50 pages 1 hour read

Jonathan Swift

Gulliver's Travels: Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World.

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1726

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Part 4, Chapters 1-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Part 4: “A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms”

Part 4, Chapter 1 Summary

Gulliver is home for five months before once again setting out on another journey. This time, he is the captain of a ship. He begins losing some of his crew to illness and replaces these men with recruits from Barbados, whom he soon learns are buccaneers. Eventually, these recruits lead a mutiny against Gulliver and take over the ship. They imprison Gulliver in his cabin until they escort him to the shores of some unknown island before abandoning him.

As Gulliver tries to figure out what to do to survive, he observes unfamiliar creatures. The grotesqueness of these creatures disturbs Gulliver. He is approached by one and defends himself by hitting it with the dull edge of his sword. This causes the creature to roar and soon there is a larger group of about forty that gather around the stricken one. Faced with this daunting threat, Gulliver hides behind a tree and tries to fend off the creatures, who have begun throwing excrement at him.

Suddenly, the creatures become subdued by the presence of two horses. As the creatures disperse, Gulliver tries to walk off but is interrupted by one of the horses, who it seems is attempting to communicate with Gulliver.