Key Characters in Gulliver's Travels

Captain Lemuel Gulliver

The narrator of the story.

The Blefuscudians

The sworn enemies of the Lilliputians, they live on a neighboring island. Gulliver flees to their island when the Lilliputians convict him of treason.

The Brobdingnagians

The inhabitants of Brobdingnag. They are giant creatures relative to Gulliver.

The Emperor of Lilliput

The leader of the Lilliputians. He is initially friendly toward Gulliver but changes his mind about him when Gulliver refuses to continue fighting Blefuscu and puts out a fire in the Empress's chamber by urinating on it.

The Farmer

During his stay in Brobdingnag, Gulliver calls the farmer who takes him in his master. The farmer eventually sells Gulliver to the Queen.

Flimnap

Gulliver's enemy in Lilliput, he accuses Gulliver of sleeping with his wife.

Glumdalclitch

Her name means "little nurse" in Brobdingnagian. This is what Gulliver calls the farmer's daughter, who cares for him during his stay in Brobdingnag.

Mrs. Mary Burton Gulliver

Gulliver's wife.

The Houyhnhnms

A species of horses endowed with great kindness and virtue. Gulliver lives among them for several years and is extremely reluctant to return to England afterward.

The King of Brobdingnag

Gulliver and the King of Brobdingnag spend dozens of hours discussing politics and comparing their two cultures.

The Laputans

The inhabitants of a floating island who wear mathematical and astronomical symbols and have trouble paying attention.

The Lilliputians

The inhabitants of Lilliput. They are about five to six inches tall. They are the sworn enemies of the Blefuscudians of a neighboring island.

Lord Munodi

The Balnibarbi Lord who shows Gulliver around and teaches him about why the island is so barren.

Don Pedro de Mendez

The captain of the Portuguese ship that picks Gulliver up after his voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms.

The Queen of Brobdingnag

The Queen of Brobdingnag finds Gulliver very entertaining. Because of her huge size, Gulliver is disgusted when she eats.

Redresal

A friend of Gulliver's in Lilliput. He helps Gulliver settle into the strange new land and later helps to reduce Gulliver's possible punishment for treason from execution to having his eyes put out.

The Yahoos

The Houyhnhnms' word for humans. The Yahoos in the country of the Houyhnhnms are disgusting, brutish creatures.