REVISE – The immortals

Reorder the lines to make a logical conversation, based on what you have learned from the extract. Write the correct numbers (1-7) in the gaps.

STRULDBRUG: James the First. A fine fellow. I knew him well. A stout man, fond of hunting. I was in my younger days, then. ________
GULLIVER: [to himself, after the Struldbrug leaves] Oh, how could I have been such a fool? To have once wished for immortality! This pallor, this lack of spirit, this vacant stare. ________
STRULDBRUG: There is nothing great about my age: I can hardly do anything … not even die. ________
GULLIVER: I have travelled across vast oceans, seen lands beyond your wildest imaginings – peoples, creatures, customs that would astonish you! ________
GULLIVER: Remarkable! So, if you lived during the reign of King James the First, you must be... over 150 years old! An astonishing age! ________
STRULDBRUG: [showing no curiosity] Indeed. Tell me, young man, have you by chance brought with you anything? A coin, perhaps, or a ribbon? Something to remember this moment by, before it slips away. ________
GULLIVER: My curiosity has no limits! Which king or queen do you remember? ________

The Struldbrugs tend to lose their memory at a certain stage. Help one of them reconstruct their diary entry with the correct words.

Another day is here! A cruel reminder that I cannot reach the blessed ________ that others find. I'm so ________ of those who die, but also of the young, who live a life of ________. I seem to feel ________ for anyone, not even for my relatives, who I outlive, anyway!
When I try to speak, words often ________ me. My speech is a jumble of old sounds, ________ to those who speak the language today.
Believe it or not, the ________ denies our existence! All our belongings pass on to our heirs and we can neither own ________ nor work.
Even reading, which was my favourite leisure time activity, is difficult for me to do. By the time I end a sentence, I have ________ the beginning!

Match the events that feature the different stages of the Struldbrugs' lives to the ages given in the timeline.

1 30s ________
2 80s ________
3 90s ________
4 beyond 80s ________

A infirm and unaffectionate
B very pale, almost as if dead
C mostly like ordinary mortals
D loss of hair, teeth, appetite, memory

Read lines 1-51 of T42 in your textbook and decide if the characteristics listed below are physical or intellectual-emotional.

1 born with a red spot just above their left eyebrow     ________
2 the spot changes colour as the Struldbruggs grow older     ________
3 they become more and more melancholy and dejected     ________
4 opinionative, peevish, covetous, morose, vain, talkative.     ________
5 envious both of young and old people     ________
6 they lose their teeth and hair     ________
7 they no longer have the sense of taste     ________
8 they lose their memory     ________
9 they can no longer communicate as language develops     ________
10 they are subject to the typical diseases of the elderly     ________

Read the text and decide if the statements are true or false. Then look at the prompts in brackets and write some extra reflections in your exercise book. You can use the final text as revision material for your test.

Jonathan Swift, in Gulliver's Travels, often used satire to criticise the ideas of his time, particularly the obsessive faith in reason and progress that characterised the Enlightenment. Indeed, in Book III, we witness Gulliver's encounters with highly theoretical and impractical 'scientists' on Laputa. This satirical thread finds its ultimate embodiment in the Struldbrugs. (Do some research to try and discover the object of satire of Books I, II and IV.)
Initially, the idea of an immortal being might suggest a source of accumulated wisdom, a living library of knowledge and experience. After all, the longer you live, the more you learn. The Struldbrugs, however, represent the failure of longevity to equate to wisdom or happiness. They are shown to progressively lose their memory, their language, and their capacity for affection and joy. They become cut off from new generations, unable to comprehend evolving language or society, and are consumed by envy and regret.
Through these figures, Swift suggests that the very quest for perpetual fame or knowledge, if lacking in other human qualities can lead to a hollow and miserable existence. (Refer to T42 in your textbook again. Do you think that Swift wants to represent metaphorical immortality – that achieved by fame – through the Struldbrugs? Find a reason to support your answer.)