Question

Character sketch of gulliver in 150 words

Answer 1

One cannot fully understand or appreciate Lemuel Gulliver as a character without first understanding that Jonathan Swift was a satirist and this novel is written as a satire of European culture/society, especially England. In the context of being a satirical novel, Gulliver as a character becomes a vehicle for Swift's delivery of satire. I would disagree with the first commenter in that Gulliver is meant to represent the reader of the novel because doing so would entirely undercut the satire and ignores the historical context of Swift's writing. Swift was not interested in writing a silly adventure because in 1703 tensions between England and his native Ireland were very turbulent and, at times, quite violent. Swift, having become quite jaded and cynical himself, set out to draw attention to the flaws of the English socio-political climate and economic policies through satire. So when Gulliver encounters the Lilliputans (who can see with great exactness, but not at a distance), and then the Brobdingnagians (who can see at great distance but without exactness), both groups ridicule the European ways and methods he explains to them. And because Gulliver becomes a sympathetic character, perhaps because he is the only character relatable to the reader, the reader is expected to share in Gulliver's shame and confusion when his beloved England is ridiculed. In both of these places it also becomes obvious that he cannot safely remain a resident. In Lilliput he is feared for his size and potential for destruction (they did, after all, weaponize him to attack Blefuscu) to the point that they litigate him out of the equation to avoid the costs of maintaining him. In Brobdingnag he is so insignificant that he is at risk of being forgotten and neglected, which is the opposite of the problem he had in Lilliput. His money is invisible dust to the king of Brobdingnag while in Lilliput his money is a uselessly enormous burden to carry. All the while, Gulliver himself remains surprisingly emotionally objective, allowing his grasp on his Christian virtue to determine his actions and reactions. In Lilliput he does not destroy the fleet of Blefuscu because he finds a more rational solution that is completely unfathomable to the Lilliputans and ultimately earns him charges of treason. In Brobdingnag his virtue allows him to maintain his dignity is the face of humiliation and ridicule at the hands of the king.

Answer 2

Lemuel Gulliver is the main character in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, and so he merits special attention when approaching the novel. For the most part, Gulliver is thoroughly normal; he seems to have a comfortable income, he works as a surgeon, and he possesses few unusual or remarkable qualities. Indeed, we get the sense that Gulliver is something of an Every man, and that the adventures he falls into are pure coincidence (or rotten luck) and could happen to just about anyone. However, it's worth noting that the one distinctive trait Gulliver does exhibit is a particularly enthusiastic curiosity. Throughout his journeys, Gulliver imbues his narrative with in-depth, rich descriptions of all he witnesses, and so he proves himself to be a deft observer of minute detail. Additionally, Gulliver does seem to become rather eccentric by the end of the novel. Indeed, his encounter with the Houyhnhnm and the Yahoos leads him to distrust and shun most interactions with humans, and it's safe to say that this characteristic is pretty unusual. So, while Gulliver at first seems relatively unremarkable, he slowly reveals a handful of interesting, and even unusual, characteristics as the novel progresses.