Gulliver's Travels [ESP/ENG]

Hello internet people! How are you? I just finished reading a true classic that I've wanted to check out for a while now, and I was truly amazed. In fact, I now consider it one of my favorite books: Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift.

¡Hola gente de internet! ¿Cómo están? Acabo de terminar de leer un verdadero clásico al que desde hace tiempo quise echar un vistazo y la verdad es que quedé maravillada, de hecho ahora lo considero uno de mis libros preferidos, los Viajes de Gulliver de Jonathan Swift.

This is a novel narrated in the first person by the surgeon and ship's captain, Lemuel Gulliver, a cultured but naive man. He recounts his adventures throughout his voyage across four countries. The book is divided into four parts (one for each country). The first part narrates his adventures in Lilliput (and I believe this is the part that made the novel famous). There, Gulliver is seen as a threat by the inhabitants, who are very small (measuring around 15 cm) and, upon seeing his enormous size, were frightened and ended up capturing him. Many absurd things happen there, which Jonathan Smith, the author, uses to satirize 18th-century British politics. In Lilliput, important positions are not filled based on merit and ability, but rather on absurd skills such as walking a tightrope.

In the second part of the story, Gilliver travels to Brobdingnag. There, instead of tiny people, the inhabitants are giants. This obviously changes Gilliver's perspective, as he now feels insignificant, fragile, and vulnerable in the face of a petty humanity. In his third voyage, he goes to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan. There, we discover that the scientists and philosophers of the time are obsessed with testing hypotheses rather than following practical knowledge. Finally, in the last part, he travels to an even stranger country, the land of the Houyhnhnms. These creatures are rational horses that rule over more primitive and even savage civilizations, the Yahoos, who are deformed. It is there, finding himself in the midst of a completely primitive, unprincipled society, that Gilliver rejects his own humanity.

The author's skill in satirizing, ridiculing, and criticizing the political system and society in general of his time and country is impressive, and it's a theme that unfortunately remains relevant today in the 21st century. Through societies like Lilliput, the author intends for the reader to grasp how low we sink when we let ourselves be driven by our ambitions; that's how ridiculous our pretensions are. Swift criticizes imperialism and the absurd political disputes that contribute nothing to society, but beyond all this, he makes us question what it truly means to be human. Are we as rational as we claim, or does ambition turn us into primitive and petty beings?

With its constant shifts in scale (small and large), the reader gains a broad perspective on different viewpoints and ways of thinking. The story is thought-provoking yet captivating in its own right, and it doesn't take much to engage the imagination.

And well, people, that's all for today's post, I hope you liked it. Thank you very much as always for supporting my work, I welcome new readers, I love you all very much, I send you a hug and I'll see you in another post.

I made the cover and farewell image in Canva