The Little People ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ by Jonathan Swift

I. Activity: Stick a picture of Jonathan Swift and write some details

or Draw a picture depicting the lesson.
II. Answer the following questions:
1. What does Gulliver mean when he says ‘our voyage was at first very fine’?
Ans. From this Gulliver meant that when they started their journey, the sea was
calm and they were sailing smoothly. But due to violent storm their ship got
wrecked.

2. What was the rescue arrangement aboard the Antelope in case of a shipwreck?
Did it prove to be useful?
Ans. The rescue arrangement aboard the Antelope in case of a shipwreck was to
use lifeboats. No, it did not prove to be useful because the winds were so strong
that it overturned the lifeboats.

3. What happened to Gulliver after the shipwreck?

Ans. After the shipwreck all the passengers seemed to be lost. Gulliver swam as
his fortune directed him and was pushed forward by wind and tide to a desolate
island. In the island, he was fastened to the ground by tiny human like creatures.

4. ‘The creatures ran off a second time.’

a. When had the ‘creatures’ run off the first time?
Ans. The ‘creatures’ ran off the first time when Gulliver had roared loudly out of
sheer astonishment.

b. What made them run off the second time?

Ans. After struggling to get loose, Gulliver was able to break the strings and
wrench out the pegs that fastened his left arm to the ground. With a violent pull, he
loosened the strings that tied down his hair on the left side. Now, he was able to
turn his head about two inches. This made them run off the second time.
5. ‘Tolgo phonic’ – who said these words? What happened after these words were
spoken?
Ans. One of the little men cried aloud these words ‘Tolgo phonic’. After these
words spoken, they started showering arrows into the air which hurt the Gulliver’s
left hand. Sooner his left hand was covered with tiny arrows that pricked him like
so many needles.

Read to infer
1. Answer these questions:
a. Why do you think the creatures on the island fastened Gulliver to the ground?
Ans. The creatures on the island fastened Gulliver to the ground because for them
Gulliver was a giant and they considered him as possible threat to their life.

b. Would you agree with the statement that Gulliver was the first human to visit
the island?
Ans. Yes, I agree with the statement that Gulliver was the first human to visit the
island because for the first time little men saw such a huge creature and they
appeared astonished on seeing him. Also, they did not know how to deal with him
so they ran off in all directions, falling and getting injured.

c. Why does Gulliver say ‘as I imagined’?

Ans. Gulliver said ‘as I imagined’ because he could not count the exact number of
the little men as he was tied down by them. Moreover, they were in huge numbers
so, he assumed they were fifty.

d. What do you think the phrase ‘Tolgo Phonic’ means? Give reasons for your
answer.
Ans. I think the phrase ‘Tolgo Phonic’ means ‘attack’ because after his phrase was
spoken by one of the little men, they all started showering arrows at Gulliver.