# Lemuel Gulliver — Gulliver’s Travels character guide > Lemuel Gulliver in Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, Mr. Gulliver, Captain Gulliver, Gulliver, Quinbus Flestrin **First appearance:** 0002-gulliver-s-travels ## Snapshot A surgeon turned sea captain whose restless curiosity and plain honesty carry him into nations where his body is either a weapon or a curiosity. ## Who they are Gulliver trained in medicine and navigation, married Mary Burton, and went to sea only after his London practice failed because he refused to cheat his patients. He narrates his voyages with a surgeon's eye for measurement and a moralist's growing disgust at human pettiness. His compulsion to observe foreign manners and learn languages makes him the perfect instrument for Swift's satire, and his credulity is what lets each new society expose the last. ## Relationships ### [Pedro de Mendez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/pedro_de_mendez) _friendship_ Pedro de Mendez again shows Gulliver compassion and practical help, offering him passage and care after his final voyage. ### [Skyresh Bolgolam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/skyresh_bolgolam) _rivalry_ Skyresh Bolgolam, the Lilliputian admiral, is Gulliver's primary antagonist who schemes against him out of jealousy and political spite. ### [Glumdalclitch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/glumdalclitch) _friendship_ Glumdalclitch, the giant farmer's daughter, becomes Gulliver's devoted caretaker and companion in Brobdingnag, treating him like a beloved pet. ### [James Welch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/james_welch) _professional_ James Welch continues to serve as Gulliver's employer and mentor during his later voyages as a ship's surgeon. ### [Mr. James Bates](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/mr_james_bates) _professional_ Mr. James Bates is Gulliver's former master and a surgeon in London who helps establish Gulliver's early medical career. ### [James Welch](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/james_welch) _professional_ James Welch continues to serve as Gulliver's employer and mentor during his later voyages as a ship's surgeon. ### [Pedro de Mendez](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/pedro_de_mendez) _friendship_ Pedro de Mendez again shows Gulliver compassion and practical help, offering him passage and care after his final voyage. ## In the story ### [Gulliver's Travels](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/gulliver-s-travels) The narrator and protagonist, a ship's surgeon and captain who travels to extraordinary lands. ### [Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/part-i-a-voyage-to-lilliput) The protagonist and narrator, a surgeon and traveler who is shipwrecked and taken prisoner by the Lilliputians. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/i) Narrator and protagonist; provides his family background, education, and career as a surgeon before his shipwreck and capture in Lilliput. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/ii) The narrator and protagonist, confined in Lilliput, describes his interactions with the Emperor and his efforts to learn the language. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iii) Narrator and protagonist; entertains the court and negotiates his liberty. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iv) Visits Mildendo and the emperor's palace; converses with Reldresal about Lilliput's internal and external threats; offers to serve the emperor in war. ### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/v) Devises and executes the plan to capture the Blefuscu fleet; receives the title of Nardac; extinguishes the palace fire; refuses to help conquer Blefuscu. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vi) Narrator describing Lilliputian customs and his own experiences interceding for a criminal and defending a lady's reputation. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vii) The protagonist, informed of the impeachment plot, decides to flee to Blefuscu. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/viii) Protagonist who finds a boat, prepares it with the help of Blefuscu, and returns to England. ### [Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/part-ii-a-voyage-to-brobdingnag) Protagonist and narrator, stranded in Brobdingnag. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/i) Narrator and protagonist, stranded in Brobdingnag, reflecting on his past and struggling to survive among giants. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/ii) Gulliver is exhibited as a public spectacle, enduring exhaustion and indignity, but maintains hope of regaining his liberty. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iii) Gulliver is bought by the queen, presented to the king, and becomes a court favorite. He endures the dwarf's tricks and defends himself against flies. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iv) Narrates his observations of Brobdingnag, its geography, and his travels in a box. ### [Chapter V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/v) Narrates his various misadventures and his sailing demonstration. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vi) Gulliver recounts his attempts to entertain the king and queen, his musical performance, and his detailed answers to the king's inquiries about England. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vii) Gulliver offers the secret of gunpowder to the king, attempts to defend his country's virtues, and reflects on the king's rejection and the limitations of Brobdingnagian learning. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/viii) Narrates his escape from Brobdingnag, his rescue at sea, and his difficult readjustment to human society upon returning to England. ### [Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/part-iii-a-voyage-to-laputa-balnibarbi-luggnagg-glubbdubdrib-and-japan) The protagonist and narrator of the voyage, whose observations drive the satire. ### [Chapter I: The Third Voyage Begins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/i) Narrator and protagonist; sets out on third voyage, captured by pirates, set adrift, and later received into Laputa. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/ii) The narrator and observer, who describes the Laputians' strange customs and learns their language. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iii) Narrator and observer; describes the mechanics of Laputa and the king's methods of control. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iv) Gulliver leaves Laputa, descends to Balnibarbi, and is hosted by Lord Munodi; he observes the ruinous state of the country and learns about the projectors. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/v) Gulliver tours the Grand Academy of Lagado, observing various absurd projects and interacting with the projectors. ### [Chapter VI: A Further Account of the Academy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vi) Gulliver visits the school of political projectors and offers his own additions to a discourse on discovering plots. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vii) Gulliver travels to Glubbdubdrib, meets the governor, and converses with summoned spirits of historical figures. ### [Chapter VIII: A Further Account of Glubbdubdrib. Ancient and Modern History Corrected.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/viii) Gulliver acts as the observer and narrator, summoning ghosts to uncover historical truths and expressing his disillusionment with human corruption. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/ix) Narrator and protagonist; travels to Luggnagg, is confined, and eventually granted audience with the king. ### [Chapter X: The Struldbrugs of Luggnagg](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/x) Gulliver is the narrator and protagonist, who enthusiastically imagines the benefits of immortality before being corrected by the Luggnaggians. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/xi) Narrator and protagonist; leaves Luggnagg, travels to Japan, and returns to England. ### [Part IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/part-iv-a-voyage-to-the-country-of-the-houyhnhnms) The narrator and protagonist, who is abandoned in Houyhnhnm land and becomes a student of their rational society. ### [Chapter I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/i) Narrator and protagonist; becomes captain of the Adventurer, is mutinied against, and set ashore on an unknown land. ### [Chapter II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/ii) Gulliver is the narrator and protagonist, observing the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos, learning to adapt to the new environment. ### [Chapter III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iii) Gulliver focuses on learning the Houyhnhnm language and recounts his voyage to his master. ### [Chapter IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/iv) Gulliver narrates his conversations with the Houyhnhnm master, explaining human society and his own life story. ### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/v) Gulliver narrates his conversations with his Houyhnhnm master, explaining the state of Europe, war, and law. ### [Chapter VI: A Continuation of the State of England Under Queen Anne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vi) Gulliver explains the corrupt practices of European ministers, the medical profession, and the economic inequalities of England to his Houyhnhnm master. ### [Chapter VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/vii) Gulliver candidly represents his own species to his Houyhnhnm master, feeling a growing love for the Houyhnhnms and a resolution to never return to humankind. ### [Chapter VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/viii) Gulliver observes the Yahoos and reflects on their resemblance to humans, experiences a disturbing encounter with a young female Yahoo, and learns about Houyhnhnm customs and governance. ### [Chapter IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/ix) Gulliver is the narrator and the 'wonderful Yahoo' whose master uses his example in the assembly debate. ### [Chapter X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/x) Gulliver reflects on his life among the Houyhnhnms, his self-loathing, and his grief upon being ordered to leave. ### [Chapter XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/xi) Narrates his dangerous voyage, his wounding by natives, his rescue by the Portuguese, and his deep aversion to human contact upon returning to England. ### [Chapter XII: The Author's Veracity and Final Reflections](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/chapters/xii) Gulliver reflects on his travels, defends his veracity, and expresses his disillusionment with humanity, while praising the Houyhnhnms as models of reason. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters/lemuel_gulliver - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gulliver_s_travels_se/characters