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Gulliver’s Travels Facts & Worksheets

Gulliver’s Travels is a fictional prose satire written by Jonathan Swift in 1726. The novel is known as Swift's best full-length work.

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Gulliver’s Travels is a fictional prose satire written by Jonathan Swift in 1726. The novel is known as Swift’s best full-length work. The story is about Lemuel Gulliver and his journey to several countries. The book was an immediate success and became a classic in English literature.

See the fact file below for more information on the Gulliver’s Travels or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Gulliver’s Travels worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

KEY FACTS

  • The novel was written by Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift, and it was published anonymously in 1726.
  • The novel is a four-part satire written in the English language.
  • It was set in the early 18th century, and the countries featured in the book are imaginary. These countries include Lilliput, Blefuscu, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the land of the Houyhnhnms.
  • The main character Lemuel Gulliver is the narrator of the story and speaks in the first person.

PART ONE: LILLIPUT

  • Lemuel Gulliver is a surgeon and sea captain who goes on four particular voyages to remote countries of the world.
  • In his first journey, Gulliver is the lone survivor of a shipwreck.
  • He finds himself tied up and held prisoner by people in the fictional country of Lilliput, the land of little people.
  • Lilliputians, as these people are called, are tiny, measuring less than 6 inches tall.
  • He is eventually given residence in the country.
  • The Lilliputians indulge in trivial matters and debates.
  • For instance, the basis of a major political rift in the country is which end of an egg a person cracks, those who are best at rope dancing determine who is seated at court, and political groups are divided between men who wear high-heeled shoes and low-heeled shoes.
  • Lilliputians put great emphasis on performances of authority.
  • With that, Gulliver is asked to assist in defending Lilliput against the empire of Blefuscu by stealing their naval fleet.
  • Gulliver steals Blefuscu’s fleet but refuses to help the emperor of Lilliput make Blefuscu a province of Lilliput.
  • This consequently displeased the King and the royal court, and Gulliver was charged with treason for it.
  • Gulliver also urinated on the capital to extinguish a fire in the royal palace, but he was charged for this crime, as well.
  • He was convicted and sentenced to be blinded and starved.
  • With the assistance of a Lilliputian friend, he fled to Blefuscu, where he found an abandoned boat that was his size. He sailed out to sea and was rescued by a passing ship that returned him to England.

PART TWO: BROBDINGNAG

  • Gulliver went on a second voyage aboard the ship Adventure, which was eventually blown off course by storms.
  • Abandoned by his companion, Gulliver found himself in Brobdingnag, the land of big people.
  • A giant farmer who is 72 feet tall finds Gulliver.
  • The farmer brings Gulliver home and starts to exhibit Gulliver for money, which made Gulliver sick after a period of time.
  • Glumdalclitch, the farmer’s daughter, took care of Gulliver.
  • The farmer then sold him to the Queen of Brobdingnag, who then had a small house called a ‘traveling box’ built just for Gulliver.
  • The King of Brobdingnag reacted unfavorably when Gulliver recounted the achievements of European civilization and the government and history of England.
  • The King became all the more horrified and unhappy as Gulliver offered to make gunpowder and cannons to use as weaponry.
  • On a trip to the seaside, his traveling box was picked up by a giant eagle. He was then rescued by sailors who returned him to England.

PART THREE: LAPUTA

  • On Gulliver’s third journey, his ship was attacked by pirates, and he eventually ended up on the flying island of Laputa, the land of intelligent but useless people.
  • The people of Laputa, called the Laputans, are mostly devoted to astronomy, mathematics, music, and technology, but they fail to use their knowledge for practical application.
  • The island of Laputa is flying due to magnetic levitation, which the Laputans have mastered.
  • Laputans all have one eye turned inward and the other upward, which is Swift’s parody of the microscope and the telescope.
  • Laputans are described as being so lost in thought that they could not focus on the world around them.
  • Laputa is the home of the king of Balnibarbi, which is the continent below it.
  • Gulliver visits Balnibarbi and discovers that the farms and fields are in ruin.
  • Gulliver learns about the Grand Academy of Lagado, a learning academy where scientists do the most impractical research and projects.
  • Later, Gulliver is taken to the main port of Balnibarbi, called Maldonada, so that he can wait to be picked up by traders who can take him to Japan.
  • While waiting, Gulliver visits Glubbdubdrib, the island of sorcerers.
  • On Glubbdubdrib, he speaks with ghosts of historical men, such as Julius Caesar, Brutus, Homer, Aristotle, René Descartes, and Pierre Gassendi.
  • On the island of Luggnagg, he meets the struldbrugs, people who are considered legally dead at the age of eighty.
  • From Luggnagg, Gulliver sails to Japan and then back to England.

PART FOUR: HOUYHNHNM

  • Even though Gulliver had intended to stay home, he got bored with his job and returned to sea for a fourth voyage.
  • He was abandoned by his crewmates and came upon a race of savage humanoid creatures called Yahoos. He eventually ended up on the land of the Houyhnhnms, a race of talking intelligent horses.
  • The Houyhnhnms were the rulers of the land. They were more sensible and good-natured than the degenerate and greedy humanoid creatures called Yahoos.
  • The Houyhnhnms viewed Gulliver as a civilized Yahoo and developed a fascination with him.
  • After Gulliver described his own civilization to the master Houyhnhnm, the Houyhnhnm deduced that the people of England were no more rational than the Yahoos.
  • Gulliver returned to England, so filled with contempt for humanity that he bought horses and spoke to them instead of humans.

Gulliver’s Travels Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Gulliver’s Travels across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Gulliver’s Travels worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Gulliver’s Travels which is a fictional prose satire written by Jonathan Swift in 1726. The novel is known as Swift’s best full-length work. The story is about Lemuel Gulliver and his journey to several countries. The book was an immediate success and became a classic in English literature.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Gulliver’s Travels Facts
  • The Book’s Basics
  • Who’s Gulliver?
  • Story Timeline
  • Brief Retelling
  • Story Captioning
  • People Profiling
  • About the Author
  • Cover Design
  • Quote Collection
  • My Own Satire

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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