Reflection

In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Lemuel Gulliver stumbles upon several islands of extraterrestrial proportions after being blown off-course by a series of unfortunate events. One of the most peculiar of all was when he landed upon the island of Houyhnhnm- an island where horses and Yahoos (human-like) roles are reversed. Whereas the Yahoos represent all that is bad about humans, Houyhnhnms have a stable, calm, reliable and rational society.  Gulliver’s experiences with various flawed societies foreshadow his ultimate rejection of human society. He much prefers the Houyhnhnms' company to the Yahoos', even though the latter are biologically closer to him. On one hand, the Houyhnhnms have an orderly and peaceful society. They possess philosophy and have a language that is entirely pure of political and ethical nonsense. For example, the inhabitants have no word for a lie (and must substitute a phrase — to say a thing which is not). They also have a form of art that is derived from nature. On the other hand, Swift was profoundly mistrustful of attempts at reason that resulted in either hubris or immorality. The Houyhnhnms embody both the good and the bad side of reason, because they have the pure language Swift wished for and the immorally rational approach to solving the problems of humanity (Yahoos). This being said, one can easily categorize Swift’s novel as a satire as seen through the main object of satire. The main object of satire in Gulliver's Travels is human nature itself, specifically Man's pride as it manifests in pettiness, grossness, and rational absurdity. Gulliver's character, as a satirical device, serves Swift's ends by being both a mouthpiece for some of Swift's ideals and criticisms and as an illustration of them.