J's Pages

I had mixed feelings about this classic book, first published back in 1726. In case you missed in in your high school literature class, Gulliver's Travels is a tale about Captain Lemuel Gulliver, an Englishman who manages to get stranded in not one but four amazing lands. But this extraordinary travel tale is really a vehicle for Mr. Swift's social commentary and the lands Capt. Gulliver visits are but reflections of 18th Century England and her neighbors. Not being up on my English history, I'm sure I missed the significance of most of the barbs. But a lot of Mr. Swift's message is clear enough, and the story itself is rather entertaining. However I found the book to grow less appealing as it progressed. The last two lands in which Gulliver sojourns seem less fantastic than the first two and so are less entertaining. I don't know if Mr. Swift just runs out of steam or if my ignorance of his society makes me miss out on the subtleties of his satire. Either way, I found this to be only very good waiting room material.  

LibraryThing link

Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial

// posted by John @ 4:01 PM