Gulliver's Travels Questions

chapter 5

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The text contains a number of allusions to events in Swift’s life and to the politics of Europe. For instance, it has been suggested that the empress represents Queen Anne of England, Gulliver’s urination on her quarters represents Swift’s work A Tale of a Tub, and the empress’s disgust at Gulliver’s urination is analogous to Queen Anne’s criticism of Swift’s work and her attempts to limit his prospects in the Church of England. Within the story, Gulliver’s urination on the palace is not merely an offense to the Lilliputians’ sense of decency, it is also a suggestion of their insignificance, to which they respond indignantly. Although Gulliver’s urination is intended to prevent a disaster, it is also an assertion of his ability to control the Lilliputians—even by the most profane of actions. The episode illustrates again the importance of physical power, which can turn a normally insignificant and vulgar action into a lifesaving act.

Source(s): http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gulliver/section3.rhtml