The novel ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ published in 1915 by John Buchan, talks about a man named Richard Hannay in London in 1914 who goes on a breathtaking adventure. The story starts with Hannay first meeting Franklin P. Scudder, a spy soon murdered in Hannay’s apartment. He learned about a German organization called the Black Stone, who is trying to steal top-secret information to start a war. While escaping from the Black Stone, Hannay went to a meeting with government officials. With the clues from the notebook, they travel to the mysterious ‘39 Steps’, where they catch German spies. The novel ‘Gulliver’s Travels from 1726 by Jonathan Swift is about an explorer named Lemuel Gulliver who goes on different adventures exploring strange and interesting places, like Liliput, where everything is tiny; Brobdingnag, the exact opposite of Lilliput where everything is huge. He also journeys to Laputa, a flying island; Balnibarbi, where the citizens experiment blindly with science; Luggnagg, where he meets the struldbrugs who are immortal individuals; Glubbdubdrib, An island filled with ancient ghosts; and finally, Japan. Soon after, Gulliver sets off again to the Land of the Houyhnhnms, where he meets a race of talking horses and deformed human-like creatures called Yahoos.
Although Hannay and Gulliver lived almost two hundred years apart and the settings are very differentiated, some similarities still hold the two stories together, no matter the differences. It's like thinking one has similarities with people they never knew and had no relationships with. It's the same case; Hannay never knew Gulliver, and Gulliver never knew Hannay, the thing that marks them the same is their situation. In the two stories, Hannay and Gulliver are both from England, making them both normal Englishmen living a good life. Their personality was also an essential factor that made them alike; where they are both smart, brave, and curious, able to solve problems and have the courage to explore. They share the advantage of intelligence, bravery, curiosity, and serenity. It's the same with the disadvantage where they are both facing constant danger. They are even affected in the same way by their surroundings, where they get both help and danger, following the thesis of adventure that they both share. Similarities can come unexpectedly in any way possible. Even the most unexpected similarities can eventually rise up, sometimes even helping to achieve differences, like with Hannay and Gulliver. Plus, it's not only the differences that hold people apart; similarities also do. Similarities can occur between any two stories, despite the differences, which is essential when it comes to similarities.
All one needs is similarities and differences, where the difference comes not only from one person but from both individuals, especially in stories, which further distinguishes the characters. Although there can be major and minor differences, their impact makes differences the same. First of all, Hannay’s story happened mainly in England, whereas Gulliver traveled all around the world. Hannay also possessed patriotism while Gulliver possessed more exploration spirit; For Hannay’s advantage, he was able to find solutions to problems, he is brave, and he is a patriot, while Gulliver often gets help from others. Of course, when it comes to disadvantages, Hannay has to fight alone and is wanted, and Gulliver is constantly in an unknown environment, Also for Hannay, the purpose of his adventure is to clear his name and protect his country, while the purpose of Gulliver’s adventures is to explore new places and escape the condition of current society. Finally, Hannay possessed the theme of patriotism, while Gulliver was more of an explorer. Differences can occur between any character, and they can happen anywhere at any time despite the similarities, like Hannay and Gulliver’s differences, where their surroundings, thoughts, and behavior all tremendously impact how they differ. Also, with the difference comes changes - like when Hannay chose to be a patriot and protect his country and when Gulliver decided to explore more. No matter how similar two things or individuals are, no two people are the same - there are always differences, no matter what.
Both of the stories are interesting novels with great details and events, but Gulliver’s Travels is superior compared to The Thirty-Nine Steps. The differences and similarities between the two stories also have a major effect on how they are distinguished. Gulliver’s travels are more adventurous and interesting, propelling it above The Thirty-Nine Steps. Although both ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ and ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ are both very adventurous and have interesting details, Gulliver’s travels is more widespread across the world during where he goes, and that helps the reader know a bit about the specific place, while in The Thirty-Nine Steps, Hannay mainly just runs and tries to go different places in England, which makes the story more focused on one particular place, which can cause the reader to know it better, but it also makes the story sound more boring. Also, Gulliver’s travels often have more unexpected and eye-catching places. When the reader is reading the book, they have no idea what is happening next, like when Gulliver was about to be blindfolded in Lilliput, where the audience might already know that he was going to escape, but not sure about which way. Meanwhile in The Thirty-Nine Steps, Hannay mainly just runs and tries to escape the police and Black Stone. Hannay had the ability to do many things and have many skills, but he is still taken down by Gulliver because of the overall story plot. It is as if Hannay becomes Gulliver exploring different lands and Gulliver becoming Hannay running away, it will be Hannay’s story that I would prefer. The Thirty-Nine Steps and Gulliver’s Travels are both classic adventure stories, but choosing between them, I will prefer Gulliver’s Travels.
The two novels ‘The Thirty-Nine Steps’ and ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ both have knowledgeable characters who make great impacts on the story. Through the similarities and differences between Hannay and Gulliver, the preferred character can change. For the similarity, both Hannay and Gulliver were both normal Englishmen who had a good life. They share the advantage of intelligence, bravery, and curiosity, and the disadvantage where they are both facing constant danger. They also share differences where Hannay’s story happened mainly in England, and Gulliver traveled all around the world. Hannay possessed patriotism while Gulliver possessed exploration; For Hannay, the purpose is to clear his name and protect his country, while Gulliver’s adventures are to explore new places and escape current society. From those, Gulliver’s Travels is overall a better book, whereas the setting and places Gulliver visits is more widespread and places Hannay visit is mainly in England. Gulliver’s Travels also has more interesting and dramatic events, like when Gulliver was getting blindfolded and escaped in an unexpected way, and the very unpredicted encounter with the eagle that got him out of Brobdingnag. Meanwhile for Hannay, he just had to run and escape danger.
Comments