Summary
Gulliver tries to impress the giant king by crafting ingenious items from the royal hair and performing music on an enormous spinet, running frantically across the keys with makeshift drumsticks. But the real drama unfolds when the king asks Gulliver to explain England's government. Gulliver delivers what he thinks is a glowing tribute to British institutions—the noble House of Lords, the wise Commons, the fair courts, the brave military. He's proud of his presentation, expecting admiration. Instead, the king systematically dismantles every claim with devastating questions: Are nobles really chosen for virtue, or for money and connections? Do lawyers actually seek justice, or profit from prolonging cases? Why does a peaceful nation need a standing army? The king's questions expose the gap between how institutions are supposed to work and how they actually function. After hearing Gulliver's defensive answers, the king delivers a crushing verdict: English society appears to be run by the least qualified people, and the English themselves seem like 'the most pernicious race of little odious vermin' on earth. This reversal is Swift's masterstroke—having an outsider hold up a mirror to show how corrupt and hypocritical familiar systems really are. The chapter reveals how power structures often survive not because they work well, but because we've stopped questioning them honestly.
Coming Up in Chapter 15
After this brutal assessment of his homeland, Gulliver faces the challenge of defending his country's honor while grappling with the uncomfortable truths the king has exposed. His relationship with his giant hosts takes a new turn.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
Several contrivances of the author to please the king and queen. He shows his skill in music. The king inquires into the state of England, which the author relates to him. The king’s observations thereon. I used to attend the king’s levee once or twice a week, and had often seen him under the barber’s hand, which indeed was at first very terrible to behold; for the razor was almost twice as long as an ordinary scythe. His majesty, according to the custom of the country, was only shaved twice a week. I once prevailed on the barber to give me some of the suds or lather, out of which I picked forty or fifty of the strongest stumps of hair. I then took a piece of fine wood, and cut it like the back of a comb, making several holes in it at equal distances with as small a needle as I could get from Glumdalclitch. I fixed in the stumps so artificially, scraping and sloping them with my knife toward the points, that I made a very tolerable comb; which was a seasonable supply, my own being so much broken in the teeth, that it was almost useless: neither did I know any artist in that country so nice and exact, as would undertake to make me another. And this puts me in mind of an amusement, wherein I spent many of my leisure hours. I desired the queen’s woman to save for me the combings of her majesty’s hair, whereof in time I got a good quantity; and consulting with my friend the cabinet-maker, who had received general orders to do little jobs for me, I directed him to make two chair-frames, no larger than those I had in my box, and to bore little holes with a fine awl, round those parts where I designed the backs and seats; through these holes I wove the strongest hairs I could pick out, just after the manner of cane chairs in England. When they were finished, I made a present of them to her majesty; who kept them in her cabinet, and used to show them for curiosities, as indeed they were the wonder of every one that beheld them. The queen would have me sit upon one of these chairs, but I absolutely refused to obey her, protesting I would rather die than place a dishonourable part of my body on those precious hairs, that once adorned her majesty’s head. Of these hairs (as I had always a mechanical genius) I likewise made a neat little purse, about five feet long, with her majesty’s name deciphered in gold letters, which I gave to Glumdalclitch, by the queen’s consent. To say the truth, it was more for show than use, being not of strength to bear the weight of the larger coins, and therefore she kept nothing in it but some little toys that girls are fond of. The king, who delighted in music, had frequent concerts at...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Road of Institutional Blindness
The inability to see flaws in systems we're emotionally invested in, leading us to defend dysfunction while believing we're being loyal.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how emotional investment in systems can prevent us from seeing their actual problems.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when you find yourself defending something you know has serious flaws—ask yourself what you're really protecting.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Levee
A formal morning reception held by a king or noble where courtiers would gather to pay respects and conduct business. These were highly ritualized events that reinforced social hierarchy and allowed rulers to control access to power.
Modern Usage:
We see this in corporate 'office hours' or when politicians hold meet-and-greets - controlled access to powerful people.
Satirical reversal
A literary technique where the author flips expected perspectives to expose flaws or hypocrisy. Swift makes the 'primitive' giant king wiser than the 'civilized' Englishman to criticize English society.
Modern Usage:
Comedy shows use this when they have kids explain adult problems or when foreigners point out weird American habits we don't notice.
House of Lords
The upper house of British Parliament, traditionally filled with hereditary nobles and bishops. Gulliver presents it as wise leadership, but the king questions whether birth or wealth actually creates wisdom.
Modern Usage:
Similar to how we debate whether wealthy donors or political dynasties should have outsized influence in government.
Standing army
A permanent military force maintained even during peacetime. The king questions why a peaceful nation would need this, implying it might be used against the people rather than foreign enemies.
Modern Usage:
Modern debates about military spending, police militarization, or whether large security forces protect freedom or threaten it.
Institutional critique
Examining how organizations or systems actually work versus how they claim to work. Swift uses the king's questions to expose gaps between English ideals and reality.
Modern Usage:
When people question whether schools actually educate, whether hospitals actually heal, or whether justice systems actually provide justice.
Cultural blindness
The inability to see flaws in your own society because you're too close to it. Gulliver can't see what the outsider king immediately notices about English corruption.
Modern Usage:
How Americans might not notice things about our culture that seem obvious to foreign visitors, or how we normalize dysfunction.
Characters in This Chapter
Gulliver
Naive narrator
He proudly describes English institutions, genuinely believing in their nobility and fairness. His shock at the king's criticism reveals how blind people can be to their own system's flaws.
Modern Equivalent:
The patriotic person who gets defensive when outsiders criticize America
The King of Brobdingnag
Moral authority
He asks penetrating questions that expose the reality behind Gulliver's rosy descriptions of English government. His outsider perspective cuts through propaganda to reveal systemic corruption.
Modern Equivalent:
The immigrant or foreign exchange student who asks uncomfortable questions about American systems
Glumdalclitch
Caretaker
Gulliver's young guardian who provides him with tools and materials. She represents the practical help that enables his attempts to impress the royal court.
Modern Equivalent:
The assistant or support person who helps someone prepare for important meetings
Key Quotes & Analysis
"I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth."
Context: After hearing Gulliver's description of English society and government
This devastating verdict flips the expected dynamic - the 'primitive' giant calls the 'civilized' English vermin. It's Swift's harshest condemnation of his own society, delivered through an outsider's honest assessment.
In Today's Words:
Your people sound like the worst kind of toxic parasites I've ever heard of.
"He was perfectly astonished with the historical account I gave him of our affairs during the last century, protesting it was only a heap of conspiracies, rebellions, murders, massacres, revolutions, banishments."
Context: Describing the king's reaction to English history
The king sees English history for what it really is - a series of violent power struggles - while Gulliver had presented it as glorious. This shows how we romanticize our own brutal history.
In Today's Words:
He couldn't believe how much of our history was just people killing each other for power.
"And he gave it for his opinion, that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind than the whole race of politicians put together."
Context: Contrasting useful work with political maneuvering
The king values practical contribution over political power games. This challenges societies that reward manipulation and networking over actual productivity and problem-solving.
In Today's Words:
Anyone who can actually make something useful deserves more respect than all the politicians combined.
Thematic Threads
Class
In This Chapter
The king exposes how nobility is based on wealth and connections, not merit, while Gulliver defends inherited privilege as natural order
Development
Evolved from earlier size-based status reversals to systematic critique of social hierarchies
In Your Life:
You might catch yourself defending workplace hierarchies that promote incompetent people simply because they're familiar.
Identity
In This Chapter
Gulliver's identity as a proud Englishman prevents him from acknowledging his country's flaws, even when presenting evidence of them
Development
Deepened from physical identity confusion to ideological identity protection
In Your Life:
You might find yourself defending your hometown, profession, or family against valid criticism because it feels like personal attack.
Social Expectations
In This Chapter
The king refuses to be impressed by Gulliver's expected praise of English institutions, instead asking uncomfortable practical questions
Development
Progressed from conforming to giant social norms to challenging assumed social values
In Your Life:
You might realize that questioning 'how things are done' often reveals they're done badly, despite social pressure to accept them.
Human Relationships
In This Chapter
The relationship between Gulliver and the king shifts from host-guest courtesy to uncomfortable truth-telling
Development
Advanced from basic size-difference dynamics to deeper power relationship examination
In Your Life:
You might notice how honest feedback in relationships often feels like betrayal, even when it's necessary and accurate.
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
Why does Gulliver feel proud of his description of English government, even though his own words reveal corruption and problems?
analysis • surface - 2
What makes the king's questions so effective at exposing flaws that Gulliver couldn't see himself?
analysis • medium - 3
Think of a workplace, organization, or system you're part of. What would an outsider's honest questions reveal about how it really works?
application • medium - 4
When someone criticizes a system you're invested in, how can you listen for valid points instead of just defending it?
application • deep - 5
Why do we become blind to problems in systems we're loyal to, and what does this reveal about how belonging affects our judgment?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Ask the King's Questions
Pick one system you interact with regularly - your workplace, your kids' school, your healthcare provider, or even your family dynamics. Write down how you would normally describe this system to someone else. Then become the giant king: ask three tough, practical questions about how it actually works and who really benefits.
Consider:
- •Focus on the gap between official purpose and actual results
- •Notice your emotional reactions to your own tough questions
- •Ask 'How would this look to someone with no investment in defending it?'
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you defended something you later realized was actually broken or unfair. What made you finally see clearly, and how did that change your approach to similar situations?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 15: Gulliver Offers Gunpowder to the King
In the next chapter, you'll discover our 'solutions' often reveal our moral blind spots, and learn simple principles can be more powerful than complex systems. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.