Gulliver's first journey is to the island of Lilliput. The Lilliputians are only six inches tall which makes Gulliver seem to be a giant in their land. Lilliputians tell Gulliver the following story: In Lilliput, years ago, Lilliputians once broke eggs on the big end. However, the present king's grandfather issued an edict that all were to break the eggs on the small end. Some of the Lilliputians resisted, and they found refuge in Blefuscu, and "for six and thirty moons past" the two sides have been at war (Swift, Gulliver's Travels 61). Obviously this argument seemed completely ridiculous because it is difficult to distinguish the difference between the big and small end of an egg. Lilliput is analogous to England in this sense and Blefuscu is to France because they both fight and bicker over the pettiest reasons (Plot). .
Another practice of England that Swift satirizes by using the Lilliputians is the way public office is held. Lilliputians are chosen to public office by who can "rope dance" the best. The best rope dancer received the highest office. The Lilliputians practiced a strange tradition in which they would bury "their dead with their heads directly downwards The learned among them confess the absurdity of this doctrine, but the practice still continues (Swift, Gulliver's Travels 60)." This pokes fun at many English traditions such as noble clergymen. Swift believes that they may not be the most qualified for the position but are chosen anyway for a silly reason such as divine right. It is clear that the main satiric target in the first book is the pride Europeans take in public ceremonies and celebrations of power and magnificence but there is an obvious silliness to the obsessions with these matters when the figures are only six inches high. .
Jonathon Swift created Lemuel Gulliver in a way that the people of England could identify with him easily. Swift uses a small number of pages to describe his character Gulliver because the reputation of the protagonist in the reader's eyes is important to his evaluation of the book.
