Gulliver receives a reception that is probably appropriate to his situation. At first, the Lilliputians are understandably afraid of the "giant." While he is sleeping they tie him down with what look to Gulliver to be pieces of thread. When he attempts to sit up he is pelted with arrows and compelled to lay back down. When the want to move him they still won't untie him...instead, they build a sort of sled to drag him along.
He is fed but not allowed freedom, so you could say that his treatment is mostly humane. They feed him, and the emperor also puts a lot of effort into keeping his "pet giant" entertained by staging all sorts of acrobatic events for him to watch. They make him a bed (by tying all sorts of little beds together) and keep him well fed. When he is "attacked" by several of the guards they are given to him to decide their punishment. Though he pretends he is going to eat them, he eventually lets them go, thus earning the respect of the Lilliputians.
Eventually, after agreeing to obey their laws and help them in any wars they might engage in, Gulliver is untied by the Lilliputians and becomes of great use to them.
However...
It doesn't take long for them to sour on Gulliver because he won't completely destroy their enemies. They plan to have him executed, but commute his sentence to poking out his eyes. This is about the time that Gulliver decides to get the heck out of dodge.
So, to summarize, the Lilliputians are wary of Gulliver at first (while they determine if he is a threat or not,) cordial secondly (when he looks like he can help them) and spiteful at the end (where they want to punish him because they cannot control him.
No comments:
Post a Comment