with the message that Gulliver will soon be leaving both their kingdoms.After about a month, the boat is ready and Gulliver sets sail.He arrives safely back in England, where he makes a good profit showing miniature farm animals that he carried away from Blefuscu in his pockets.Analysis: Part I, Chapters VI-VIIIThroughout much of Part I, Swift satirizes European practices by implicitly comparing them to outrageous Lilliputian customs.In Chapter VI, however, Gulliver describes a number of unusual Lilliputian customs that he presents as reasonable and sensible.This chapter, which describes improvements that could be made in European society, is less satirical and ironic than the previous chapters.We may infer that Swift approves of many of these institutions.Clearly, there is a good case to be made for treating fraud as a more serious crime than theft and for making false testimony a capital crime.The very fabric of society depends upon trust, so dishonesty may be even more damaging than theft and violence.In general, the customs of Lilliput that Swift presents as good are those that contribute to the good of the community or the nation as opposed to those that promote individual rights or freedoms.Ingratitude is punishable by death, for instance, because anybody who would treat a benefactor badly must be an enemy to all mankind [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]