Little People, Big World

a) The way the government rules has many people that object to it. The "Rules", like breaking an egg at the convenient place, are up for individual interpretation. Laws today are still vague, which is why people are wrongfully accused and arrested today. There also is a question as to whether religion belongs in government because in this passage they go by the "Brundercral" which is like their version of a Quaran or Bible. It is ironic that a man with such physical strength over these little Lilliputians actually lets them rule him. He could take action and obtain his freedom but he doesn't try nor does he want to leave. Language isn't the only way to communicate. Certain gestures show that one means no harm, no matter how strong they look. Some questions to address are : Is language the only way to communicate? Why can't the more powerful in size Gulliver overthrow these little people? What is Swift saying about his society AND modern day? Is Gulliver only superior to these people in size? Is Gulliver dreaming or did he do something to deserve to be put into this world? Why were the Lilliputians so generous with their resources?

b) I thought this group work was similar to all the other work we do in groups. I prefer teaching to the class. Also people dont take it as seriously as they should when there aren't strict rules to it. I like the freedom to write anything but i think some people have a hard time with it. I learned that some texts aren't easy to address with different view points and this one was full of satire to be interpreted one way. Our group didn't have many conflicting ideas. There were things that some might have missed, such as the tight rope walker.

c) We split up our lesson into "questions" and "issues about society". The clear approach to teaching this excerpt was to pull out the many elements of satire and who they addressed i.e. government, culture, individuals. Swift thinks that his government is strong enough to rule anyone but then again the way they rule is up for debate because some things involve opinionated mind control.