CH. 7 Gulliver was not always truthful in describing his country. He hid the frailities and glorified the virtues (Isn't he just like the rest of us?). He offered to show the king how to make gun powder that could destroy all enemies but the king thought this was an inhuman idea. The king ruled by common sense and reason. Farmers were more important than politicians (Vote for Farmer Fred!). Gulliver was able to read some of their books by walking across the pages. One book was about the weaknesses of man - other creatures are stronger, faster, have more foresight, more industry. The king's army is composed of tradesmen and farmers led by nobility for no money or reward. The nobility want power; the people want liberty and the king wants absolute dominion. Occasional civil wars were bound to happen.
CH. 8 The king was hoping for another ship to land cotaining a wife for Gulliver. Gullliver worried they would be kept in cages as curiosities. He was getting tired of constant fear of being accidentally stepped on and killed. It was time to think of leaving after two years in this country. On a trip;with the king and queen, the farmer's daughter was ill so a page took Gulliver to the coast for fresh air and left him sleeping in his carrying box as he looked for bird's eggs on the shore. Gulliver's box was picked up by (most likely) an eagle and then dropped into the ocean. Gulliver could not lift the roof of this box but was able to stick a handkerchief on a stick outside a ceiling window as he yelled for help. An English ship picked him up. He was somehow at least a hundred leagues from shore. Gulliver convinced them of his adventures by showing them the comb made from the king's whiskers, a gold ring the queen had given him, his pants made out of mouse's skin and a footman's tooth. Gulliver was talking very loudly and was so astonished at the tiny sizes of dishes, foods, people etc. After 9 months at sea, Gulliver was back in England with his family. His wife thought by should never go to sea again.
What kind of people will he meet on his next adventure? What I'll remember most about this section: We all see our flaws in comparison to others. There really is no "normal" because we are all unique and we are all the same. There will always be someone smarter, duller, prettier, uglier, bigger, smaller, kinder, meaner etc. So just be yourself. It's enough to just be.....
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2 comments:
Hi MJ --- I haven't been to this site for a long time. I saw Michelle listed it as a book she was reading. (On Facebook) Have you seen her pictures of their visit here on 4th of July wkend? Thanks for the update on Gulliver's Travels. I read it once in comic book form but that was a loooong time ago!
The lessons with this section are excellent. I also thought the exaggeration of Gulliver was funny too. It reminds me of a Veggie Tales (actually based on a Bible story) when Moses was leading the people out of the desert to the 'promised land' they saw huge giants and ran back to the desest. Maybe they saw Gulliver too!
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