← Gulliver’s Travels

Gulliver’s Travels · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

  1. Chapter 1

    Gulliver's Travels

    The book recounts Lemuel Gulliver's voyages to fantastical lands, beginning with his shipwreck in Lilliput, where he is a giant among tiny people, and continuing to Brobdingnag, where he is a miniature among giants, then to Laputa and its absurd academy, and finally to the land of the Houyhnhnms, where rational horses rule over brutish humans. Through these adventures, Swift satirizes human pride, political corruption, and the follies of science and war.

  2. Chapter 2

    Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput

    Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon turned sea captain, embarks on a voyage that ends in shipwreck. He awakens to find himself a prisoner of the tiny Lilliputians, a race of people six inches tall. After proving his goodwill, he is granted limited liberty and becomes a favored guest of the Lilliputian court. He learns of their absurd political conflicts, including a war with the neighboring island of Blefuscu over the proper way to break eggs. Gulliver aids the Lilliputians by capturing the Blefuscu fleet, but his refusal to help enslave their enemies leads to a conspiracy against him. He escapes to Blefuscu and eventually returns to England, carrying tiny livestock as proof of his adventures.

  3. Chapter 3

    Chapter I

    Gulliver sets out as captain of the Adventurer, but his crew mutinies and confines him to his cabin. He is eventually set ashore on an unknown land, where he encounters the Yahoos, a strange and filthy human-like animal, and then meets two intelligent horses, the Houyhnhnms, who communicate with him and teach him some of their language.

  4. Chapter 4

    Chapter II

    Gulliver is led by a Houyhnhnm to his house, where he observes the civilized behavior of the horses and is horrified to discover the Yahoos, filthy human-like creatures. He struggles to find suitable food, eventually making bread from oats and milk, and begins to learn the Houyhnhnm language.

  5. Chapter 5

    Chapter III

    Gulliver diligently learns the Houyhnhnm language with the help of his master and the household. He explains his origins and the nature of his own kind, while the Houyhnhnms marvel at his rationality and appearance, ultimately revealing his clothing as artificial covering.

Free preview

41 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

41 more companions → free preview
  1. Chapter 6Chapter IV
  2. Chapter 7V
  3. Chapter 8Chapter VI: A Continuation of the State of England Under Queen Anne
  4. Chapter 9Chapter VII
  5. Chapter 10Chapter VIII
  6. Chapter 11Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag
  7. Chapter 12Chapter I
  8. Chapter 13Chapter II
  9. Chapter 14Chapter III
  10. Chapter 15Chapter IV
  11. Chapter 16V
  12. Chapter 17Chapter VI: A Continuation of the State of England Under Queen Anne
  13. Chapter 18Chapter VII
  14. Chapter 19Chapter VIII
  15. Chapter 20Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan
  16. Chapter 21Chapter I
  17. Chapter 22Chapter II
  18. Chapter 23Chapter III
  19. Chapter 24Chapter IV
  20. Chapter 25V
  21. Chapter 26Chapter VI: A Continuation of the State of England Under Queen Anne
  22. Chapter 27Chapter VII
  23. Chapter 28Chapter VIII
  24. Chapter 29Chapter IX
  25. Chapter 30Chapter X
  26. Chapter 31Chapter XI
  27. Chapter 32Part IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms
  28. Chapter 33Chapter I
  29. Chapter 34Chapter II
  30. Chapter 35Chapter III
  31. Chapter 36Chapter IV
  32. Chapter 37V
  33. Chapter 38Chapter VI: A Continuation of the State of England Under Queen Anne
  34. Chapter 39Chapter VII
  35. Chapter 40Chapter VIII
  36. Chapter 41Chapter IX
  37. Chapter 42Chapter X
  38. Chapter 43Chapter XI
  39. Chapter 44Chapter XII: The Author's Veracity and Final Reflections
  40. Chapter 45Endnotes
  41. Chapter 46List of Illustrations