Summary: Chapter II
Once the Lilliputians chain Gulliver to the building,
he is finally allowed to stand up and view the entire countryside,
which he discovers is beautiful and rustic. The tallest trees are
seven feet tall, and the whole area looks to him like a theater
set.
Gulliver meticulously describes his process of relieving
himself, which initially involves walking inside the building to
the edge of his chain. After the first time, he makes sure to relieve
himself in open air, and servants carry away his excrement in wheelbarrows.
He says that he describes this process in order to establish his
cleanliness, which has been called into question by his critics.
The emperor visits on horseback from his tower. He orders
his servants to give Gulliver food and drink. The emperor is dressed plainly
and carries a sword to defend himself. He and Gulliver converse,
though they cannot understand each other. Gulliver tries to speak
every language he knows, but nothing works. After two hours, Gulliver
is left with a group of soldiers guarding him. Some of them, disobeying
orders, try to shoot arrows at him. As a punishment, the brigadier
ties up six of these offenders and places them in Gulliver’s hand.
Gulliver puts five of them into his pocket and pretends that he
is going to eat the sixth, but then cuts loose his ropes and sets
him free. He does the same with the other five, which pleases the
court.
After two weeks, a bed is made for Gulliver. It consists
of 600 small beds sewn together. News of
his arrival also spreads throughout the kingdom and curious people
from the villages come to see him. Meanwhile, the government tries
to decide what to do with him. Frequent councils bring up various
concerns: that he will break loose, for instance, or that he will
eat enough to cause a famine. Some suggest that they starve him
or shoot him in the face to kill him, but others argue that doing
so would leave them with a giant corpse and a large health risk.
Officers who witnessed Gulliver’s lenient treatment of
the six offending soldiers report to the council, and the emperor
and his court decide to respond with kindness. They arrange to deliver
large amounts of food to Gulliver every morning, supply him with
servants to wait on him, hire tailors to make him clothing, and
offer teachers to instruct him in their language.
Every morning Gulliver asks the emperor to set him free,
but the emperor refuses, saying that Gulliver must be patient. The
emperor also orders him to be searched to ensure that he does not
have any weapons. Gulliver agrees to this search, and the Lilliputians
take an inventory of his possessions. In the process, all of his
weapons are taken away.
