In the last part of the novel Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, a dichotomy is established which crtiticizes two extreme ideas of man. The Houynhnms, a race of horses, are meant to symbolize man as a supremely rational being and the Yahoos, a primitive, vulgar version of humans, are made to symbolize man as an animal. The narrator Gulliver is a sort of reference point between the two, since in physical appearance he seems to be a Yahoo, but his ability to reason enables him to relate well to the Houynhnms. Readers have interrpreted the rational horses in a number of different ways. Some feel that the Houynhnms are the ideal to which humans should strive to attain. Others feel that the Houynhnms are as evil as the Yahoos. It is my opinion that Swift uses the Houynhnms and the Yahoos to illustrate both ends of the unattainable spectrum of reason, and why both are completely undesireable ways of life.
It is implausable to think that the Houyhnhmns are the ideal way for man to be. They have no writing system, as well as no passions, no l
When Gulliver first encounters the Houynhnms, he takes an immediate liking to them, saying "Upon the whole, the behaviour of these animals was so orderly and rational, so acute and judicious, that I at at last concluded they must needs be Magician." This admiration grows and grows until he quickly comes to believe that these creatures are perfect in every way possible. The fact that these creatures are horses, not humans, symbolizes how Swift believes that no humans can be so perfect. The extent to which Gulliver worships these creatures is further delineated by his self-loathing; "When I happened to behold my Reflection of my own form in a lake or a Fountain, I turned away my face in Horror and Detestation of myself." Gulliver even tries to imitate them in a ridiculous attempt to be accepted in their society. Gulliver can be looked upon as a human, trying (in an effort to escape his animal tendencies) to become supremely rational which is a futile effort. Man can never be purely rational because man is an animal. Being face to face with man in
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