- 01Title page and publication notice
- 02Contents of the four voyages
Gulliver's Travels
Satire of politics, science, and human pride.
9Chapters
62Lessons
195Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Explain how Swift uses satire to criticize politics, science, and social pride.
- Summarize the major voyages and episodes in Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the Houyhnhnms' land.
- Analyze the themes of power, habit, prejudice, and human folly across the text.
- Identify key characters, settings, and narrative devices in Gulliver's Travels.
- Discuss how the novel reflects attitudes toward English society and Enlightenment ideas.
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 9
- Lessons
- 62
- Topics
- 195
- 01Publisher’s note on Gulliver and the manuscript
- 01Gulliver’s complaint about the published travels
- 02Defense of the voyages and the Houyhnhnms
- 03Part I heading
- 01Gulliver's education, marriage, and voyages
- 02Shipwreck off Van Diemen's Land
- 03Captured by the Lilliputians
- 04Feeding Gulliver and the emperor’s summons
- 05Sleep, restraint, and the transport machine
- 06Arrival at the capital and temple confinement
- 01Arrival and first sight of Lilliput
- 02The emperor’s appearance and the first audience
- 03Public reaction and the court’s arrangements
- 04Inventory of Gulliver's pockets
- 05Surrender of weapons and valuables
- 06Private pocket and concealed items
- 01Ropedancers and court prizes
- 02Military exercises on the handkerchief stage
- 03Recovery of the hat and liberty conditions
- 01The articles for Gulliver’s liberty
- 02Release from chains and the emperor’s favor
- 03Why the allowance was set at 1724
- 01Mildendo’s walls, streets, and population
- 02The emperor’s palace and inner courts
- 01Reldresal’s account of court factions
- 02The egg controversy and war with Blefuscu
- 01Seizing the Blefuscu fleet
- 02Nardac title and court intrigue
- 03Saving the empress’s apartment from fire
- 01Lilliputian size and learning
- 02Burial customs and legal rewards
- 03Morality, officeholding, and divine providence
- 04Corruptions, ingratitude, and public nurseries
- 01Lilliputian nurseries and family support
- 02Gulliver’s household and servants
- 03The emperor’s dinner visit and Flimnap’s complaint
- 01Vindication of the treasurer's wife
- 01The impeachment plot against Gulliver
- 02The sentence of blinding and starvation
- 03Escape to Blefuscu by sea
- 04Reception at the Blefuscu court
- 01Finding the boat and escaping Blefuscu
- 02Preparing the boat and departing Blefuscu
- 03Voyage home and return to England
- 01A Voyage to Brobdingnag
- 01Storm at sea and navigation
- 02Landing for water and first sight of Brobdingnag
- 03Arrival at the farmer’s house
- 04Dinner with the family
- 05The rats in the bed
- 01Glumdalclitch and the farmer’s household
- 02The neighboring farmer’s visit and Gulliver’s display
- 01Glumdalclitch’s distress and the first town exhibition
- 02Journey to Lorbrulgrud and the metropolis exhibition setup
- 01Summoned to court and sold to the queen
- 02The king’s examination and the scholars’ verdict
- 03Court apartment, clothing, and dining arrangements
- 04The king’s reflections on Europe
- 01The queen’s dwarf’s pranks
- 01Flies in the queen's kingdom
- 02Wasps at breakfast
- 01Geography and extent of Brobdingnag
- 02Lorbrulgrud and the king’s palace
- 03Travelling-closet and public outings
- 04The chief temple and royal kitchen
- 01Garden mishaps and animal encounters
- 02Maids of honour and courtly discomfort
- 03The execution and the pleasure-boat
- 04The monkey carries Gulliver away
- 05Court laughter after the monkey adventure
- 06The cow-dung mishap on the walk
- 01Contrivances to please the king and queen
- 02Music and the spinet performance
- 03Gulliver’s account of England
- 04The king’s objections to English institutions
- 05The king’s questions on English politics and society
- 06The king’s judgment on England’s corruption
- 01Love of country and partiality in narration
- 02Gunpowder proposal and the king’s rejection
- 03Politics, government, and the limits of learning
- 01Laws and legal simplicity
- 02Libraries, printing, and reading methods
- 03Moral treatise on human weakness
- 04Military forces and militia discipline
- 01The king's plan for Gulliver's future
- 02Journey to the south coast
- 03Gulliver's request to see the sea
- 01Carried off by the eagle
- 02Drifting in the sea
- 03Rescue by the English ship
- 01The captain’s rescue and first questions
- 02Gulliver’s account of his travels and curiosities
- 01Conversation with the English captain
- 02Return voyage to England and landing at the Downs
- 01The return home and lingering giant's habits
- 01Robinson's invitation and the voyage to Tonquin
- 02Pirate capture and the Dutchman's malice
- 03Cast adrift and stranded on the rocky islands
- 04The flying island of Laputa appears
- 05Lifted aboard Laputa by a chain seat
- 01Laputian appearance and flappers
- 02Reception at the royal palace
- 03Laputian learning, language, and customs
- 04Fear of celestial disasters
- 05Women’s vivacity and infidelity
- 06Women’s longing for the mainland
- 07The king’s mathematical questions
- 01Floating island and astronomer’s cave
- 02Astronomical discoveries and instruments
- 03Suppressing rebellions from above
- 01Departure from Laputa and arrival in Lagado
- 02Munodi’s estate and the projectors’ schemes
- 01The academy at Lagado and its projectors
- 01Mechanical projects in the academy
- 02The universal artist's experiments
- 03The language-making engine
- 01Abolishing words and speaking by things
- 02The mathematical school's wafer method
- 01Political projector schemes for governing and taxation
- 02Detecting plots through bodily signs and coded papers
- 01Journey from Lagado to Maldonada
- 02Arrival at Maldonada and voyage to Glubbdubdrib
- 03The governor’s necromantic household
- 04Summoning historical figures from the dead
- 01Ancient philosophers and commentators
- 02Modern dead and corrupted lineages
- 03Secret history, court corruption, and merit ignored
- 04Decline of English virtue
- 01Voyage from Maldonada to Luggnagg
- 02Confinement and court summons
- 03Luggnagg court etiquette and royal clemency
- 04King’s favor and departure plans
- 01Struldbrugs and immortal birthmarks
- 02Gulliver's fantasy of immortal life
- 03The true condition of the struldbrugs
- 04Struldbrugs and their miserable condition
- 05Public hatred and legal restrictions on struldbrugs
- 06Gulliver’s disillusionment with immortality
- 07Why the kingdom limits struldbrug rights
- 01Departure from Luggnagg and voyage to Japan
- 02Return from Japan to England
- 03Arrival in England and homecoming
- 01Voyage as captain of the Adventurer
- 02Mutiny and abandonment on shore
- 03First encounter with the Yahoos
- 04Meeting the Houyhnhnms and learning their words
- 01Arrival at the Houyhnhnm house
- 02Milk, oats, and the Houyhnhnm meal
- 01Learning the Houyhnhnm language
- 02Revealing the author's clothing and appearance
- 03Explaining the voyage and human society
- 01Houyhnhnm understanding of lying
- 02Human treatment of horses and riding
- 03Master’s critique of Gulliver’s body
- 04Gulliver’s background and voyage
- 01Causes and motives of European wars
- 02The English legal profession and its abuses
- 01Money, luxury, and the division of labour
- 02Disease and the practice of physicians
- 03The character and rise of a chief minister of state
- 04Nobility, heredity, and political power
- 01Love of the Houyhnhnms and bias toward his countrymen
- 02Master’s critique of human reason and government
- 03Yahoo greed, appetite, and disease
- 04Yahoo hierarchy, lust, and filth
- 05Female Yahoo courtship and social behavior
- 01Yahoo nature and habits
- 02Houyhnhnm reason and virtues
- 03Marriage, breeding, and youth education
- 04Youth contests and national council
- 01Grand council debate on exterminating the Yahoos
- 02Houyhnhnm knowledge, arts, and customs
- 03Houyhnhnm burial customs and language
- 04Transition to Gulliver's catastrophe
- 01Self-sufficient life among the Houyhnhnms
- 02Houyhnhnm conversation and moral improvement
- 03Order to depart and the making of the canoe
- 04Farewell to the Houyhnhnms
- 01Voyage toward New Holland
- 02Landing, wound, and capture by Portuguese sailors
- 01Arrival of the Portuguese captain and rescue
- 02Voyage to Lisbon and stay with Don Pedro
- 01Homecoming to Rotherhith
- 02Alienation from wife and children
- 03Affection for horses and groom
- 01Veracity and plain matter of fact
- 02Censure of false travel writing
- 03Commitment to truth and final reflections
- 01Virtue learned from the Houyhnhnms
- 02Objections to colonial conquest and possession
- 03British colonial practice and title by discovery
- 01Final reflections on Yahoos and Houyhnhnms
- 01Footnotes and textual notes
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