Gulliver's Travels - Houyhnhnmland
Gulliver's Travels - HouyhnhnmlandOne 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 refers to Erasmus
Darwins discovery of the origin of the species and the voyage of the
Beagle--to show how Gulliver knows that people are at the top of the
food chain.
But if Lemule Gulliver is satirized, so are the Houyhnhnms, whose
voices sound like the call of castrati. They walk on two legs instead
of four, and seem to be much like people. As Gulliver says, "It was
with the utmost astonishment that I witnessed these creatures playing
the flute and dancing a Vienese waltz. To my mind, they seemed like
the greatest humans ever seen in court, even more dextrous than the
Lord Edmund Burke" (162). As this quote demonstrates, Gulliver is
terribly impressed, but his admiration for the Houyhnhnms is
short-lived because they are so prideful. For instance, the leader of
the Houyhnhnms claims that he has read all the works of Charles
Dickens, and that he can singlehandedly recite the names of all the
Kings and Queens of England up to George II. Swift subtly shows that
this Houyhnhnms pride is misplaced when, in the middle of the
intellectual competition, he forgets the name of Queen Elizabeths
husband.
Swifts satire of the Houyhnhnms comes out in other ways as well.
One of the most memorable scenes is when the dapple grey mare attempts
to woo the horse that Guenivre has brought with him to the island.
First she acts flirtatiously, parading around the bewildered horse.
But when...
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