Gulliver's Travels Facts for Kids

Gulliver's Travels is a famous adventure story written by Jonathan Swift in 1726. It's a fictional book that follows the amazing journeys of a ship's doctor named Lemuel Gulliver. He travels to four very strange and different lands, meeting all sorts of unusual people and creatures.

Gulliver in Lilliput, the land of the little people

The original book was written for adults. Jonathan Swift used these fantastical journeys to make fun of or criticize some of the problems he saw in society and government during his time. This type of writing is called satire. It uses humor and exaggeration to show what's wrong with something, hoping to make people think and maybe even change things.

In 2010, a movie version was made starring Jack Black.

Meet Lemuel Gulliver and His Amazing Journeys
Why Jonathan Swift Wrote This Book
Images for kids
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Meet Lemuel Gulliver and His Amazing Journeys

Lemuel Gulliver is the main character in this exciting story. He starts as a ship's doctor who loves to travel. His adventures take him to four very unusual places, each with its own strange inhabitants and rules.

Journey to Lilliput: The Land of Tiny People

Gulliver's first journey takes him to Lilliput. After a shipwreck, he wakes up to find himself tied down by thousands of tiny people. These people, called Lilliputians, are only about six inches tall! Gulliver is a giant compared to them.

He learns about their small society and their funny arguments.
The Lilliputians are very proud, even though they are tiny.
Gulliver helps them in battles, but he also sees their silly political fights.

Journey to Brobdingnag: The Land of Giants

Next, Gulliver finds himself in Brobdingnag. This time, everything is huge! The people are giants, as tall as church steeples. Gulliver is now the tiny one, like a doll.

A farmer finds Gulliver and treats him like a pet.
Gulliver lives in a giant world, seeing everyday things like flies and apples in a completely new way.
He talks with the King of Brobdingnag, explaining his own world. The King thinks Gulliver's world is full of strange and small-minded people.

Journey to Laputa: The Floating Island of Thinkers

Gulliver's third adventure takes him to Laputa, a strange island that floats in the sky! The people of Laputa are very smart, especially in math and music. However, they are so focused on their thoughts that they often forget about the real world.

They are so deep in thought that they need servants to remind them to look where they are going or to listen.
Their ideas are often impractical and don't help people on the ground.
This part of the story makes fun of people who are too focused on ideas and not enough on practical matters.

Journey to Houyhnhnm: The Land of Wise Horses

Gulliver's final journey leads him to the land of the Houyhnhnms. These are intelligent, talking horses who are very wise and live by reason. They are the rulers of their land.

The Houyhnhnms have servants called Yahoos, who look like humans but are wild and dirty.
Gulliver is shocked to see how much the Yahoos behave like humans he knows.
He starts to admire the Houyhnhnms' simple, honest way of life. This journey makes him question human nature.

Why Jonathan Swift Wrote This Book

Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels to make people think about the world around them. He used the strange lands and characters to point out problems in his own society, like:

Political Fights: The tiny Lilliputians fighting over silly things showed how ridiculous political arguments could be.
Human Nature: The Yahoos in the land of the Houyhnhnms were a harsh way to show the worst parts of human behavior.
Science and Learning: The people of Laputa, who were smart but impractical, were a way to criticize scientists who didn't use their knowledge to help real people.

Swift wanted his readers to see these problems and maybe even try to fix them. Even though it's an old book, many of its messages about society and human behavior are still important today.

Images for kids

Mural depicting Gulliver surrounded by citizens of Lilliput.
Gulliver exhibited to the Brobdingnag Farmer (painting by Richard Redgrave)
Gulliver discovers Laputa, the floating/flying island (illustration by J. J. Grandville)
Gulliver in discussion with Houyhnhnms (1856 illustration by J.J. Grandville).
The King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver by James Gillray (1803), (satirising Napoleon Bonaparte and George III). Metropolitan Museum of Art
Gulliver and a giant, a painting by Tadeusz Pruszkowski (National Museum in Warsaw).
Comic book cover by Lilian Chesney