How did being submissive help Lemuel Gulliver deal with the Lilliputians?
Answers
wseNotessearch
Search for any book or any question
HOMEWORK HELP > GULLIVER'S TRAVELS
How does Gulliver help the Lilliputians?
print Print document PDF list Cite
Expert Answers
RRTEACHER eNotes educator| CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
When Gulliver encounters the Lilliputians, they are at war with the nearby island of Blefuscu over a ridiculous religious question involving soft-boiled eggs. He helps the Lilliputians by capturing an invasion fleet sent by the Blefuscudians using a cable with hooks attached. Wading out into the midst of the channel separating the islands, he gathers all of the Blefuscudian warships and carries them back to Lilliput. The Lilliputian emperor is grateful, but Gulliver quickly falls from favor when he refuses to engage in an offensive that would have conquered the island of Blefuscu, and persuades a number of the Lilliputians to agree with him:
I plainly protested that I would never be an instrument of bringing a free and brave people into slavery. And when the matter was debated in council the wisest part of the ministry were of my opinion.
This raises the ire of the Lilliputian emperor, but matters become worse when the chambers of the Empress catch on fire and the giant Gulliver, fortified by Lilliputian wine, urinates on the building to put out the flames. The empress resolves to never forgive him for this transgression.
Answer: He helps the Lilliputians by capturing an invasion fleet sent by the Blefuscudians using a cable with hooks attached. Wading out into the midst of the channel separating the islands, he gathers all of the Blefuscudian warships and carries them back to Lilliput.
Explanation: