Summary: Chapter I
Gulliver has been home in England only ten days when a
visitor comes to his house, asking him to sail aboard his ship in
two months’ time. Gulliver agrees and prepares to set out for the
East Indies. On the voyage, pirates attack the ship. Gulliver hears
a Dutch voice among them and speaks to the pirate in Dutch, begging to
be set free since he and the pirate are both Christians. A Japanese pirate
tells them they will not die, and Gulliver tells the Dutchman that
he is surprised to find more mercy in a heathen than in a Christian.
The Dutchman grows angry and punishes Gulliver by sending him out
to sea in a small boat with only four days’ worth of food.
Gulliver finds some islands and goes ashore on one of
them. He sets up camp but then notices something strange: the sun
is mysteriously obscured for some time. He then sees a landmass
dropping down from the sky and notices that it is crawling with
people. He is baffled by this floating island and shouts up to its
inhabitants. They lower the island and send down a chain by which
he is drawn up.
Summary: Chapter II
Gulliver is immediately surrounded by people and notices
that they are all quite odd. Their heads are all tilted to one side
or the other, with one eye turned inward and the other looking up.
Their clothes are adorned with images of celestial bodies and musical
instruments. Some of the people are servants, and each of them carries
a “flapper” made of a stick with a pouch tied to the end. Their
job is to aid conversation by striking the ear of the listener and
the mouth of the speaker at the appropriate times to prevent their
masters’ minds from wandering off.
Gulliver is conveyed to the king, who sits behind a table
loaded with mathematical instruments. They wait an hour before there
is some opportunity to arouse the king from his thoughts, at which point
he is struck with the flapper. The king says something, and Gulliver’s
ear is struck with the flapper as well, even though he tries to
explain that he does not require such actions. It becomes clear that
he and the king cannot speak any of the same languages, so Gulliver
is taken to an apartment and served dinner.
A teacher is sent to instruct Gulliver in the language
of the island, and he is able to learn several sentences. He discovers
that the name of the island is Laputa, which in their language means
“floating island.” A tailor is also sent to provide him with new
clothes, and while he is waiting for these clothes, the king orders
the island to be moved. It is taken to a point above the capital
city of the kingdom, Lagado, passing villages along the way and
collecting petitions from the king’s subjects by means of ropes
sent down to the lands below.
The language of the Laputans relies heavily on mathematical
and musical concepts, as they value these theoretical disciplines
above everything. The Laputans despise practical geometry, thinking
it vulgar—so much so that they make sure that there are no right angles
in their buildings. They are very good with charts and figures but
very clumsy in practical matters. They practice astrology and dread
changes in the celestial bodies.
