We didn't talk about it too much, but in each land we are introduced to the ruling class and to the peasants (the Lilliputian who helps Gulliver and Glumdalclitch). Are there any differences between the two classes in each land and between both lands? In other words, are the peasants in both places similar to each other in terms of moral behavior, AND are the peasants similar to the ruling classes in terms of moral behavior in each land? In other other words, can you characterize the moral character of ALL Lilliputians and ALL Brobdingnagians?
Oh, one more: How different are they from people today?
The Lilliputians are small people compared to Gulliver while the Brobdingnagians are giants compared to him. The Lilliputians, while smaller, are vengeful and cruel to Gulliver in the end. The Brobdingnagians, while being giants, are the opposite of the Lilliputians and are nicer. If you are bigger, you feel more superior. The ruling class and the peasants of each place are different from each other. Even though Lilliputians are smaller than Gulliver, they still act superior to him and are scared of him. The peasants are the same way. In Brobdingnagian’s ruling class and peasants are fascinated and nicer to Gulliver. Basically, the Lilliputians are mean and the Brobdingagians are nice. They are not that different from people today. There is a social class and some people feel superior to others.
ReplyDeleteTheir stature equals their morality. The Lilliputians size is very small compared to Gulliver and so their matters on politics and whatnot are extremely irrelevant to him. He thinks of their goings ons as pithy and not worth a hill of beans, really. Then in Brobdingnag, Gulliver gets to feel how the Lilliputians felt. HE now is the smaller one in size and his matters on politics and other things are of very little relevance to the Brobdingnagians. The king thinks of England's matters as stupid and ridiculous, and Gulliver gets offended. Regardless of the two classes' sizes, they are all still human and act very much in humanistic ways.
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ReplyDeleteWhen Gulliver first arrives in Lilliput, the inhabitants of that land were very different than him. The Lilliputians were much smaller than Gulliver physically, yet they treated him in a very harsh manner; they treated him as if he was supposed to feel inferior. However, the Brobdingnagians were all physically bigger than him and although some treated him in a negative manner, most treated him very nicely. There were differences in the way the social classes and the ruling classes treated Gulliver; those in Lilliput were afraid of him and treated him negatively while the Brobdingnagians are nicer. I do not feel that they are much different than the people in the world today because there are still people in this world who try to make others feel inferior and beneath what they really are.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Grace on her blog entry. Because Gulliver was much more physcially bigger than the people of Lilliput, their views and way of life did not matter to him. When he comes to contact with the people of Brobdingnag, like Grace stated, he gets to feel like the Lilliputians felt; in a sense he got a taste of his own medicine. A perfect example of that was when he told the King about his home and in response the King made him feel very irrelevant.
ReplyDeleteThe Lilliputians were small compared to Gulliver and the Brobdingnagians were giants compared to him. And in many ways their size did suggest to the reader their egos and moral standards. The Lilliputians were petty creatures, who didn't really expect much out of life but wanted to be in control of everything and everybody. While the Brobdingnagians were higher up on a pedistal, and acted classy. Even though they thought they were too good for Gulliver and 'his' people they saw him as entertainment, and a pet. These two social class aren't much different from today. We still have a low, middle and upper class and to some extent they do believe their better than people underneath them.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Grace and how she states that their size/stature equals their morality. Because they did act their size. While in Lilliput Gulliver saw himself to be better, but in Brobdingnag where they were bigger than him He saw himself as the Lilliputs. They treated him exactly like he treated them.
ReplyDeleteThe Lilliputians were very small compared to Gulliver. They treated him harshly. In Lilliput, they are very into politics. On the other hand, the Brobdingnagians were very nice to Gulliver. They were also giants compared to him. They cared little about political matters. Gulliver's experience in Brobdingnag was the oppisite of that in Lilliput. The small the person, the smaller the person. Meaning, that the smaller they were physically, the less they cared about others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mireya, that people are like this today. That is probably why Swift wrote it in the first place. The story is relatable.
ReplyDeleteThe size suggests two main things: Superiority and flaws. The larger the species was the more power they had over the smaller species. Yet from the smaller person’s point of view, the larger person’s flaws are better seen. I also believe that the smaller person will always feel threatened to the larger person therefore they treat them more cruelly. Whereas the giants didn’t treat Gulliver cruel since they were larger and had no reason to feel threatened. But in Part 2, the lower class, did take advantage of Gulliver, where the higher class treated Gulliver polite. In part 1 the Liliputians all felt threatened, therefore they all treated him cruel and tried taking advantage of him as well.
ReplyDeleteBoth the Lilliputians and the Brobdingnagians have big egos. I think their moral standards has to do more with if they feel threatened. The Lilliputians felt threatened by Gulliver because of his size so they were not as nice. The Brobdingnagians did not feel threatened by Gulliver so with them it was more ego.
ReplyDeleteThe peasants in both areas seem similar to me. The ruling class and the peasants also seem to be similar in moral behavior. However you can not characterize the moral character of everyone into one group. People and animals can never really be thrown into one group.
I think people of today are the same. Some follow the group even if the group is wrong while others will do what is right even if everyone is against them.
I agree with everything that mary_tran says except for one thing. Yes, we have social classes even today (I do not think we will ever be rid of them), but in our society we have more of a middle class then a rich or poor class. I think SOCIALLY more people today have a less superior problem because more people are at the same level of social class. I do think there are a lot of people who think they are superior in different ways and even some who feel superior socially. I just think there are far less of them then there use to be if you look back into history.
ReplyDeleteThe stature of the inhabitant tells you that the Lilliputians who are little have big egos. They stand up to Gulliver with all their might, and even try to figure out ways to destroy him. Their moral standard for their community is high they expect their citizens to act a certain way while in public. The Brobdingnagians are big but have small egos; they are scared of Gulliver at first. The Brobdingnagians do not have high moral standards for themselves, for example the way they shove the food in their mouths while they eat dinner. The different is the classes are, the Lilliputians are very political and take votes for their decisions, and the Brobdingnaggians are ran by a monarchy. The Lilliputians and the Brobdingnagians are not much different from the people of today. We still are scared of things that are bigger and smaller than us, and we will still defend our land of someone or something foreign no matter how big or small.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with Leigh. I think the Brobdingnagians are meaner to Gulliver. His master made him perform until he could barely walk. The Lilliputians were scared of him, and reacted in defense. And you say the small the people the less the care about others. The Lilliputians had many laws to how they would act in public, and to each other.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Yvette when she says that size suggests superiority and flaws. The larger or bigger you are, the more power you have over someone that is way smaller than you. I agree that as a smaller person, you are able to see the flaws of the bigger person more clearly just as Gulliver had pointed out in part 2 when he was describing the women. The smaller person will always feel threatened by the bigger person.
ReplyDeleteWhen Gulliver is exposed to the size of the Brobdingnag giants he sees them as ugly & hideous & blemished creatures. Obviously the size differences between the Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians suggest their flaws. This suggests that perfection actually does not exist, and that it is only not imperfect enough for one to see. The morality of both groups are similar to this. The size of the Brobdinagians are magnified in which their all of their flaws are easily detested, which also includes their ego and moral standards. The Lilliputians feels threatened by Gulliver due to his size so they treat him as an inferior so they can protect themselves. The Brobdingnagians seem to have a very low moral standards as compared to the Lilliputians since everything they do appears to be more rough and crude. Although both group are governed by a king, the Lilliputians seem to be more democratic since they often gather to discuss issues, such as when they discussed what to do with Gulliver's giant form.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grace's statement. The Lilliputians have the exact same characteristics of humankind, and that is, they are selfish. They are selfish all throughout the story when Gulliver is there. They only concentrate on their advantage such as by asking Gulliver to defend them against the Blefuscu, and they also think that Gulliver's presence is an obligation to them.
ReplyDeleteThe first land that Gulliver encountered was called Lilliput with little people called Lilliputians. Gulliver was a giant to these people. The second land had giant people called Brobdingnagians that Gulliver was a small molecule compared to them. The Lilliputians may have been small in their size, but they had big attitudes. They were mean to Gulliver. The Brobdingnagians were huge giants that took care of Gulliver but treated him like an animal at the same time. The Lilliputians have authority over Gulliver while he is there but they are scared of him because of his size. The peasants feel the same. The Brobdingnagians including the peasants were nice to Gulliver. They are like people today. If a person has atleast a little power they will let it be known. Today people pay attention to stereotypes and determine power and respect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Grace. When Gulliver was in the Lilliputians land he was a giant compared to them and he felt that he did not have to respect them because of their size. In the Brobdingnagians land Gulliver was micro sized compared to them. They may have treated him nice, but they felt that he was a joke and did not deserve respect because of his size. No one feared Gulliver. Gulliver now knew how the Lilliputians felt when he was in their land. Its like the old saying goes, "what goes around, comes around".
ReplyDeleteIt is obvious that size plays a major role in the first two lands visited by Gulliver. In Lilliput, Gulliver observes that he is much larger than any of the inhabitants of this strange land. Despite their small size, however, the Lilliputians do not consider themselves small in terms of ego. They treat Gulliver as a slave by confining him, withholding his liberty, and establishing dominance. This is the natural tendency when faced with a large threat: it is natural to make the first move in order to acquire an advantage, and thus superiority. Though the Lilliputians consider themselves dominant in spite of their physical stature, Gulliver considers their customs and way of life silly and pale in comparison to that of his own country. In contrast to the diminutive size of the Lilliputians, the inhabitants of Brobdngnag prove to be much larger than Gulliver. However, in further contrast, the inhabitants have a much more peaceful economy that that is free of war and misery. Though certain inhabitants initially treat Gulliver with disregard for his well-being, he is eventually treated like royalty. In this country, Gulliver finds himself in an opposite situation to that of what he was in on Lilliput. Gulliver is now the physically smaller person and the Brobdingnagians consider his culture and customs unimportant and potentially disastrous; to which Gulliver accumulates a great deal of contempt over. The natural human tendency to look down upon others of smaller size, (in physical, emotional, economical, etc. terms), is very representative of people today.
ReplyDeleteTo start the size of the people go on each end of the spectrum. You have really small dudes and the tall ones. So size does matter in this story. It was funny that the small guys I thought had big egos and the big guys had small egos. I think the ruling class and the peasants had the same basic thing. The peasants were like the small peasants. They are not really that different from today. Other than difference in size all of them basically were like humans today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kyle because everything he stated is correct. I guess you can view the story in many different ways and Kyle has a different viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteThe Lilliputians are small people compared to Gulliver, while the Brobdingnagians are giants compared to him. I believe Gulliver's size makes the Lilliputians threatened and that effects how he is treated. Gulliver sees the Lilliputian people having petty morals and that basically everything they stand for is small and uptight just like the people of Lilliput are. Gulliver, being smaller in stature compared the Brobdingnagians, sees their rules and ideas are something great and significant much like their size. People tend to look up to significant powerful people and I believe this is how Gulliver sees the giants of Brobdingnag. Each social class in the two different lands treats Gulliver differently. Like stated before, because of Gulliver's size, he was treated badly since they considered him a threat, whereas the people of Brobdingnag treated him very nicely. I think this still relates to people in the world today because when people are intimidated by someone they try to make people feel inferior of them.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Grace about how Gulliver didn't feel that the Lilliputians didn't mean a "hill of beans" to him. Stature directly relates to how Gulliver sees the people. I also agree that Gulliver does feel like the Lilliputians when he travels to the second location.
ReplyDeleteThe lilliputans stature is inversely related to their egos. They think they are all that and do all kinds of ridiculous things to further their station. Similarly, the people of Brobdingnag have a huge stature but they are less full of themselves than the lilliputans. The lower station people are quite similar though. They are both confined to their station and are pretty much what you would think of as a 'normal' working class.
ReplyDeleteIt’s natural for a person lacking in one area to try and make up for it in another. This is exactly the case of the Lilliputians. The Lilliputians being small in stature feel the need to inflate their egos. They turn the pettiest of things and escalate them into war worthy causes. When Gulliver arrives, his stature is immediately acknowledged. The Lilliputians realize the power Gulliver holds over them so how do they react? With much hostility. From the get go, Gulliver is treated poorly. First they tie him down and later he spends his time doing favors for them. He essentially becomes a slave to them. While the Lilliputians egos are through the roof, their morality is very much on the floor. Their extreme air of superiority diminishes much of their morals, especially among the ruling class. To them they are the only deserving beings around, everyone else can eat dirt. The Brobdingnagians on the other hand are a gentle and simple people. While they believe themselves superior, they do not feel the need to act hostile towards Gulliver who is very much different than them. In Brobdingnag the peasant class seems to lack scruples. They parade Gulliver around and nearly kill him, unintentionally of course. They don’t take into account that he is a living creature with needs. They are only worried about how lucrative he’s proven to be. The ruling class is a bit more cultured you could say, they are always attentive to his needs and wants. The Brobdingnagian ruling class seemingly has higher moral standards than that of the Lilliputians. Both peoples, however, prove to have an air of superiority and rather large egos. As always, exceptions exist.
ReplyDeleteTo be quite honest, there is no difference between the people in the play and the people today. While as a society we do not maintain an air of superiority, individuals do. There are plenty of individuals who feel threatened by others so they act hostile towards them.
The two different kinds of people do act similiar in terms of moral behavior. Regardless of their physical size, they still act similar in that they have pssionate feelings about certain things like their reasons for war and such. Their personal and political matters differ in subject, but are similar in that they share the same characteristics of emotion. I would also agree with S. Rodriguez in that there is very little difference between the people in the play and people today. The same characteristics of human individuals today are still present - greed, selfishness, passion. Man kind hasn't really evolved in that aspect, sadly...
ReplyDeleteI’ll have to agree with Kyle as his statements are true. Size does indeed play “ a major role in the first two land visited by Gulliver.” What I had not thought of that was mentioned by Kyle was Gulliver’s perception of the Lilliputian’s customs and way of life as compared to his own. He finds them, as Kyle mentioned, “silly and pale.” He judges their customs and way of life based on their size. Contrastingly, when Gulliver is in Brobdingnag, the Brobdingnagians find his customs unimportant. The Brobdingnagians did the exact same thing Gulliver did. They judged based on size.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what was stated by S.Rodriguez. When individuals are lacking in one area, it is natural for the individuals to boast about, or demonstrate, their strengths in another area. Because the Lilliputians proved much smaller (about 1/12 as small) than Gulliver, they felt they needed to show that they are a dominant species and that they would still remain in control even after his arrival. As such, they made sure to bind him, confine him, and enslave him throughout his stay on the island. In contrast, the Brobdingnags, being of a size much greater than that of Gulliver, realized they were in control. They felt no need to act hostile because they already had the upper hand. However, Gulliver, now realizing his infereriority in terms of size, felt that he needed to describe the greatness of his country's government and the great achievements they have made. Though Gulliver is not great in terms of size, he attempted to boast about his country's greatness in terms of government. Thus, Gulliver attempts to overstate the strengths of his country in order to divert attention from his (and his country's) weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteI agree with kyle when he says, "The natural human tendency to look down upon others of smaller size, (in physical, emotional, economical, etc. terms), is very representative of people today." This is very true. Coming from a short person, I always have felt that taller people have always felt like just because I'm short, they can run over me.
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