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GULLIVER’S
TRAVELS
DISCUSSION
FOR PARTS THREE AND
FOUR
GULLIVERS TRAVELS
• PART THREE
THE VOYAGE TO
LAPUTA
BALNIBARI
GLUBDUBDRIB
and
LUGGNAGG
LAPUTA
ELEVATED ISLAND
 A Collection of the smartest people in all
the land who were thought to be able
to consider ideas that were of a
HIGHER LEVEL OF
THINKING
Inhabitants of LAPUTA
People thinking only in the realm of:
THE ABSTRACT
and
THE EXCEEDINGLY IMPRACTICAL
All, including King, were very
absent- minded
COMPARISON TO
TODAY
• SMART ‘seen as STUPID,’
• STUPID ‘seen as SMART’
• Is there a relationship
between this thought and
the world TODAY?
BALNIBARI
• Home to
The GRAND ACADEMY
– A place where:
• All problems are ‘solved’
• Where we discover home
• Filled with all the most brilliant minds
in the world
BALNIBARI PHILOSOPHY
• For further thinking:
• They decided change could not happen
for a new world until the Old World was
DESTROYED first…
• IS THIS REALISTIC?
Other Parts of the
Academy
•SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE
•SCHOOL OF POLITICS
•ROOM OF ANSWERS
SCHOOL OF LANGUAGE
*Thought that TALKING
corrodes the lungs
• Gestures would be sufficient for
understanding each other
• CONFUSION??? Do we ever truly
understand another person?
SCHOOL OF POLITICS
• Three out of every four people in the room
were:
• INFORMERS
• ACCUSERS
• or PROSECUTORS
• How does this type of environment
constrain our thinking?
ROOM OF ANSWERS
 Gulliver enters and sees…
 Who gives us the answers that we
truly desire?
 Do we have a desire to LEARN what
others see?
 How does learning from others
CONFORM us to a ‘standard’?
GLUBDUBDRIB
Home to the
HISTORIAN
Gulliver
* found wandering in the desert
* taken to the home of a student
of REAL history
desolation
◊ a result of seeking ONLY what we want
to find instead of what is available for
understanding
◊ Gulliver- seeking to TRUST and
SUPPORT from strangers…
WHEN DOES THIS HAPPEN IN LIFE?????
HISTORY REPEATS
When does history REPEAT itself?
When has history been repeated in YOUR
lifetime?
THE GATE OF LIFE AND
DEATH
THE GATE OF LIFE AND
DEATH
 Does life continue on the
other side?
 What virtues are necessary
to attain a proper resolution
 Is it possible to ‘see’ what
happens after your time is
past?
 Should/Do we care if others
see our actions?
VILLIANS

Gulliver discusses those who are given the
highest powers of TRUST, POWER<
DIGNITY and PROFIT:
 How greatly does this relate to
the problems
in society today?
Who abuses $$?
Who is to BLAME???
ILLUSION OF OBSTACLES
Gulliver attempts to escape, believes
he cannot
WHAT TYPES OF THINGS STAND
IN THE WAY OF WHAT WE DESIRE
TO DO?
HOW CAN WE CHANGE THIS
PERCEPTION?
LUGGNAGG
The land of IMMORTALITY
Shown, by the King, the stuldbruggs-beings who would never die.
Gulliver asked to ‘drink the Water…’ would
give the ‘forever existence’
Is this already happening?
LAUDANUM
 A liquid form of HEROIN
 Pain-Killers (codeine, morphine)
 Has Society become WEAK
towards what ails them?
 Is there a true ‘cure all’ for our
problems?
 Why do we grab a ‘Quick Fix’?
GULLIVER’S TRAVELS
• Part FOUR
THE HOUYHNHNMS
Land of the YAHOOS and Horse People
YAHOOS
» Representation of an Uncivilized
society
Connection to the INTERNET????
» Does this computer-aged society
keep people from having the
ability to communicate with each
other?
» What does this entail for future
generations?
JUDGEMENTS
Are we still a society that judges
people first based on outward
appearance?
Why are people judged this way?
Why is an initial impression of
someone so important?
SIMPLE LANGUAGE
• Is it possible to bridge the
communication gap between
animals and humans?
• Do animals understand us? Do we
understand them as well?
Houyhnhmn Communication
• The horses had a mandatory ‘pause’ before
conversing with one another
• Should people be forced to pause and
consider what they say before speaking?
Would this IMPROVE conversation?
LYING
• Would our society be able to function
without LYING?
(def. attorneys; peddlers; candidates
for election; posers of knowledge)
Is the purpose of speech for sharing
and understanding information?
CLOTHING
• Gulliver is ridiculed by the
Houyhnhnms for the clothes he
wears
• What is the purpose of clothes?
Cover? Modesty? Show importance?
• Do clothes make the person? If not,
why do we have them???
THE TREATMENT OF
ANIMALS
Are Animals mistreated
in society? Since they
were here before us,
will they still be here
after us?
THE CHOOSING OF A LEADER
 How are leaders in the Houyhnhnms society
chosen?
Day One- Laziest
Day Two- Aggression
Day Three- Mating
DIAMONDS
 Why does this shiny rock have value?
 Who decides that a colorless stone
should be worth anything at all?
 What does the payment or value of a
colorless rock say about the priorities
of our society?
FERMENTED APPLES
» Reference to Alcohol
» Dull senses; causes things to happen
that would not normally.
Is this a show of our feeble ability to
converse our desires and inhibitions
with another person??
ARE PEOPLE THE REAL
ANIMALS?
 What have humans done to
the society the animals first
ruled?
 Is society actually better or
worse?
BELIEVING/BELIEVING IN
something
Which is more crucial?
Which one shows us who we are?
When are people capable of discerning
the truth after encountering so many
lies in their lives? Who can we really
trust to tell us the truth?
LOST
How do we know if we are actually lost?
Do we know where we are going or do
we just float through this existence?
How can we get guidance along the
way?