Extension Activities Activity One: Author of Gulliver’s Travels Activity Two: More About the Travel Material Designer: Chen Chien-chou

Activity One Something About The Author of Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift

Guess when he was born! Jonathon was born in the mid-17th century. Which dynasty was it in Chinese history? (A) Song Dynasty (B) Yuan Dynasty (C) Ming Dynasty (D) Ching Dynasty It was early Ching Dynasty in China.

Guess where Jonathan Swift was born? Here are some clues. 1. The National Flag 3. The Famous Beverage 4. The Folk Dance 2. The Symbolic Plant

The Answer Is… Ireland

A Brief Biography of Jonathan Swift ( ) Born and brought up in the capital of Ireland, Dublin, Swift was an important figure both in the history of English literature and the Irish politics. Deeply involved with the political power struggle in England. Wrote many things to criticize the English people on behalf of the Irish.

Speaking for Irish People! After some years spent in London, he returned to Ireland in 1713 and stayed there throughout his life. In his remaining years, he became a crucial supporter of Irish interests against English exploitation. swift/ There are many poor people in Ireland and I have to speak up for their interests!

A Famous Satirist r Many of his important works are satire. He wrote down many famous satire to criticize the problems he saw in the society. A satire is a play, film, or novel that uses humor, irony, or exaggeration to show how foolish or wicked some people’s behavior or ideas are.

Background: His Most Well-known Satire A Modest Proposal In the 17th centuries, Ireland was a very poor country ruled by England. Most of the Irish were peasants working for the English landlords. Without enough food to eat, children often wandered on the streets begging for food and money.

His Most Well-known Satire A Modest Proposal Peasant Family Peasant Family by Le Nain Brothers. c le_nain/ J: Seeing this, I felt really sorry for my fellow Irish and was very angry at the English landlords! I decided to write something to speak up for my countryman! People: Thank you, Jonathan!

In order to solve the poverty problem in Ireland, Swift proposed that Irish children should be bred and sold for the English market—to be cooked and eaten—thus providing income for their parents and saving the children from lives of misery. Proposing such a horrifying idea, I meant to attack the cruelty of the English landlords and their exploitation of the poor Irish peasants.

His later years… To help the poor, Swift had spent a third of his earnings on charities and saved another third each year to found St. Patrick’s Hospital for the sick. But unfortunately, he suffered from Ménière’s disease, or Alzheimer’s disease, in his late years. Swift died in Dublin in 1745 and left behind a great amount of poetry and prose. Shocking and scary as my proposal is, in fact, I have a very kind heart.

More about Gulliver’s Travel Activity Two

The Adventure of Lemuel Gulliver Made up of four parts, Gulliver’s Travels, is a novel records the surgeon voyage to several imaginary countries. Though The Travels is often read like adventure stories for kids, it is actually a satire of the current political events and a critique of some foolishness in human society.

The Four Major Regions Gulliver Visited 1 st Voyage Lilliput 2 nd Voyage Brobdingnag 3 rd Voyage Laputa (and Other Islands) 4 th Voyage Houyhnhnms

Voyage I: Lilliput In Part I, Swift used the absurd conflict between Lilliput and Blefusca to satirize the battling of Catholics and Protestants and the war between England and France.

The ridiculous cause of warfare among Lilliputians, for example, which end to break eggs first, is used to criticize some foolishness of human behavior and mentality.

Voyage II: Brobdinang Brobdinang is a land of giants that are ten times as large as Europeans on average. At first, Gulliver was captured and kept as pet by a farmer’s daughter and sold to the nobles.

Unlike the brutal giants in most fairy tales, the Brobdingnagians are a highly civilized and wise people. Compared with them, Gulliver and his fellow Europeans are no much better than the foolish, warlike, and narrow-minded Lilliputians.

Voyage III: Laputa and Other Islands Have you ever seen the Japanese animation, The City in the Sky, by Hayao Miyazaki ( 宮崎峻 )? The city, also named Laputa, is inspired by one of the country Gulliver visited in The Travels.

In the original story, Laputa, an island floating in the air, is inhabited by many scientists and philosophers. They are often too much interested in their impractical ideas and forget what they should do in reality. This, of course, is to mock the eggheads, who have only ideas but actions.

Do you know the word, actually comes from one part of The Travels? Let’s see the Land of the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver Inspirations!

Voyage IV: Land of the Houyhnhnms Land of Houyhnhnms is a country ruled by intelligent, friendly, and rational horses. They live together in harmony and are served by a group of rude, and emotional beasts named Yahoos. The Houyhnhnms symbolize the ideal aspect of humans, while the Yahoos are simply the irrational part of human nature.

The End of Activity Two Bon Voyage! References: Martin S. Day. History of English Literature NY: Doubleday & company., Calvin S. Brown et al. The Reader’s Companion to World Literature, 2 nd ed. NY: Mentor Book, 1973.