Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift Background Swift was dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin when his novel came out. Since in this book he wrote about well-known political figures, he published the book anonymously. London was buzzing with rumours about the author's identity, as well as those of some of his characters. It didn't take long for people to catch on to the fact that the author was really writing about England. And it also didn't take long for the public to discover that the author was Jonathan Swift. Not only had he been involved in some of the most important and heated political events of the time, but he was also a well-known political journalist and satirist whose style was very distinctive. THE PLOT In Lilliput people are six inches high, and Gulliver, in comparison, is a giant, or a "ManMountain," as they call him. This section of the novel (Part I) is basically about English politics in the early eighteenth century when the Whigs and Tories were fighting bitterly for control of the country. Gulliver becomes involved with the domestic and international dealings of the Lilliputian government. Laws are made to deal with Gulliver's presence; an official document outlining the terms of his freedom is drawn up. One of these terms is that Gulliver must aid the Lilliputians in their war against Blefuscu (Lilliput represents England, Blefuscu, France). Gulliver seizes the enemy fleet and strides across the harbor with it back to Lilliput. For a short time he's a hero. But Gulliver intervenes in the peace process, and wins advantages for the Blefuscudians. He urinates onto a fire raging in the palace and saves the royal chambers. However, this and some other made-up charges against Gulliver result in a conviction of high treason (serious crime against the government), punishable by blinding. Gulliver escapes to Blefuscu, then home to England. Part II, which takes place in the land of Brobdingnag, continues to look at English politics. This time,