Gulliver's Travels
A Drama Ties Production
Based on the classic satire by Jonathan Swift
by Alison Windsor, Aoife Stone, Jeffrey Bracco
Teaching Guide
by Joëlle Aden
“My principal Design was to inform, and not
to amuse thee.” (Part IV:12;1)
“Difference in opinions hath cost many
millions of lives...”( Part IV)
From Gulliver’s Travels
Citizen of the global village, Gulliver has been there, done that and bought it all. Yet he seeks adventure... and when he finds it, it
is stranger and more exotic than he could ever have imagined. Gulliver’s incredible travels bring him to undiscovered worlds filled
with miniature people, floating islands and next generation technologies. He finds out what it really means to be a stranger in a
strange land! In doing so he makes even greater discoveries—about himself and his own culture!
Citoyen du village planétaire, Gulliver a tout visité, tout expérimenté et tout acheté. Pourtant, il part à la recherche de l’aventure
extrême … lorsqu’il la trouve enfin, elle est beaucoup plus étrange que tout ce qu’il avait imaginé. Les voyages incroyables de
Gulliver l’entraînent vers des mondes inconnus peuplés de créatures minuscules, d’îles volantes, et de technologies avantgardistes. Au cours de son incroyable périple dans l'imaginaire, Gulliver réalise ce que signifie d’être étranger dans un pays
inconnu ! Et ce faisant, il fait une découverte bien plus extraordinaire encore – sur lui-même et sa propre culture !
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Contents
Reference
CONTEXT.......................................................................................................................................3
ABOUT THE NOVEL ...................................................................................................................4
LIEN AVEC LES PROGRAMMES.............................................................................................5
LES THÈMES À EXPLORER......................................................................................................5
SUMMARY .....................................................................................................................................9
RESUME.......................................................................................................................................11
Worksheets
1. Extreme Adventure..............................................................................................................13
2. Steve Gulliver, modern-day adventurer ........................................................................15
Scene 1- The Press Conference.................................................................................16
Scene 1- part 2 – How will you survive? ....................................................................20
The countries Gulliver explores..................................................................................22
3. Visit to LILLIPUT ...................................................................................................................25
Scene 2 – The Mighty Empress .................................................................................26
Song : That’s How Things Should Be........................................................................29
4. Visit to BROBDINGNAG......................................................................................................30
Scene 3 – “It’s Business”..............................................................................................30
5. Visit to LAPUTA.....................................................................................................................31
Scene 4 - The Flying Island .......................................................................................31
Scene 6 – “The Thing Which Is Not” ...........................................................................33
7. Notes on Characters ...........................................................................................................35
Websites of interest .................................................................................................................35
FOREWORD
This guide has been designed to offer a wide range of activities for different class levels (college and
lycée). There are more activities than necessary to prepare your class for the show so do not be put
off by the length of the document. Skim through it and make the best choices for your pupils.
If you find other interesting ideas, share them on the blog. http://www.affinitiz.com/space/gulliver
Have a nice trip…
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CONTEXT
Gulliver’s Travels has become a classic and is part of the English literature heritage. Published in
1726, it has remained a fascinating story that can be read and understood at different levels. The
archetypal quest for the self through the acceptance of others is rooted in a fantastic journey that
takes Gulliver, our hero, to undiscovered parts of the world. In his travels he finds himself in
challenging situations and meets strange creatures
with whom communication is tortuous. He discovers
that being a stranger in a foreign country means living
by the rules of its inhabitants and the rules are but
distorting mirrors of Swift’s society. Indeed, Gulliver
has embarked on nightmarish journey, an initiatory
discovery of the familiar that lies beneath the strange.
In the play, as in the novel, each extraordinary
encounter
mirrors
a
facet
of
men’s
vice.
Richard Redgrave, Victoria and Albert Museum,
London- source Wikimedia Commons
Gulliver’s Travels is a timeless story in which abstract ideas are turned into grotesque creatures,
crazy customs and absurd objects that makes it a perfect tool for a theatre adaptation. Because it is
based on an eccentric quest that captivates imagination with colourful characters and farcical
situations, beginners can easily catch the meaning through the action on stage.
The nature of the topics underlying slapstick humour fuels imagination and raises genuine questions
on human behaviour. Drama Ties adaptation of the novel to a globalised 21st century helps pupils
make more sense of it all. It’s important also to point out that studying the novel in English is in
keeping with the national curricula both in collège and lycée. The novel can be studied in more depth
by lycée pupils since Swift’s book is a remarkable and unusual satiric masterpiece that unveils
cultural and political aspects of British life in the 17th century.
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ABOUT THE NOVEL
Entitled Travels into Several Remote Nations of the
World by Lemuel Gulliver, the book was published
in London in 1726. The idea for this novel came to
Swift as he was working with a group of writers who
had become good friends and who called
themselves the Martinus Scriblerus Club. Founded
in 1712, this informal group had the idea of cowriting a social satire on learned, scientific, and
modern men. They wrote The Memoirs of Martinus
Scriblerus. Each member was given a topic.
Jonathan Swift’s part of the assignment was to
satirize the numerous and popular volumes
describing voyages to faraway lands.
Among the most famous books on imaginary
voyages, we can include Don Quixote by Cervantes
(1615) ; The New Atlantis by Bacon (1626) :
Paradise Lost by Milton (1671) ; Pilgrim’s Progress
by Bunyan (1678) and closer to Gulliver, Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe published in 1719.
Resources for teachers
To read the novel online: http://www.questia.com/read/6713760
You can also listen to the novel online http://librivox.org/gullivers-travels-by-jonathan-swift/
In 1939, an animated film directed by Willard Bowsky was
released. It is now in the public domain and can be watched or
downloaded on http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939
Ideas for 3e & lycée
Gulliver’s Travels Travelogue A guide to exploring pre-selected sites on the novel, the
author and the historical and cultural background :
http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=757&title
Listen to a very short audio recording (with subtitles) of a few “lines on the death of
Joanthan Swift”. This is an excerpt of his own epitaph which shows he could also mock himself.
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LIEN AVEC LES PROGRAMMES
Une pièce adaptée aux thèmes culturels des nouveaux programmes d’anglais.
Gulliver’s Travels fait partie de la liste d’œuvres suggérées dans les programmes du palier 2 du
collège (BO HS n°7 du 26 avril 2007, p. 11). Le voy age imaginaire se prête particulièrement bien au
le thème du Palier 2 : « L’ici et l’ailleurs » qui se décline en plusieurs domaines : le voyage, les
langages, la découverte de l’autre et la science fiction, tous présents dans la pièce. Le thème cultuel
du Palier 1 « Modernité et tradition » dont le but est d’éveiller les élèves à la question de l’identité
cultuelle trouve aussi un écho dans les voyages de Gulliver. Outre la satire des récits de voyages
fantastiques dans des contrées inexplorées et imaginaires, le récit des voyages de Gulliver permet
aux élèves de réfléchir à la diversité des cultures et de découvrir une œuvre majeure de la littérature
anglaise. Vous pourrez choisir de développer l’un ou l’autre de ces domaines en fonction de vos
élèves, leurs intérêts et votre programme annuel.
Le programme de seconde « Vivre ensemble en société », cherche à donner aux élèves les moyens
d’observer comment la solidarité définit les rapports sociaux. Là encore, chacune des micro sociétés
décrites dans l’œuvre de Swift et dans la pièce permet de faire ce travail de façon ludique. En effet,
où qu’il aille, Gulliver rencontre des peuples aux antipodes de sa culture, il doit comprendre,
négocier, faire des concessions et parfois il trouve un allié qui l’aide à continuer son voyage.
Le programme de seconde propose au professeur d’anglais de donner aux élèves des documents
qui permettent « d’éclairer les normes
et les valeurs qui animent les sociétés. [...] De prendre
conscience que les différences sont à la fois le signe de l’altérité mais aussi d’une similitude quant
aux aspirations, aux rêves ou aux inquiétudes de chacun » (B.O. HS n° 7 du 3 octobre 2002 2nd, p.
6). C’est donc tout naturellement que ce BO de 2nd reprend le thème des voyages virtuels ou
réels.
LES THÈMES À EXPLORER
Voici quelques pistes pour travailler les objectifs cultuels à partir de l’intérêt de l’œuvre
1. Prendre conscience de la diversité des langues étrangères : Gulliver découvre des
langues étrangères à chacune de ses étapes, il développe des stratégies pour se faire
comprendre. Dans le texte de Swift, il apprend les langues avec facilité, mais dans “la satire
sur la satire“ de Drama Ties, Gulliver emmène, dans son kit de survie, un traducteur
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électronique qui lui donne des réponses pour le moins inadaptées! C’est une bonne
occasion, pour les professeurs qui le souhaitent, de faire un travail en classe d’anglais sur
les traducteurs en ligne.
Notre propre langue peut parfois être aussi une langue étrange.
C’est ce que Gulliver
découvre quand il rencontre les scientifiques de Laputa. Bien qu’ils parlent anglais, Gulliver
n’arrive pas à les comprendre tellement leur jargon technique est ésotérique, il est donc
normal que les spectateurs aient du mal à suivre leurs explications (scène 4). Si la langue,
parfois, ne suffit pas à se comprendre, la ressemblance physique n’est pas non plus un gage
d’intercompréhension. Quand Gulliver quitte le pays des chevaux et qu’il est enfin de retour
dans le monde réel, il arrive au Japon, un pays connu et peuplé d’humains mais là, il n’arrive
pas non plus à communiquer, la langue est une barrière infranchissable...
Au contact de tous ces étrangers, Gulliver utilise des « stratégies de compensation » comme
disent les professeurs d’anglais. Dans l’extrait sur Lilliput (scène 1) on peut traduire la
langue des lilliputiens en passant par l’anglais. Mais les élèves pourront déjà comprendre
l’essentiel au travers du jeu des acteurs (dans l’enregistrement sur CD puis dans la pièce).
Les élèves se retrouvent, comme Gulliver, obligés de chercher d’autres moyens pour
comprendre la situation.
2. La tolérance comme compétence interculturelle : « La compétence culturelle doit
permettre aux élèves “d’apprendre à reconnaître et à comprendre l’autre » (BO Palier 1 :
p.11). En suivant les aventures de Gulliver qui explore des contrées inconnues, les élèves
sont invités à réfléchir sur le sentiment d’étrangeté, non pas de façon intellectuelle et
abstraite, mais au contraire, d’une façon simple et distrayante. Quand cela est possible, faire
les activités de drama proposées est un autre moyen d’y parvenir.
Au cours de ses
rencontres, plus insolites les unes que les autres, Gulliver va progressivement devoir
écouter les autres, faire des efforts pour essayer de les comprendre, dans leurs langues et
leurs coutumes étranges et il en ressortira transformé. En rentrant chez lui, il voit son propre
univers différemment. Il comprend qu’il a une famille et que ses motivations commerciales
ne sont finalement pas aussi importantes qu’il le pensait.
e
e
3. La culture/civilisation : Tout au long des 16 et 17 siècles, les découvertes techniques et
scientifiques vont donner naissance aux grands voyages d’exploration du monde où l’on part
à la conquête des terres dites « vierges », où l’on s’implante, on colonise. Un monde coupé
en deux blocs : les civilisés et les sauvages. La perception ethnocentrée de ces siècles
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passés est très précieuse pour comprendre le monde de la globalisation. Si vous pouvez le
mettre en place avec des collègues d’histoire, un travail interdisciplinaire permettra aux
élèves de jeter bien des ponts entre l’histoire qui nous relie à nos racines et nous permet de
mieux comprendre qui nous sommes aujourd’hui. A cet égard, l’œuvre de J. Swift est très
précieuse. Le Gulliver du XXIe siècle de la pièce de Drama Ties, montre que même si les
hommes peuvent faire le tour de la planète plusieurs fois dans leur vie, même quand ils sont
en quête de la sensation extrême, rencontrer l’Autre dans sa différence reste un voyage
extraordinaire et difficile.
4. La satire : Se moquer des extravagances des autres et percevoir qu’elles reflètent en partie
notre propre culture, voilà bien le ressort de la satire. Il ne sera pas nécessaire, surtout pour
les élèves de collège, de pointer les références historiques ou littéraires. L’œuvre, même à
son premier niveau d’interprétation, fonctionne parfaitement, aussi efficacement qu’un conte
ou une fable. Les fondements de l’histoire posés, les élèves pourront, plus tard, si l’occasion
se présente, aller plus loin dans l’interprétation implicite. L’arrogance de l’Impératrice de
Lilliput, la méchanceté du géant à Brobdingnag, le pédantisme des scientifique sur Laputa,
la manque de mémoire des immortels sur Luggnagg sont autant de traits qui décrivent les
comportements des hommes quelles que soient les époques. Les « caractères » des
humains effleurent les personnages et c’est là toute la justesse de l’adaptation de cette
pièce de Drama Ties qui capture l’universalité du message pour la rendre drôle et accessible
à de jeunes élèves. La satire atteint son paroxysme quand Gulliver arrive dans un pays
pacifiste peuplé de philosophes, tellement sages qui n’ont pas même de mot pour désigner
le mensonge qu’ils appellent « The thing which is not ». Ces sages sont des chevaux qui
règnent sur une île peuplée d’êtres viles, sauvages et violents, les Yahoos, qui eux, sont ...
des humains. Gulliver refuse alors qu’on le prenne pour ce qu’il est en réalité : un Yahoo !
C’est avec les professeurs de français qu’il sera également possible d’explorer le genre de la
satire. Par exemple, la critique acerbe des scientifiques qui vivent dans une île qui vole audessus du monde (sans lien avec la réalité ?) et qui porte un nom qui lui donne une identité
peu reluisantes (laputa qui littéralement signifie la prostituée) n’est pas sans rappeler la
montée de bouclier contre l’esprit rationnel à cette époque. Molière n’avait-il pas déjà, dans
son Malade imaginaire (1673), épinglé les scientifiques d’une façon tout aussi cinglante ?
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5. L’imagination et le théâtre L’imaginaire est un moyen très efficace pour entrer dans la
compréhension des choses de la vie. Il peut parfois être difficile d’aborder des sujets aussi
brûlants que l’intolérance ou l’acceptation de la différance dans une culture imprégnée
d’images violentes et sensationnelles. Le fantastique peut alors prendre le relais. Même si
les personnages burlesques frôlent le ridicule, l’œil aiguisé de Swift saisit la nature humaine
dans tout ce qu’elle a de vil et de mesquin, sans faire aucune concession. L’adaptation de la
pièce et la mise en scène ne font pas de concessions non plus, elles mettent les élèves
spectateurs en prise directe avec l’imaginaire tout en les gardant conscients qu’il s’agit de
théâtre.
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SUMMARY
Part One : Gulliver's Challenge
Steve Gulliver, a successful and charismatic businessman, runs an internet travel agency. He holds a
press conference to announce his new business plan: GulliversTravels.com will begin selling extreme
holiday packages so that tourists, who have “seen it all”, can try something new.
One journalist is not impressed by Gulliver's fast-talking sales pitch. She thinks the voyages are
dangerous, and challenges Gulliver to make the first one himself. Gulliver saves face by agreeing to solo
sail the southern seas.
Mary, Steve's wife, worries that Gulliver is more of a talker than an adventurer. Steve is sure that with the
latest technology, his charming personality and his reckless attitude, nothing can go wrong. He gets on his
sailboat and starts his adventure.
Part Two : Lost In Lilliput
In a severe storm, Gulliver loses his boat and is washed up in a strange
land. He wakes up to discover he is a prisoner of a population of people 4
centimetres-tall, the Lilliputians.
He makes a deal with the Lilliputian Empress, to whom decorum and
social order are of life and death importance. Gulliver must protect the
Lilliputians and defeat their enemies, the Blefuscans, with whom they are
fighting a cultural war. These people disgust the Empress with their
custom of opening eggs in a different way! In return for his protection, she
agrees to give Gulliver back his boat so he can continue his journey.
But when a fire endangers the Empress, Gulliver makes a terrible social
gaffe and the Empress expels him from the island. Gulliver begins to
understand this ‘holiday’ will be stranger and more difficult than he
expected.
Part Three: Big troubles in Brobdingnag and beyond
Back in England, Mary Gulliver is worried because she has no news of
Steve after the storm. The press harass her, trying to create exciting stories
out of the Gullivers' possible disaster. Mary decides she will have to be
strong to deal with the negative publicity and protect Steve's business image.
Steve Gulliver, meanwhile, is hit by a second storm. He loses most of his
technological supports and is washed up in another strange place. This time
he is in a world filled with giants, where he is as insignificant as an insect. A
poor man captures Gulliver and to make money, forces him to work as a
freak show act! Gulliver suffers days of endless work and rough treatment.
His charisma and attitude are of no use and he is helpless. Luckily, he finds a
friend in an enormous little girl, Glum. She rescues him from her father and
sends him on his journey again.
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Illustrations on this page : Altemus' young people's library Philadelphia. H. Altemus, c1896
Part Four : Life In Laputa And Luggnagg
Gulliver lands again in a strange place – Laputa, a flying island full
of scientists. Gulliver thinks he is saved when they help him contact
Mary with an advanced version of a telephone.
But the intellectual Laputians are good at abstract thinking, not
practical solutions. They are unable to help Gulliver continue his
journey to the southern seas. He must find his own escape route with
the help of a straight-talking assistant, the Flapper.
illustration by Milo Winter 1886
Gulliver's trials are not over yet. Exhausted and hungry, he walks into
Lugnagg, a land where people happily embrace death. When he
meets a fisherman, Gulliver learns that some people here are immortal. Gulliver is excited by this until he
meets one of the immortals, a Struldbrug. A near death experience makes him want to end his
misadventures and return home.
Part Five : At Home With The Houynhmhms
Lost again, Gulliver wanders into another strange place. This time
his hosts are intelligent and sophisticated horses. Gulliver is
distressed when they assume a superior attitude to him. Frustrated
and insulted, his own behaviour disintegrates until he resembles
another species living there – the disgusting, uncivilized Yahoos.
illustration by Milo Winter 1886
When Gulliver finally respects the kind, civilized horses, they allow
him to leave in a boat they have made him as a gift.
Part Six : Home Feels Different
Trying to sail back to England, Gulliver finds himself in Japan. He thinks that here things will be easy for
him since there are no giants, no immortals and no horses! But he is unprepared for how exotic and
different Japan is. After several attempts to communicate with people, he meets a kind girl, who helps
him contact Mary. Gulliver arranges to return home as soon as possible. Leaving behind his unreliable
boat, he books a seat on a plane!
The press and public alike await his arrival eagerly, but as ever, will be surprised by the man who steps off
the plane...
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RESUME
Partie 1 : Le défi
Steve Gulliver est un homme d’affaires prospère et charismatique qui dirige une agence de voyage en
ligne. La pièce s’ouvre sur une conférence de presse au cours de laquelle Steve Gulliver annonce son
nouveau défi commercial : www.gulliverstravels.com va proposer des séjours de vacances inédites aux
touristes blasés qui veulent de l’émotion.
L’une des journalistes, peu impressionnée par les boniments de l’homme d’affaires, lui fait remarquer
que ce nouveau style de vacances peut comporter des risques et le met au défi de faire le premier voyage
lui-même. Pour ne pas perdre la face devant les journalistes, il accepte de partir en solitaire sur l’Océan
Antarctique.
Mary, la femme de Steve, s’inquiète car elle sait bien que c’est un beau parleur qui n’a pas vraiment l’âme
d’un aventurier. Mais Steve est convaincu qu’avec les derniers gadgets technologiques, son charme et
son goût du risque, rien ne peut lui arriver. Il monte à bord de son voilier et part à l’aventure.
Partie 2 : Naufrage sur Lilliput
Lors d’un violent orage, Gulliver perd son bateau et il échoue dans un
pays étrange. A son réveil, il découvre qu’il est prisonnier d’un peuple de
petits êtres qui ne mesurent pas plus de 4 centimètres : les Lilliputiens.
Ce peuple est dirigé par une Impératrice pour qui l’étiquette et l’ordre
social sont un principe inaliénable. Elle passe un accord avec Gulliver : il
doit assurer la protection des Lilliputiens et vaincre leurs ennemis, les
Blefuscans après quoi elle s’engage à lui rendre son bateau pour qu’il
puisse continuer son voyage. Lilliputiens et Blefuscans se mènent une
guerre sans merci sur une question culturelle d’importance : savoir quel
est le bon côté pour ouvrir un œuf à la coque.
Un beau jour, l’Impératrice est victime d’un incendie. Gulliver lui vient en
aide d’une manière peu conventionnelle qui la scandalise. Elle le chasse
alors de son île. Gulliver commence à comprendre que ses « vacances »
s’annoncent plus exotiques et difficiles qu’il avait prévu.
Partie 3 : Gros ennuis à Brobdingnag et au-delà
Restée à l’attendre en Angleterre, Mary Gulliver s’inquiète de ne pas avoir de nouvelles après la
tempête. Elle est harcelée par la presse qui prédit le pire dans l’attente d’un scoop médiatique. Mary
décide de ne pas céder à la panique et de protéger l’image de son mari.
.
Pendant ce temps, Steve Gulliver essuie un deuxième orage, perd une
grande partie de ses gadgets électroniques et échoue dans un autre pays tout
aussi étrange. Cette fois, il se retrouve au milieu de géants pour qui il n’a pas
plus d’importance qu’un insecte. Un homme nécessiteux le capture et décide
d’en faire une bête de cirque qu’il dresse pour le monter dans un spectacle.
Gulliver subit les affres d’un travail sans relâche et de mauvais traitements.
Son charisme et son attitude ne l’aident en rien et il est désespéré. Par
chance, Glum, la fille de cet homme sans cœur, devient son amie et vient à
son secours, grâce à elle, il peut reprendre le cours de son voyage.
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Partie 4 : La vie sur Laputa et Luggnagg
Gulliver se trouve dans un nouveau pays étrange – Laputa, une île volante habitée par des
scientifiques. Il se croit sauvé lorsqu’ils essaient de l’aider à entrer en contact avec sa femme au moyen
d’un téléphone à la pointe de la technologie.
Mais les Laputiens, excellents dans la pensée abstraite, sont totalement incapables de trouver des
solutions pratiques pour aider Gulliver à reprendre la mer. Gulliver trouve une solution par lui-même avec
l’aide de Flapper, un serviteur au franc parler.
Mais les épreuves de Gulliver ne s’arrêtent pas là. Epuisé et affamé, il arrive à Lugnagg, un pays où les
gens sont heureux de mourir. Il rencontre un pêcheur qui lui apprend que certains habitants de ce pays
sont immortels. Jamais avare d’idées qui pourraient lui rapporter gros, il commence à s’enthousiasmer
pour les habitants de ce pays jusqu’au moment où il se retrouve face à face avec Struldbrug, l’un des
immortels. Une expérience qui lui coûte presque la vie l’amène à décider de mettre fin à son séjour et à
rentrer chez lui.
Partie 5 : Chez les Houynhmhms
Perdu à nouveau, Gulliver erre dans un autre endroit étrange. Cette fois, ses
hôtes sont des chevaux intelligents et doués de la parole. Ils traitent Gulliver
comme un être inférieur à cause de sa ressemblance physique avec les Yahoos,
des êtres barbares et répugnants, qui vivent sur la même terre. Se sentant
insulté, il finit par se comporter de façon aussi sauvage que les Yahoos.
Lorsque finalement il comprend qu’il doit respecter les chevaux, ces derniers
l’autorisent à partir sur un bateau qu’ils lui offrent en cadeau.
Partie 6 : De retour
Essayant de regagner l’Angleterre, Gulliver se retrouve au Japon. Il pense que les choses vont être bien
plus faciles car il est de retour dans le monde des humains : plus de géants, d’immortels, plus de
chevaux ! Mais il ne s’attendait pas à ce que le Japon soit aussi exotique et étranger à sa propre culture.
Après plusieurs tentatives infructueuses pour communiquer avec des japonais, il rencontre une jeune fille
qui l’aide à contacter Mary, sa femme. Laissant derrière lui sont bateau peu fiable, il réserve un vol pour
son retour en Europe.
La presse l'attend avec impatience, avide de connaître enfin le récit de ses aventures, mais le public
découvre un tout autre homme...
Illustrations for this page by Thomas Morten Gulliver's Travels Into Several Remote Nations Of The World by Dean
Swift illustrated with a life of the author by Rev. John Mitford, and copious notes by W.C. Taylor. Philadelphia, J.B.
Lippincott & Co., 1875.
All illustrations in these pages compiled by Lee Jaffe on http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/images.html
updated 12 November 1998.
All US works published before 1923 are in the public domain.
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1. Extreme Adventure
A. Match the name of the sport with the right picture:
jumping – surfing – sailing – climbing – riding – biking – gliding
Verbs
Jump
+ing = nouns
jumping
surfing
sailing
climbing
gliding
biking
B. Add the nouns and write full names under the pictures
Bungee
Snow
Rock
Solo
Mountain
Hang
-
Jumping
What sports do you practice?
Do you practice sports when you go on holiday? Which sports?
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C. Safe or risky?
-
Make a list of all the sports the pupils practice
In pairs: sort them out in the grid below
Decide which sports can be qualified as extreme sports
Safe
Risky
Dangerous
Extreme
On your own
-
Draw a class poster (or make a collage) of the sport(s) your practice, make a photo and
post it on the blog (or send it to us)
Answer the survey on the blog
Ideas for 3e / lycée
Use this article this BBC online article “Extremely Sporty” May 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4505195.stm
Kitesurfing – coasteering – Mountain boarding – snowboarding
skydiving - cliff jumping – base jumping
Steve Fossett : A modern-day Gulliver ?
http://www.growyourfunds.com/2007/09/marathon_securities_founder_steve_fossett_missin
g.html
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2. Steve Gulliver, modern-day adventurer
un explore
un
touch
un discover
d
ed
ed
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Scene 1- The Press Conference
GULLIVER: Ladies and gentlemen, GulliversTravels.com is expanding!
Now, travel is old news, right? There are no unexplored continents, no exotic places left,
no untouched beaches or wilderness. We have Discovery channel, Wikipedia… Second
Life... what is left to explore when the world is at our fingertips?
How can we know how Christopher Columbus felt when he first stepped onto America?
With GulliversTravels.com, you simply click on a destination and we will create a unique
adventure that nobody has ever experienced before...not even Christopher Columbus!
We explore not the WHERE but the HOW: one-handed rock climbing in the Andes!
Glacier surfing in Alaska! Airplane bungee-jumping over La France! And my personal
favourite... Solo power sailing the Southern Seas!
At GulliversTravels.com impossible dreams become real life adventures!
PRESENTER: OK. Questions?
JOURNALIST : Mr. Gulliver, is it safe?
GULLIVER: Safe? Well…everything has a risk. Just crossing the road is dangerous!
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Notes for comprehension
Spot the places on a map :
The Andes – Alaska – The Southern Seas
Revise or learn the words: continent(s) – country(ies) – place(s)
Why are those places particularly dangerous?
High, deserted, frozen, very cold (icy) – secluded…
Which adjectives best describe Steve Gulliver?
Persuasive – enthusiastic – optimistic – a boaster – self-centred – naïve – gullible
Pair work : interview
How does it feel?
Scary – exciting – chilling – frightening – nice – enjoyable – pleasant –stunning – surprising
- On your own : write a few lines about your favourite sport. Do you practice it or watch it? Where?
When? Say how you feel about it.
- In class: find the questions you will ask to learn about your friend favourite sport
- In pairs: interview your friend
- Report to the class
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How will you survive?
Anticipation : Group work - The survival kit
Groups of 4: you are travelling on a boat. After a big storm the boat starts sinking. You have to agree on
the important things you take on the raft. Agree on 4 items and say why you have chosen them. (A bottle
of water, a GPS, a mp3 player, a compass, a bar of chocolate, an electronic translator, a blanket, a box of
matches.)
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Expression de la condition
We’ll need a…………………………………………………….if we are ……………….
We’ll need …………………………………………………….. if we are ……………….
hungry – thirsty – lost – bored – lonely – cold
Expression du but
“What for?”
Call our family, to speak to strangers, protect ourselves, drink, feed, listen to music…
(invent more answers)
a compass
chocolate
a mobile phone
an electronic
We’ll need translator
water
a blanket
an mp3 player
matches
GPS
find directions
to
GPS = Global Positioning System
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ACT OUT
Scene 1- part 2 – How will you survive?
PRESENTER: Does someone else have a question?
JOURNALIST: So you will be doing the first trip personally, Mr. Gulliver? Solo power sailing the
Southern Seas?
GULLIVER: Absolutely!
JOURNALIST: What?
GULLIVER: Erm… that's what I’m here to announce! I will sail into adventures and parts
unknown! Impossible dreams? No. Real life adventures!
MARY: But Stevie, solo sailing the Southern Seas? That's dangerous.
JOURNALIST: Mr. Gulliver? Tell us - how will you survive?
GULLIVER: The GulliversTravels.com Survival Kit, of course!
MARY: Three pills?
GULLIVER: Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
JOURNALIST: And for navigation?
MARY: You don’t even drive your own car!
GULLIVER: No problem. I’ve got GPS!
JOURNALIST: And how will you communicate?
GULLIVER: I have my mobile.
JOURNALIST: I mean if you meet someone who doesn’t speak English!
GULLIVER: Sweetheart, everyone speaks English! And besides, I can speak a little French! Je
parle français. . .un peu.
MARY: Oh, Steve.
GULLIVER: And, I have this computerized... erm...Translator thingamajig. You just type here
and see…”I like football” – “J’aime pied ballon” OK...well...Let’s just switch that off for now.
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Recap
How would you say?
Steve Gulliver est un homme d’affaires très riche.
Il vend des voyages exotiques et dangereux.
Il part en solitaire dans l’antarctique.
Il emporte son portable, son GPS et un traducteur de poche.
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The countries Gulliver explores
Listen to the characters introducing themselves and fill in the map.
Write the names of the countries on the map, and the names of the people
Gulliver meets in the boxes.
Hello, I’m the Mighty Empress of LILLIPUT
We are small people
We are at war with the People of BLEFUSCU
Hello, my name is GLUMDALCLITCH
My Father calls me Glum
We live in BROBDINGNAG
We are giants
Hello, my name is Flapper
I live in LAPUTA
LAPUTA is a flying island
I live here with scientists
Hello, I’m Lugg. I am a fisherman
I live in LUGGNAGG
Immortal people live here
Hello, my name is HOUYHNHNM
I am a horse. Just call me HOUY
Our country is called the Land of the HOUYHNHNMS
Yahoos live here too. They are dirty and wild creatures
Hi, I am the Japanese girl
I live in JAPAN
I don’t speak English, only Japanese
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The Journeys
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There are many different ways to follow Gulliver’s Travels. You can:
Make a wall poster and fill it in with the pupils after studying or talking about each
voyage.
Write a logbook : If you have time for it, have your class write Gulliver’s logbook (it can
be a giant logbook). A double page for each trip (including a map, drawings or a collage,
and a few sentences that recap the episodes)… You can have different groups in charge
of writing the episodes.
For lycée pupils, you can make a simple character map based on this one:
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/Gulliver-s-Travels.id-120,pageNum-8.html
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3. Visit to LILLIPUT
Intercultural theme: How does it feel to be different?
DRAMA
Have the students move in an empty space with music on.
Choose different types of music that convey a feeling of eeriness.
Students respond to your instructions.
Walk around :
- taking as little space as you can
- taking as much space as you can
- bare feet on hot sand
- on ice
- skating
- hunchbacked
- without using the soles of your feet
- in a place where all the people are tiny and you are the only normal sized person
- in a place where all the people are giants and you are the only normal sized person.
Split the group into 2 groups: one group walks like giants and the other like tiny people.
(swap roles)
Students are in a circle. Call up 2 pupils to meet in the centre of the circle.
Show them a situation on a card.
They try out strange characters.
Have them improvise very simple situations.
They invent a language.
-
Student A is looking for a disco / Student B is deaf
Student A is a child who has lost his mother in a shop / Student B is doing his shopping
Etc.
After each improvisation, debrief and ask the actors how it feels and ask the observers
what strategies are used when you do not speak the same language.
(gestures, attitudes, tone, mime, etc. )
For younger pupils, a short excerpt of Gulliver animation film can be a good
means of introducing this oral comprehension on the next page. (See film on this site:
http://www.archive.org/details/gullivers_travels1939)
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Lilliput
Scene 2 – The Mighty Empress
We see GULLIVER lying, tied down.
GULLIVER: HELLO? Hello? Bonjour?
EMPRESS: Tolgo Phonac
GULLIVER is unable to hear, the EMPRESS calls her GENERAL who enters with a megaphone.
GENERAL: TOLGO PHONAC!
GULLIVER: (takes translator tool out of his pocket.) I’m sorry, repeat that please?
GENERAL: TOLGO PHONAC!
GULLIVER: Tolgo Phonac. (typing into translator) Tony Parker!? Excuse me, little people, have
you seen my boat? It would be a big boat to you.
EMPRESS: TOLGO PHONAC!
GULLIVER: Yeah, Tolgo Phonac. I’m sorry, sweetheart. No comprendo. Do you speak English?
EMPRESS: Surrender!
GULLIVER: You do speak English!
EMPRESS: I learnt it in collège.
GENERAL: Lumos Kelmin pesos desmar lon Emposa.
EMPRESS: Swear a peace with the Empress and her Kingdom and then we’ll talk about your
boat.
GULLIVER: So you do you have my boat!
EMPRESS: Welcome great Man Mountain! I am the most mighty Empress of Lilliput. Oh Man
Mountain, express your reasons for invading our most precious kingdom.
GULLIVER: Oh great Empress of Lilliput. I come in peace. Let me introduce myself properly:
Steve Gulliver. I own GulliversTravels.com, where impossible dreams become real life
adventures. Erm… where are we?
EMPRESS: LILLIPUT!
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Teaching notes for comprehension
Semantic field of war
Lilliput is at war with the People of Blefescu (spot Blefescu on the map)
They are not friends, they are enemies, they fight
The Empress and the General are scared
They think Gulliver is an enemy
They have tied him down/he is tied down (picture)
Detailed comprehension
Why does the Empress call him Man Mountain? (big, giant, as big as a mountain)
What language do they speak?
Where did the Empress learn English?
Find the meaning of “Tolgo Phonac” in the context.
Teach Surrender.
Opposites
war
friend
fight
peace
enemy
surrender
Search for 3e & lycée
The Lilliputians fight over eggs (see song). They call themselves smallendians as opposed to big-endians. What does it mean?
Compare J. Swift’s Gulliver in the novel to Drama Ties’ Gulliver in the
play. (See sites on the novel in the resource section of this guide.)
Note : Lemuel Gulliver was the third of five sons, born in Nottinghamshire. He was brought up
in a modest family. He is naïve and believes what he is told. He has no imagination. Gulliver is
an average middle-class British man of his time who becomes a traveller and an adventurer…
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Intercultural theme: Understanding foreign languages
The translator game
Use the assistant help....
Group work
Divide your class into small groups. Hand out 2 or 3 sentences from the summary or from the
text you have just studied. Each group has a different part of the same text.
• Have your pupils test several free translators online.
• Starting from the suggested translations, they work with paper dictionaries to make their final
decisions.
• Help them solve the problems they face. Let them use different translators and compare the
results.
Possible sites for translators:
http://www.reverso.net/text_translation.asp?lang=FR
http://www.fil‐info‐france.com/7trad_fra.htm
http://www.systran.fr/
Whole class
Each group reads its French translation. Have the class negotiate the right order. Or you can
form new groups (with a spokesperson of each former group)
Type out the class summary hand it out so that pupils can glue it in their copybooks (or ask the
ICT teacher to help them with typing the document)
Back to English
Choose illustrations from an old edition of Gulliver’s Travels. Make flashcards. Have the pupils
remember as much English as they can on the pictures and reorder them on the white board.
Work on pronunciation and intonation.
For fun :
Copy and paste sentences from the play and listen to them on this site. You can choose US u
GB accent and male or femal voices.
http://demo.acapela-group.com/interactive_va.asp
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Song : That’s How Things Should Be
If a stranger from far away enters our land,
I willingly offer a welcoming hand,
As long as they stick with the time-honoured laws and civ-il-it-ies,
That's how things will be... according to me.
But when strangers with curious cultural ways,
Intrude on my realm and darken my days
With wrong-doing, wrong-thinking disgusting displays
Of Big-endian egg breaking ... I will use my power and mil-it-ar-ies!!
That's how things should be... according to me.
Look! An egg should be broken the civilized way:
The small end is tapped then the shell comes away,
A tradition that all respect - on pain of death without dig -nit-ies.
That's how
That's how
That's how
That's how
That's how
That's how
things should be,
it should be,
you should be
things should be,
it should be,
you should be
Big-endians will pay dearly for causing me all my mis-er-ies!
That's how things should be ... according to me!
Note: History link
Swift makes the Lilliputians seem ridiculous by being so small. We cannot take them seriously. The Empress
and the General think they are mighty and majestic but it is very hard for us to believe this. It is like seeing
them in a low-angle shot through the eye of a camera. Here, Swift draws a parallel between the Lilliputians and
the English Monarchy. Moreover, Swift says that the stupid war over the right way to open eggs is a religious
war. The Blefuscans break their eggs at the big end. But, by royal edict, the Lilliputians must break their eggs
at the little end. In Lilliput, people are rebels and those who do not obey the edict are put to death. Politically,
Blefuscu stands for France and Lilliput for England. The war between the two over the religious question of
egg-breaking symbolizes the long series of wars between Catholic France and Protestant England.
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4. Visit to BROBDINGNAG
Scene 3 – “It’s Business”
A poor man finds Gulliver on the beach. He puts him in a
box and takes him back home.
GLUM: Papa, I want to see! Is he real?
FATHER: “It”, my child, ”it”. This is my golden ticket. I'm
going to be rich! I’ll train him to work in a freak show…
FATHER: Watch out, it's cunning, I realised that as soon as I saw it fighting with a rat.
GLUM: But Papa he's only 4cm tall...he's adorable! Where did you find him? Can I keep him?
FATHER: It's not a pet. It's business!
Father leaves. Glum goes even closer to the box.
GLUM: I'm so sorry. Don't worry I will look after you.
GULLIVER: Thank you.
GLUM: What’s your name?
GULLIVER: Steve Gulliver.
Teaching notes for comprehension
Anticipation : Gulliver is very small now (show pictures first)
Spot Brobdingnag on the class chart. Recall information
Comprehension: Gulliver is in a box
The Father calls him “it”. Why ?
Glum wants to …see him / keep him : Look after him / help him
The father wants to keep him / train him / make business with him
Teach : Watch out! Don’t worry! I’m sorry!
Act out : Before you act out, decide how you can show to an audience that Gulliver is either big or small
in comparison to the other actors… After the show, you will compare your ideas with ours.
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5. Visit to LAPUTA
Scene 4 - The Flying Island
GULLIVER: you guys are all the same size as me!
The SCIENTISTS begin to measure GULLIVER and nod clinically.
SCIENTIST 2: Height 175cm, weight 78 kg, BMI 22. Brain activity – 39 over 456. Incoming velocity – 63
km/s.
SCIENTIST 1: An Unidentified flying ... human object.
SCIENTIST 2: UFHO.
SCIENTIST 1: I concur. UFO had a landing impact of 3 tons per square decimetre. The gradient of
trajectory, as indicated here - pulls out graph - was a Trapezoidal Strickine Curve.
SCIENTIST 2 : A TSC. I concur. Leaving the UFO minus 4cm at edge.
GULLIVER: What? I don't understand – what do you mean edge?
FLAPPER: Laputa. This is a flying island. Flying – zoom zoooom zooooom.
GULLIVER: What? This island is flying?
FLAPPER: You catch on quick.
SCIENTIST 1: The velocity of Laputa is 0.32 km /h.
GULLIVER: Okay. You are telling me that, if I try to disembark from Laputa, I'd fall off?
FLAPPER: And you’d break your legs.
GULLIVER: But how do I get off?
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Teaching notes for comprehension
Anticipation:
What is a UFO?
Unidentified see lesson on the poster p. 15: un-explore-d / un-discover-ed / un-identifi-ed
Laputa is a flying island inhabited by scientists.
Comprehension
Why do they call Gulliver a UF(H)O?
(DO NOT TRY to have the pupils understand what the scientists say. Their words are unclear even for
Gulliver - it is gibberish.)
Is Flapper a scientist? How do you know? How does he speak?
Give a synonym for “catch on”
Language: Strange figures (discrimination auditive)
1. Listen to the beginning of the scene and note as many figures as you can.
Check with class
175 – 78 – 22 – 39 – 456 - 63
2. Listen again and try to match the elements in the grid
175
78
22
39
63
kg
km/s
cm
-over 456
3. Make questions on the adjectives : tall – heavy – intelligent – fast, etc.
tall
How
Are you / is he?
4. Pupils may add adverbs :
Extremely - very – not very – not at all – etc.
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6. Visit to HOUYHNHNM
Scene 6 – “The Thing Which Is Not”
HOUY: Very good. Now, please continue once again with your story of how you came to us, my
gentle Yahoo.
GULLIVER: Uh, yes. As I told you before, I
came in a boat, from a land very far away
where people like me are part of a
civilization.
HOUY: A civilization?
GULLIVER: Yes. We buy and sell things
and the strongest survive. We survive to buy
and sell more things and become richer and
more powerful.
HOUY: Oh, my gentle Yahoo, why must you
continue to say the thing which is not?
GULLIVER: No, I am not lying to you! I am
a rich and powerful businessman!
HOUY: Saying the thing which is not.
GULLIVER: I have many people who work
for me. Who run around and do what I say! I
just crack the whip and they. . .
HOUY: Please, remain calm, my gentle
Yahoo.
Illustration by Edwin John Prittie,
Philadelphia : J.C. Winston, 1930.
GULLIVER: Stop calling me that! Look, you, you are just a. . .horse! In my civilization we ride
animals like you! We bet money on you! And when you are old, we slaughter you to make glue
or dog food. In my civilization we. . .
HOUY: Easy, Yahoo. Easy.
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Teaching notes for comprehension
Anticipation: Find a definition of the word civilisation. (Let them ask their History or French
teachers.)
Search for 3e & lycée
In class, find names of great civilisations
Group work. 10 minutes. Each group writes a list of things that defines a
civilisation.
In class, make a common list.
Comprehension.
Infer the situation from extra-linguistic elements,
Houy is calm, careful, gentle, nice…
Gulliver is agitated, nervous, and aggressive
Listen to the first sentence again “Very good. Now, please continue once again with your story of how you
came to us, my gentle Yahoo.” . Compare Houy’s attitude to the attitudes of the people Gulliver has met
before
Prompts :
Like Glum, like Flapper ______________________________
Contrary to The Empress/ the scientists __________________
What is Gulliver’s definition of his civilisation? Highlight the relevant words in the text : buy, sell, rich,
power, Do you agree with him?
Infer from context
The meaning of “The Thing Which is Not”
Why is Gulliver so upset? (Houy does not believe him, he thinks he’s telling lies, he’s lying…)
Why can’t Houy believe him?
Debate for 3e & lycée
Is it possible to always tell the truth?
Are there situations when lying is acceptable?
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7. Notes on Characters
The Lilliputians and The Blefuscans are miniature people. They are constantly fighting over silly things and
they both want to take advantage of Gulliver. (See notes p. 29)
The Brobdingnagians
The Brobdingnagians are giants. Most of them are kind except Glum’s father who decides to make money out
of Gulliver’s size. But even when they like Gulliver, The Brobdingnagians are not willing to welcome him as
part of their society. They see him as entertaining, a plaything, as someone who cannot be trusted.
The Laputans are absent-minded scientists. They are only interested in theories and have no regard for
practical things. They are assisted by servants called Flappers who constantly have to shake them out of their
theories. With these characters, Swift makes a parody of the scientific community and puts forward the fact
that pure abstraction is completely useless.
The Houyhnhnms – They are wise and clever horses who
live in a peaceful society. They do not have a word for “lie”
in their language. They live in a sort of socialist republic, in
which the community is put before individual desires. They
are the masters of the Yahoos, savage creatures who look
like humans. They have a great influence on Gulliver who
would like to be like them. For Swift, the Horses are not
perfect, they are rather naïve and do not understand
human nature in its complexity. It seems that The Yahoos
and the Houyhnhnms represent the two extremes of human
nature.
The Yahoos are human in form and feature, but they are
dirty and stinky animals. They are naked and primitive and
unable to organise themselves, they live in servitude to the
horses. They refer to lower instincts in men. Gulliver is
horrified by his similarity to the Yahoos. He refuses to see
himself as a sort of Yahoo and would rather be a horse.
Websites of interest
-
The text, annotations, timeline, quotes, illustrations... http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/
Plot, analysis of characters, themes, key facts… http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/gulliver/
BBC article How Gulliver’s Travels Comments on Society (education, difference, politics, etc.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A659360
A webquest for Lycée http://interactives.mped.org/view_interactive.aspx?id=757&title
MP3 version of the novel http://librivox.org/gullivers-travels-by-jonathan-swift/
History and pictures of the fist book at Glasgow University Library
http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/jan2006.html
J. Swift biography http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/Pages/Main.aspx
Story of a copy annotated by Swift himself. It was stolen and returned. Listen to an interview
on the investigation… http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/1470716.stm
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