Part 2, Chapters 5–8
Chapter 5
Gulliver relates several accidents which occurred to him while he was living at the court in Brobdingnag. Once, he was walking under an apple tree when the queen’s dwarf shook a bough over his head and he was hit by an apple “near as large as a Bristol barrel.” Another time, he was so bruised by a hailstorm that he could not go out for the next ten days. He was picked up by the gardener’s dog, almost carried off by a kite, and fell up to his neck in the hole beneath a mole hill. Glumdalclitch would also take him to see the queen’s maids of honor, who would strip him naked and lay him across their bosoms, which he greatly disliked, as their smell was offensive. One day, he went to see an execution, in which the criminal was beheaded with a sword forty feet long, and his head bounced half a mile away when he was decapitated.
Gulliver designs a rowing boat, which the queen’s joiner makes for him and which he rows in a specially made trough of water inside the palace. A frog which gets into the water by mistake briefly endangers his life, but his greatest peril comes from a monkey, which gathers him up and takes him outside onto the palace roof. He is rescued by a footman but sustains several injuries. The king enquires what passed through his mind when he was in the monkey’s grasp and what he would have done if this had happened in his own country. Though Gulliver answers him solemnly enough, he soon perceives that the king is laughing at him. He has become an object of ridicule to the whole court. Even Glumdalclitch, though she takes good care of him, is apt to tell the queen of any incidents involving Gulliver which might amuse Her Majesty.
Chapter 6
Gulliver describes how he made a comb out of the stubble shaved from the king’s face and wove chairs, after the manner of cane chairs on frames, out of the hairs collected in the queen’s comb. He also learns to play a basic tune on Glumdalclitch’s spinet, with the aid of two sticks to strike the keys.
Gulliver also has serious conversations with the king. In one of these, the king asks him to give an account of the way in which England is governed, in case there might be anything in the system worth imitating. Gulliver is eager to boast about the greatness of England and tells the king about the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the courts of justice, the treasury, and common sports and pastimes among the English. He finishes with a brief account of the last century of English political history. This discussion takes at least five audiences, followed by another in which the king asks numerous questions and raises objections. He asks principally about how the governors of England are chosen and what provision is made for their education. He also enquires into the particulars of the justice system and the financial management of the realm, observing that the English must be a very quarrelsome people to spend so much money on wars. He says that the historical account Gulliver has given him is nothing but “a heap of conspiracies, rebellions, murders, massacres, revolutions, banishments, the very worst effects that avarice, faction, hypocrisy, perfidiousness, cruelty, rage, madness, hatred, envy, lust, malice, and ambition could produce.” The king’s conclusion, from all that Gulliver has told him with great enthusiasm and partiality, is that the majority of the English must be “the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.”
Chapter 7
Gulliver apologizes to the reader for the contents of the previous chapter, since he loves his country and hates to hear the king abuse it. He offers the excuse that Brobdingnag is so remote from European civilization that the king cannot be expected to understand it. He demonstrates the king’s lack of perspicacity by relating how he offered to share the secret of making gunpowder with him, explaining what this invention is and how it is employed in Europe. The king is horrified by the idea of the bloodshed Gulliver tells him can be caused by gunpowder and says that it must have been contrived by “some evil genius, enemy to mankind.”
Gulliver says that education in Brobdingnag consists only of a few subjects: morality, history, poetry, and mathematics. The people there do not care for abstract ideas, and their laws cannot be more than twenty-two words in length and are consequently very simple. Although they have had the art of printing for as long as anyone can recall, their libraries are fairly small. Even the king possesses fewer than a thousand books. He ends the chapter with a description of the Brobdingnagian army, which consists of 176,000 foot soldiers and 32,000 cavalry. Given Brobdingnag’s remoteness, Gulliver wonders at their needing an army at all but is told that there have been civil wars, the last of which was ended by the current king’s grandfather.
Chapter 8
At the beginning of his third year in Brobdingnag, Gulliver is visiting the seaside in his traveling box when an eagle seizes the box and carries him away. The eagle soon drops the box into the sea. The box proves to be fairly watertight, though Gulliver is constantly afraid of the windows breaking. Eventually, he encounters a ship, which proves to be from England, whereupon he is rescued.
The ship’s captain, whose name is Thomas Wilcocks, is a kindly and intelligent man. Gulliver finally manages to convince him of the truth of his astonishing story with the help of some of the bizarre artifacts from Brobdingnag salvaged from his traveling box. The captain suggests that Gulliver should write a book about his experiences, though Gulliver says that there are too many travel books already. For some time, Gulliver’s experiences in Brobdingnag affect his perception of reality. He talks very loudly and sees everything around him as very small. Many people think him mad on first encountering him, but he eventually learns to adapt his behavior to life among people of his own size.
Expert Q&A
What does Gulliver tell the king of Brobdingnag about England in "Gulliver's Travels"?
In Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver tells the king of Brobdingnag about the governance of England, including its parliament, its clergy, its finances, and its conduct of war. After hearing all that Gulliver has to say, the king decides that the English are the most "odious vermin" on the planet.
What experiences does Gulliver have in Brobdingnag?
In Gulliver's Travels, Gulliver comes to Brobdingnag, the land of giants, when the Adventure is forced to land in a storm, and a "huge creature" then chases everyone but Gulliver back to the ship. Gulliver is brought home by a farmer and is looked after by the farmer's daughter. Gulliver is a curiosity in Brobdingnag and is exhibited for money and then bought by the Queen, who becomes very fond of him.
How does the king react to Gulliver's description of Britain in Gulliver’s Travels?
Why does the dwarf in Gulliver's Travels harbor ill will against Gulliver?
The dwarf in "Gulliver's Travels" harbors ill will against Gulliver because Gulliver has taken his place as the shortest person in Brobdingnag. Feeling threatened, the dwarf becomes insolent, mocking and insulting Gulliver's size. He plays cruel pranks, such as dropping Gulliver into a bowl of cream and jamming him into a bone, leading to punishment for the dwarf. Ultimately, the queen removes the dwarf from court, ending his harassment of Gulliver.
What are examples of fantasy in part two of Gulliver’s Travels?
In Part Two of Gulliver's Travels, the primary fantasy element is Gulliver's encounter with the giant inhabitants of Brobdingnag, where he is so small he fits in their palms and pockets. The exaggerated size difference affects his interactions with animals and people, making him a curiosity. A notable fantasy event includes an eagle carrying his travel box over the sea, ultimately enabling his escape. These elements highlight the surreal and fantastical nature of Swift's narrative.
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