Ideas for Reports and Papers
1. Although Gulliver is a detailed and honest reporter, he is not a completely reliable narrator. In what ways does his reliability falter, and how do readers discern when to question his judgment?
2. Book three deviates from many patterns established in the other three books. Discuss how it differs and either justify its inclusion in Gulliver's Travels or argue why Swift should have excluded it.
3. Describe in detail how Swift uses book one to satirize and support specific political events and figures of eighteenth-century England. Identify the historical events that inspired much of what is depicted in Gulliver's visit to Lilliput.
4. Book four has puzzled critics and readers since Gulliver's Travels was first published. Based on the first three books, argue that Gulliver does not represent Swift's views in his complete admiration of the Houyhnhnms and his subsequent disdain for the human race.
5. Both Gulliver's Travels and Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (1719) have become beloved travel adventures. Compare and contrast the two books.
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