That my health was much impaired by the continual drudgery of entertaining the rabble every hour of the day; and that if my master had not thought my life in danger, her Majesty perhaps would not have got so cheap a Bargain.

Answer: These lines are extracted from Chapter 3, Part 2 of Jonathan Swift’s famous satire Gulliver’s Travels. Swift has depicted here the universal appeal of money and the selfishness of individuals who care only for their own well-being.

On his second voyage, Gulliver landed on the island of Brobding nag. The inhabitants were giant-sized and in comparison with them, he just looked like a Lilliput. A farmer, while working in the field, found him lying on the ground. He took him as a strange creature and carried him home. His Daughter was very fond of him and took great care of him. One day an idea occurred in the mind of the farmer and he took him out for public exhibition as Gulliver was a strange creature in this place. People began to gather to have a look at him and paid money for that. In this way, farmers began to earn a lot of money. His avarice grew more and more and he began to exhibit him from place to place before the mass. This tells heavily on Gulliver’s health and he broke down. The farmer made a good deal with the queen who wanted to possess this strange person. It was his routine to entertain the people for hours together. His master thought that he would perish soon and so he wanted to earn as much as could. He did not take into consideration that his life was in danger. Her majesty had a cheap Bargain because the master thought that he would not survive long.

Gulliver’s master wanted to flourish at the expense of Gulliver and did not care a little for his fast-decaying health. He cared only for himself and never thought about how he put Guìliver’s life in danger. The Queen came as his savior. Swift hints at the avarice of human being and their selfishness. Money matters more than human life