“The Thirty-Nine Steps” and “Gulliver’s Travels” are both famous adventurous books. In “The Thirty-Nine Steps”, Richard Hannay was suspected of murdering Scrubber which he didn’t, so he had to run away. On the run Hannay encountered many dangers but he skillfully disguised himself to escape the threatened situations. He broke the code written in Scrubber’s notebook and saved his country from German spies. In “Gulliver’s Travels”, Lemuel Gulliver went out on a series of voyages to explore the world, including Lilliput (a tiny race of people), Brobdingnag (home to the giants), Laputa (people who are obsessed with knowledge), and Houyhnhnm, and he always ended up with curiosity and interesting creatures. Although both stories are casted in a similar way, still there exist some differences to make each story unique. Personally I like Hannay “The Thirty-Nine Steps” better because of his patriotism and selflessness.
Both characters display some similar traits that lead them to succeed during the adventures. Readers can notice an array of similarities between the two characters in terms of appearance, nationality, essential quality when facing dangers, or adventurous attitudes. Both Hannay and Gulliver are normal Englishman which makes their appearance alike. When facing an unexpected dangerous adventure, not only are both willing to take the risk but also are brave, smart, curious, and calm to solve the obstacles during the journey. Along both stories, the first similarity between Hannay and Gulliver is that they both have abnormal but interesting adventures. The second similarity is that they both encounter dangers constantly. The next similarity is that they both show their smartness, bravery, curiosity, and calmness, which is a bonus to their adventure when facing enemies. Without these traits, neither Hannay nor Gulliver would not be able to survive during their journey. Another similarity is that they both get help from others. Sir Harry was kind and cared about Hannay, and some people concerned Gulliver’ safety. The meaning of similarity between the two characters does not mean they look or behave exactly the same. Instead, the similarity lies in the events or adventures the characters experience as well as the attitudes and actions toward how the characters react to the situations when essential events take place. Readers could obviously catch the resemblance among the characters through analyzing their personality, attitudes, or behaviors toward the events happening in the story.
Although both characters share some similarities, still each character is somewhat different or unique in his own way. Readers could recognize the differences between the two characters by looking at the setting, personality, the purpose of adventure, or ways of dealing situations. Hannay is living in the WWI era while Gulliver is in England in the 17th century. Hannay has the soul of patriotism in his blood while Guviller has the spirit of exploration. The purpose of the adventure for Hannay is to defeat German spies for protecting his country, but for Guviller is to explore the unknown world out of curiosity. Comparing the two stories, the first noticeable difference is that both Hannay and Gulliver have their adventure in different settings. Hannay is chased and runs away from London to Scotland where places are real in England, but Gulliver travels to different islands and kingdoms which are in the imaginable world. The second difference is related to personality and purpose of adventure. Hannay is patriotic. When knowing the country is in danger from German spies, he is willing to go on a risky adventure to save his country. On the other hand, Gulliver is more like a “Robinson Crusoe” kind of spirit. Gulliver is not able to stay at home. Gulliver goes traveling based on his own desire for exploration. Another difference exists in their skills reacting to the events. Hannay is really good at disguising himself as someone as well as quick response with logical thinking to escape dangerous situations, but he often fights alone and does not get help from others. Although Gulliver gets confused when entering a new world, he gets help from the Brobdingnagans, the Blefuscans, and the Laputans. Every character is different from one another, and the differences among characters bring the freshness to the readers in deciding their favorite character.
Patriotism and Selflessness are the main reasons why Hannay is a better book character than Gulliver. These two characters both demonstrate great mental strength as they both survive in uncomfortable environments and have help from the natives, but Hannay caught my attention more than Gulliver. Hannay is a responsible person who shows more care than Gulliver. Hannay takes care of Scudder when Scudder needs a place to hide. Hannay is also a responsible citizen trying his best to take good care of his country from German spies. However, Gulliver does not take care of his family, including his wife and Child. He just goes out and goes exploring. Moreover, Hannay’s patriotism is very honorable. Hannay could have handed over Scudder’s notebook to the police or the government and enjoyed his retirement as an ordinary Englishman. Instead, he gives up a comfortable good life just to catch German spies, no matter how dangerous the situations are. He is willing to sacrifice his life in protecting his country. Not many people can do so. Both books are worth reading and have a very rich plot, but I enjoyed reading The Thirty-Nine Steps more.
“The Thirty-Nine Steps” and “Gulliver’s Travels” are Must Read books. Both characters, Hannay and Gulliver, have a lot in common, such as their personality to survive in unknown areas and their attitudes toward adventure. They also have demonstrated abilities to have great mental strength in states of great problems. But Gulliver’s Travels is very similar to Robnson Crusoe, unable to stay home and always trying to go out to other places in order to explore. Hannay has more of a Mission Impossible spirit, trying to save their country and getting the bad guys just in time before the big disaster. Hannay’s purpose of his adventure is to protect his country while Gulliver’s purpose is to explore the unknown worlds. Personally, I like Hannay more because of his actions and quick thinking, whereas Gulliver explores and charts the maps, which is more boring. The most important is that Hannay is a patriotic and selfless person.
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