Summary
Gulliver gets a behind-the-scenes look at how Laputa really works, and it's both fascinating and terrifying. The flying island operates through a giant magnetic stone that can raise, lower, and move the entire landmass. Swift provides incredibly detailed technical explanations that feel almost like science fiction, but the real revelation is how this technology serves as the ultimate tool of oppression. The king uses the island like a weapon—hovering over rebellious towns to block their sunlight and rain, dropping stones on them, or threatening to crush them entirely by landing the island on top of them. It's the ultimate example of control through dependency and fear. But here's where it gets interesting: the system has built-in weaknesses. The ministers who serve the king all own property on the ground below, so they're reluctant to support the most extreme measures that would destroy their own wealth. Even more revealing is the story of Lindalino, a city that figured out how to fight back. They built towers with their own magnets and stockpiled flammable materials, essentially creating a mutually assured destruction scenario. When the king tried to crush them, his own island started getting pulled down by their magnetic defenses, forcing him to negotiate. Swift is showing us that even the most overwhelming systems of power have vulnerabilities, and that those vulnerabilities often come from the self-interest of the people who run them. The chapter reveals how authority often depends more on the illusion of absolute power than actual invincibility. It's a masterclass in understanding how control works in any system—whether it's a flying island or a modern workplace.
Coming Up in Chapter 20
Having seen how power operates from above, Gulliver will soon descend to ground level to explore what life is like for the people living under Laputa's shadow. The contrast between the abstract theorizing above and the practical realities below promises to reveal even more about Swift's critique of disconnected authority.
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An excerpt from the original text.(~500 words)
A phenomenon solved by modern philosophy and astronomy. The Laputians’ great improvements in the latter. The king’s method of suppressing insurrections. I desired leave of this prince to see the curiosities of the island, which he was graciously pleased to grant, and ordered my tutor to attend me. I chiefly wanted to know, to what cause, in art or in nature, it owed its several motions, whereof I will now give a philosophical account to the reader. The flying or floating island is exactly circular, its diameter 7837 yards, or about four miles and a half, and consequently contains ten thousand acres. It is three hundred yards thick. The bottom, or under surface, which appears to those who view it below, is one even regular plate of adamant, shooting up to the height of about two hundred yards. Above it lie the several minerals in their usual order, and over all is a coat of rich mould, ten or twelve feet deep. The declivity of the upper surface, from the circumference to the centre, is the natural cause why all the dews and rains, which fall upon the island, are conveyed in small rivulets toward the middle, where they are emptied into four large basins, each of about half a mile in circuit, and two hundred yards distant from the centre. From these basins the water is continually exhaled by the sun in the daytime, which effectually prevents their overflowing. Besides, as it is in the power of the monarch to raise the island above the region of clouds and vapours, he can prevent the falling of dews and rain whenever he pleases. For the highest clouds cannot rise above two miles, as naturalists agree, at least they were never known to do so in that country. At the centre of the island there is a chasm about fifty yards in diameter, whence the astronomers descend into a large dome, which is therefore called _flandona gagnole_, or the astronomer’s cave, situated at the depth of a hundred yards beneath the upper surface of the adamant. In this cave are twenty lamps continually burning, which, from the reflection of the adamant, cast a strong light into every part. The place is stored with great variety of sextants, quadrants, telescopes, astrolabes, and other astronomical instruments. But the greatest curiosity, upon which the fate of the island depends, is a loadstone of a prodigious size, in shape resembling a weaver’s shuttle. It is in length six yards, and in the thickest part at least three yards over. This magnet is sustained by a very strong axle of adamant passing through its middle, upon which it plays, and is poised so exactly that the weakest hand can turn it. It is hooped round with a hollow cylinder of adamant, four feet deep, as many thick, and twelve yards in diameter, placed horizontally, and supported by eight adamantine feet, each six yards high. In the middle of the concave side, there is a groove twelve...
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Intelligence Amplifier™ Analysis
The Vulnerability Map - How Power Systems Really Work
Every system of control has built-in weaknesses created by the competing self-interests of those who maintain it.
Why This Matters
Connect literature to life
This chapter teaches how to see past intimidating facades to identify the actual vulnerabilities in any power structure.
Practice This Today
This week, notice when someone in authority makes threats - then ask yourself what they actually need from you and what would genuinely cost them if you withdrew cooperation.
Now let's explore the literary elements.
Terms to Know
Adamant
An extremely hard, unbreakable stone that was believed to be magnetic in Swift's time. In the story, it's the foundation material of the flying island that makes the whole magnetic control system work.
Modern Usage:
We use 'adamant' today to mean absolutely refusing to change your mind, like being as unmovable as that legendary stone.
Loadstone
A naturally magnetic rock that attracts iron and other metals. In Laputa, a giant loadstone is the engine that powers the island's flight and movement through magnetic force.
Modern Usage:
Today we'd call this the 'power source' - like the server that runs a whole computer network or the engine that drives a massive operation.
Suppressing insurrections
Using force or threats to stop rebellions and uprisings. The king of Laputa does this by literally hovering over rebellious cities and threatening to crush them.
Modern Usage:
This is what we see when powerful institutions use their leverage to silence criticism - like threatening to cut funding or access to essential services.
Mutually assured destruction
A situation where both sides in a conflict have the power to destroy each other, so neither dares to attack. Lindalino creates this by building magnetic defenses that could pull down the flying island.
Modern Usage:
This concept became famous during the Cold War, but we see it in smaller ways - like when both sides in a dispute have damaging information about each other.
Philosophical account
Swift's way of saying he's going to explain how something works using reason and scientific principles. It's his attempt to make the fantastic seem logical and believable.
Modern Usage:
Today we'd call this 'breaking down the mechanics' or 'explaining the system' - like when someone explains exactly how a scam works.
Ministers' self-interest
The idea that even the king's advisors have their own property and wealth to protect on the ground below, which limits how extreme they're willing to be in crushing rebellions.
Modern Usage:
This is why corporate executives sometimes push back against policies that would hurt their own investments, or why politicians protect their home districts.
Characters in This Chapter
Gulliver
Observer and narrator
He's getting the technical tour of how Laputa's power system works, asking detailed questions about the mechanics. His curiosity reveals both the impressive technology and its sinister applications for control.
Modern Equivalent:
The new employee getting shown how the company really operates behind the scenes
The King of Laputa
Absolute ruler with technological power
He controls the flying island and uses it as the ultimate weapon against rebellious cities below. He can block their sun, drop stones on them, or threaten to crush them entirely.
Modern Equivalent:
The CEO who controls all the infrastructure and can cut off access to anyone who challenges them
Gulliver's tutor
Guide and explainer
Appointed by the king to show Gulliver around and explain how everything works. He provides the technical details about the magnetic system and the methods of suppression.
Modern Equivalent:
The company insider who explains how the system really works to outsiders
The Ministers
Self-interested advisors
They serve the king but own property on the ground below, which makes them reluctant to support the most extreme measures that would destroy their own wealth and investments.
Modern Equivalent:
Board members who have to balance company interests with their own personal investments
Key Quotes & Analysis
"The flying or floating island is exactly circular, its diameter 7837 yards, or about four miles and a half, and consequently contains ten thousand acres."
Context: Gulliver is giving precise technical specifications of the island's size and structure
Swift provides incredibly specific measurements to make this fantastical place seem real and scientific. The precision creates credibility while describing something impossible.
In Today's Words:
Let me give you the exact specs on this thing so you understand how massive and impressive it really is.
"If any town should engage in rebellion or mutiny, fall into violent factions, or refuse to pay the usual tribute, the king hath two methods of reducing them to obedience."
Context: Explaining how the king uses the island as a weapon against rebellious cities
This reveals the true purpose of all that impressive technology - it's not for exploration or advancement, but for maintaining control through fear and intimidation.
In Today's Words:
When people don't do what he wants, the boss has two ways to make them fall in line.
"But there is still indeed a more weighty reason, why the kings of this country have been always averse to the executing so terrible an action."
Context: Explaining why the king rarely follows through on his ultimate threat to crush cities
Swift reveals that even absolute power has practical limits. The king's own advisors have investments in the cities below, so they resist policies that would destroy their wealth.
In Today's Words:
But here's the real reason why the people in charge don't go nuclear - they'd hurt themselves too.
Thematic Threads
Power
In This Chapter
The king's seemingly absolute control through the flying island is revealed to have multiple vulnerabilities and dependencies
Development
Evolved from earlier observations of Laputan detachment to show how power actually operates through fear and self-interest
In Your Life:
You might recognize this when dealing with seemingly untouchable authority figures who actually depend on cooperation from people with their own agendas
Control
In This Chapter
Control operates through creating dependency and fear, but requires the cooperation of people who have their own interests to protect
Development
Builds on themes of manipulation to show the mechanical reality of how control systems function
In Your Life:
You might see this in workplace dynamics where harsh policies are softened by managers who know they need employee cooperation
Resistance
In This Chapter
Lindalino's magnetic towers show how understanding a system's mechanics can create effective countermeasures
Development
Introduced here as a new theme showing that oppression isn't absolute
In Your Life:
You might apply this when facing bureaucratic obstacles by finding who really makes decisions and what they actually care about
Class
In This Chapter
The ministers' property ownership creates a conflict between their role as enforcers and their personal wealth
Development
Continues exploration of how class interests shape behavior and decision-making
In Your Life:
You might notice this when middle management seems sympathetic to worker concerns because they're not far removed from your position
Self-Interest
In This Chapter
Everyone in the system acts according to what benefits them personally, creating predictable patterns of behavior
Development
Builds on earlier themes of human motivation to show how self-interest can be leveraged strategically
In Your Life:
You might use this understanding when negotiating by appealing to what the other party actually needs rather than what they claim to want
You now have the context. Time to form your own thoughts.
Discussion Questions
- 1
How does the magnetic stone work, and what does the king use it for beyond just moving the island?
analysis • surface - 2
Why don't the king's own ministers support his most extreme threats against rebellious cities?
analysis • medium - 3
Where have you seen someone in authority back down when their own supporters started getting uncomfortable?
application • medium - 4
If you were facing someone who seemed to have all the power in a situation, how would you look for their 'magnetic towers' - the leverage that could make them reconsider?
application • deep - 5
What does Lindalino's successful resistance tell us about the difference between appearing powerful and actually being invincible?
reflection • deep
Critical Thinking Exercise
Map the Power Structure
Think of a situation where you felt powerless - at work, with family, dealing with an institution. Draw a simple diagram showing who the authority figure is, who they answer to, what they need to maintain their position, and where their interests might conflict with unlimited power. Look for the 'property-owning ministers' in your situation.
Consider:
- •Even the most intimidating authority figures usually answer to someone else who cares about different things
- •People who enforce power often benefit from the current system and don't want it completely destroyed
- •Those in charge need cooperation from others to maintain their position
Journaling Prompt
Write about a time when you discovered that someone who seemed untouchable actually had vulnerabilities you hadn't noticed before. What changed your perspective?
Coming Up Next...
Chapter 20: The Cost of Endless Innovation
In the next chapter, you'll discover to recognize when progress becomes destructive obsession, and learn practical wisdom often gets dismissed as backward thinking. These insights reveal timeless patterns that resonate in our own lives and relationships.