part one: Lilliput
what first led gulliver to follow the course of life he did--that of an adventurer and traveler? Do his motives change as time passes?
what ideas about religion are satirized? what ideas about government are satirized?
The narrative begins with the narrator, Lemuel Gulliver, describing his childhood and the events that led him to become a seaman. He became an apprentice to a surgeon in London, during which time he also learned about navigation and mathematics in preparation for a future on the sea, "as I always believed it would be some time or other my fortune to do." Next he studied "Physick" (medicine) because he thought it would be "useful in long Voyages." Afterwards Gulliver married Mrs. Mary Burton and began his life as a surgeon, taking on several patients. When his business begins to fail, he takes a six-year trip to the sea, where he serves as the surgeon to two ships and travels the East and West Indies. He spends much of his time on these voyages observing the people and learning their languages. His subsequent travels are totally concerned with observing different cultures rather than being a surgeon.
GradeSaver
