Gulliver's Travels (Swift)/Part 2/Chapter 1
from the Collection âGulliver's Travels. Part 2â
The divisions of this summary into sections are editorial.
A storm drives the Adventure off course
In June 1702, two months after returning from his previous voyage, Gulliver left England aboard the Adventure, bound for Surat. His restless disposition had drawn him to sea again despite the advice of his friends and relations.
The ship stopped at the Cape of Good Hope for water, but a leak and the captainâs illness delayed it until the end of March 1703. Beyond Madagascar, violent winds drove it far east. A calm followed, but the experienced captain warned the crew to prepare for a storm.
The sailors survived the storm by adjusting their sails and letting the ship run before the waves. Afterwards, none of them knew where they were. Their ship and provisions were sound, but fresh water was running dangerously low.
Left behind in a field of giant barley
In June 1703, the crew sighted an unknown coast. The captain sent an armed boat ashore to search for water, and Gulliver obtained permission to join it and explore. Finding the shore barren, he wandered away alone. On his return he saw his companions rowing desperately towards the ship, pursued through the sea by a gigantic figure. Gulliver fled inland; he later learned that rocks had prevented the giant from catching the boat.
From a hill he saw cultivated land, with grass about twenty feet high. A path led him through barley towering above him, but a huge hedge and stile blocked his way out. A giant farmer appeared and called seven labourers to harvest the field.
Gulliver struggled between the stalks until he reached a patch flattened by wind and rain. Unable to pass through it and hearing the reapers approach, he lay down in despair. He thought of his wife and children and regretted leaving home again. In Lilliput he had seemed immense; here he feared that a giant would treat him as a morsel.
The contrast led him to reflect:
Undoubtedly philosophers are in the right when they tell us, that nothing is great or little otherwise than by comparison.
When a reaper came close enough to crush or cut him, Gulliver screamed. The man spotted him and cautiously picked him up between finger and thumb. Gulliver held still, spoke humbly and clasped his hands. His voice and gestures intrigued the reaper, who loosened his painful grip, put him gently in his coat and carried him to the farmer.
The farmer takes Gulliver home
The farmer examined Gulliver and set him on the ground. To show that he meant no harm, Gulliver walked slowly, bowed and offered his purse of gold. The farmer could not understand what the coins were and signed to him to put them away.
Convinced that his visitor could reason, the farmer tried speaking to him, but neither understood the otherâs language. He wrapped Gulliver securely in a handkerchief and carried him home. His wife was frightened at first, but Gulliverâs behaviour reassured her, and she gradually became fond of him.
At dinner, the farmer placed Gulliver on the high table. His wife gave him finely cut food and a cup of drink. The family laughed at his ceremonious toast, then worried when he tripped over a crust; he waved his hat to show that he was unhurt.
The farmerâs young son seized Gulliver by the legs and held him aloft. His father rescued him, struck the boy and ordered him away from the table. Fearing the boy might bear him a grudge, Gulliver asked by signs that he be forgiven. The father agreed and guided his sonâs hand to stroke Gulliver gently.
A huge cat frightened Gulliver, but ignored him and drew back when he approached. More dangerous was the familyâs baby, who grabbed him and put his head in its mouth. His cries startled the child into dropping him, and the mother caught him in her apron.
The sight of the nurse feeding the baby disgusted Gulliver at close range. He recalled that a learned friend in Lilliput had likewise found his own skin coarse when viewed closely. The comparison reminded him that the giants were not deformed: seen from a suitable distance, they were well proportioned.
A fight with rats and a request for privacy
After dinner the farmer returned to his labourers, charging his wife to care for Gulliver. Seeing that he was tired, she put him on her bed beneath a handkerchief and left him to sleep. He dreamed of home, making his awakening alone in the enormous room all the more distressing.
Two rats climbed onto the bed and attacked him. Gulliver drew his sword, killed one and wounded the other as it escaped. He believed that, without his weapon, the animals would have devoured him. When the farmerâs wife returned and saw him covered in blood, he pointed to the dead rat and reassured her that he was unharmed. She had a maid throw the carcass out of the window.
Gulliver then struggled to convey that he needed to relieve himself in private. At last his mistress understood and carried him into the garden, where he hid between two sorrel leaves. He later defended such details as useful to thoughtful readers and said that, although the voyage remained vivid in his memory, he had removed some less important passages to avoid being tedious.