Laputa

Sometimes I think Gulliver never learns. Having voyaging twice and both times landing on a foreign land and almost getting killed by the natives there, you would think that any one in their right minds would vow to leave home again. I would. I mean almost getting pricked to death by tiny needles and almost having yours eyes gouged out would really put a damper on any future voyages. Not to mention the fact that he almost got trampled on by giants, enslaved, almost killed by a mothering monkey and jealous dwarf. Those would not be things that would make me go “Yes! Let us venture out once more!” But Gulliver being restless as he was’ he took off and this time was left to die out at sea. But then - maybe luckily- spots an island and inhabits it. Then like the rest of his voyages the most unexpected things happen. Gulliver spots a floating island above his own and so he calls out to the people above. They hear him and lower a chain to which they later use to pull him up. And thus is the beginning of Gulliver’s adventure in Laputa.

When Gulliver first sees the island’s inhabitants, he is at first very mystified by their appearances. The Laputians all have their heads tilted to one side, either to the left or right, and have one eye turned inward and the other turned up. They wear clothing adorned with illustrations of celestial masses and musical instruments such as fiddles, flutes, harps, etc. (pg. 82) These people were also quite the daydreamer and had trouble with focusing their thoughts to one particular subject. Their mind digresses so much that there was a need to employ some of them just to tap on the others ears or mouths with sticks with a pouch tied at the end called flappers. Gulliver also comes to learn that the Laputian’s culture is heavily based on mathematics and music. A humorous example would be when Gulliver had his first dinner with them. The first course was a shoulder of mutton that was shaped into an equilateral triangle while the beef was separated into rhombuses and the pudding put in a cycloid shape. The second course had more music inspired dishes than the first. Two ducks were placed as to that they would have a semblance of fiddles, the sausages and pudding were flute-like, and the cut of veil had a strong harp look. Even the bread was divided into mathematical figures.

From my first impression I see Laputa as much more strange or foreign than the other two nations. Lilliput and Brobdingnag had a lot more similarities to our world than I can ever imagine Laputa having. Yes, the Lilliputians were tiny and the Brobdingnagians were huge but their differences from our own come mostly from their physical appearance. And even then the Laputians still in my mind trumps them. Well, because I have seen really small people and really large people as well but maybe not as extreme as those Gulliver encounter but I have never seen anyone who remotely resembles Laputians. And another of the strangest things I’ve ever heard of –other then starting a war over how to break eggs- is there over all culture.

The Laputians are the most far off from “human” so far of any of the characters depicted. They seem to have the focus mainly on math, science, and music leaving little space for anything else to occupy their minds with. And I can’t help but compare them to “aliens”. For one thing they have the Unidentified Flying Object part covered! And it’s just that somehow they feel distant. It’s the way that they are so submerged within their own realm of thinking that they rarely give any thought to other matters. It’s as though nothing matter to them except for what’s currently occupying their minds. They don’t seem to care for very much anything else but for their mathematics and science and music. They are even so clueless of their surroundings that they must actually have people hit them with flappers just so that they won’t unknowingly walk off the edge of the island or run into a ditch. And I absolutely find that humorous yet very ridiculous at the same time. But to say the truth I wouldn’t be able to like them very much. I feel as though they are the type of people who unconsciously ignore everything that’s right in front them. And I wonder if they never care to think of anything else or care for anything else than how do they love? I know that’s corny but I really believe that living a life like would be a waste. They have their entire life to live and yet they don’t care! So how in the world do they even have the ability to let love get in the way of their scientific thinking?!?!?!?!?