FratFiles

• Save Paper

Gulliver in Houynhnmland

One of the most interesting questions about Gullivers Travels is

whether the Houyhnhnms represent an ideal of rationality or whether on

the other hand they are the butt of Swift's satire. In other words, in

Book IV, is Swift poking fun at the talking horses or does he intend for

us to take them seriously as the proper way to act? If we look closely at

the way that the Houyhnhnms act, we can see that in fact Swift does not

take them seriously: he uses them to show the dangers of pride.

First we have to see that Swift does not even take Gullver

seriously. For instance, his name sounds much like gullible, which

suggests that he will believe anything. Also, when he first sees the

Yahoos and they throw excrement on him, he responds by doing the same in

return until they run away. He says, "I must needs discover some more

rational being," (203) even though as a human he is already the most

rational being there is. This is why Swift......

View the rest of this paper...

Approximate Word Count: 829
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

Similar Essays

1. Jonathan Swifts Gulliver's Travels
   

   Jonathan Swifts Gulliver's Travels Gulliver in Houynhnmland One of the most interesting questions about Gullivers Travels is whether the Houyhnhnms represent an ideal of

2. Swift's Gulliver's Travels And Orwell's 1984
   

   Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Orwell's 1984 Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and George Orwell's 1984, two of English literature's most important and pervasive political

3. 
   

4. 
   

5.