Control is Everywhere in Gulliver's Travels

Everyone wants control and this theme is explored in Gulliver's travels. From the Lilliputians to the Brobdingnagians. Even the Laputan every one of them are trying to gain and or exert control in their own way. The human desire for control is both understandable and weird.

The Lilliputians try to take control by force not understanding that Gulliver can kill them all easily, but their world view is too narrow minded to understand that. When Gulliver tells them where he comes from, they don't even entertain the idea that there are places that they don't know about.

The Brobdingnagians gain control effortlessly. They gain Gulliver in a single moment and only keep him around as entertainment. When Gulliver tells the Brobdingnagians were he comes from they think it's fun. I mean if you were a giant that can destroy all of England with as much effort that it takes you to dust your bedroom you wouldn't take it too seriously.

The Laputan aren't an allegory for control overall themselves. They are always coming up with ideas to help their country, but they are only using the first ideas that come to mind and not fully thinking through what they're doing. There intentions are good, but they are too rash, and they rush headfirst into the problem.

In Gulliver's Travels everyone has their own why to gain control, but they don't always get it. Control is so prevalent in our world that unintentionally people make it a theme in their writing, but it is so abundant in Gulliver's Travels that I think its intentional.

Works Cited. “Why We Want Control — and Never Truly Have It - My Reflection on Life.” My Reflection on Life, 10 Apr. 2025, myreflectiononlife.com/why-we-want-control/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.Swift. Jonathan. Gulliver’s Travels. Modern Pub, 1726.