Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (Short Questions and Answers)

Jonathan Swift's novel, Gulliver's Travels

(Short Questions and Answers)

👉 Q. How did Gulliver earn the title of ‘nardac’ in the land of Lilliput?

Answer: In Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels", Gulliver earns the title of "nardac" in the land of Lilliput after he puts out a fire in the royal palace. Gulliver had been shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput and had been taken captive by the Lilliputians, who were a tiny race of people only six inches tall.

After earning the trust of the Lilliputians, Gulliver becomes a valuable asset to the Lilliputian government. When a fire breaks out in the palace, Gulliver quickly springs into action, using his massive size to his advantage to extinguish the fire and save the palace from destruction.

As a reward for his heroic actions, Gulliver is given the title of "nardac" by the Lilliputian emperor. This title is a high honor in Lilliputian society, and it gives Gulliver a position of authority and respect among the Lilliputians.

Overall, Gulliver earns the title of "nardac" by using his strength and ingenuity to help the Lilliputians in their time of need. His actions demonstrate his loyalty and bravery, and they help to solidify his position as an important figure in Lilliputian society.

👉 Q. How did Gulliver put out the fire in the Empress’s bed chamber?

Answer: In Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels", Gulliver puts out the fire in the Empress's bed chamber in the following way:

Gulliver sees the fire in the palace and rushes to the scene. He immediately recognizes that the fire is being caused by a huge pile of hay and rushes to the stables to get water to extinguish the fire. However, the Lilliputians are too small to carry buckets of water that are large enough to put out the fire.

So Gulliver comes up with a plan: he fills his hat with water from the nearby river, and runs back to the palace, emptying the water onto the fire. He repeats this process several times, eventually managing to put out the fire and save the Empress's bed chamber from destruction.

Gulliver's actions demonstrate his resourcefulness and quick thinking, as well as his loyalty to the Lilliputians. His use of his own hat to carry water shows that he is willing to sacrifice his own possessions and comfort in order to help others.

Overall, Gulliver's ability to extinguish the fire in the Empress's bed chamber earns him the admiration and respect of the Lilliputians, and helps to solidify his position as an important figure in Lilliputian society.

👉 Q. Why did Gulliver find the manner of writing of the Lilliputians peculiar?

Answer: In Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels," Gulliver finds the manner of writing of the Lilliputians peculiar because they use a writing system that is based on pictures and symbols rather than letters and words.

Gulliver describes the Lilliputian writing system as a series of "little square bits of wood" that are inscribed with tiny pictures and symbols that represent different words and ideas. He notes that this system is very different from the alphabetical writing systems used in his own country, which rely on letters and words to convey meaning.

Gulliver finds the Lilliputian writing system to be complicated and time-consuming, and he struggles to understand it at first. However, he eventually learns to read and write in this system, and even comes to appreciate some of its advantages over the alphabetical system he is used to.

Overall, Gulliver's observations about the Lilliputian writing system highlight the cultural differences between different societies and the importance of understanding and respecting these differences.

👉 Q. How did Gulliver get to Brobdingnag?

Answer: In Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels," Gulliver is on a sea voyage when his ship is hit by a violent storm. The ship is destroyed, and Gulliver is thrown overboard and left stranded in the ocean.

After several days at sea, Gulliver washes up on the shore of a strange land, which he later discovers is the kingdom of Brobdingnag. He is discovered by a group of giants who are initially fascinated by his tiny size and take him in as a curiosity.

Gulliver is eventually brought before the King and Queen of Brobdingnag, who are also giants, and who are impressed by his intelligence and knowledge. They treat him with kindness and respect, and Gulliver spends several years living among the Brobdingnagians, learning about their society and culture.

Overall, Gulliver's arrival in Brobdingnag is the result of a chance accident, but it leads him on a journey of discovery and exploration that helps him to gain a new perspective on his own life and the world around him.

👉 Q. What did the king of Brobdingnag think of England?

Answer: In Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels," the King of Brobdingnag expresses a very negative opinion of England and Europe in general.

When Gulliver first arrives in Brobdingnag, the King is initially fascinated by him and treats him kindly, but as he learns more about England and European society, his opinion becomes increasingly negative.

The King is particularly critical of the political and social systems of England, which he sees as corrupt and unjust. He is appalled by the violence and cruelty of European wars and is shocked by the poverty and inequality that he sees in England.

The King also finds the Europeans to be physically repulsive, commenting that they are "the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth." He contrasts this with the noble and virtuous character of the Brobdingnagians, who he sees as the superior race.

Overall, the King's opinions about England and Europe reflect Swift's own criticisms of the political and social systems of his time, and his belief in the need for social and political reform.

👉 Q. Who was Flimnap? What was the cause of his enmity against Gulliver?

Answer: In Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels," Flimnap is a high-ranking official in the court of Lilliput and one of Gulliver's chief enemies.

Flimnap is described as a cunning and ambitious courtier who is fiercely jealous of Gulliver's position and popularity. He is particularly resentful of the fact that Gulliver has been made a "Nardac," a high-ranking honor in Lilliput, and sees Gulliver as a threat to his own power and influence.

Flimnap is also a key figure in the conspiracy against Gulliver that leads to his eventual downfall. He helps to frame Gulliver on false charges of treason and works to turn the people of Lilliput against him.

Overall, Flimnap represents the corrupt and scheming courtiers who Swift believed were responsible for many of the problems in European society at the time. His enmity towards Gulliver is a reflection of the larger themes of political corruption and abuse of power that Swift explores throughout the novel.

 *****

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