Question

Given that Lilliput represents Britain and Blefuscu represents France in Gulliver's Travels, what does the Lilliputian official's description of Blefuscu as "the other great empire of the universe" suggest? a a. Britain has too high an opinion of France and its military. b b. Britain sees itself and France as rival superpowers. c c. France and Britain are strong allies. d d. France is the greater country of the two.

Answer 1

Answer:

The Lilliputian official's description of Blefuscu as "the other great empire of the universe" suggests:

b. Britain sees itself and France as rival superpowers.

Explanation:

We can easily break the quote down: To the official, there are only two great empires. One of them is Lilliput, the other one is Blefuscu. Since Lilliput represents Britain, we can see how the author, Jonathan Swift, is using this quote to criticize Britain's narrow view of the world. They do not think of other countries as great. And the only other country whose greatness they acknowledge is precisely the one they consider their enemy. To Britain, France is its rival in being the world's superpower. Of course, since it could not be different, Lilliput and Blefuscu are enemies in the story.

The novel "Gulliver's Travels" is a satire of society written by Jonathan Swift. By describing the fictitious countries and societies where Gulliver ends up during his voyages, the author criticizes human nature and its nitpicking.