Summary Of The Story Of Gulliver's Trip To The Houyhnthhnm?

1568 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gulliver changes through gulliver's travels

Based on the account of Gulliver’s visit to the foreign land of the Houyhnhnms, it was quite apparent that his experience consisted of shock and adaptation. From the moment of arrival, he was put into a state of emergency. In his time on the island, Gulliver was introduced to many alien ideas and creatures. In the time he was on the island, he both learned of and tried to shorten the chasm of difference between humans and Houyhnhnms. The greatest lesson he learned included his epiphany with the Yahoos. With this realization, his life was never the same as his thinking process has been changed like never before. The Houyhnhnm culture proposed the idea of a new way of life to Gulliver. Through the Yahoo culture, he was convinced of the preposterous …show more content…

This conclusion was not an original idea, but was something that he had learned from the Houyhnhnms. That idea was the inferiority and the disgust of the Yahoos. Admittedly, Gulliver was similar to the Yahoos, but that problem was quickly solved. Actually, one of the first things that he and the Houyhnhnms learned was that Gulliver both resembled and vastly differed from the Yahoos. Gulliver was hairless and clothed when compared to his savage counterparts [Swift, 245]. Additionally, Gulliver seemed more intelligent than the Yahoos with an awareness of situation. The Yahoos, in contrast, were illiterate with no established form of communication [Swift, 241]. The Houyhnhnms realized that the two were different when this hairless Yahoo did not eat raw flesh when presented with it [Swift, 245]. From that point on, the native society took in Gulliver and began to cultivate his reasoning. Once Gulliver had set himself apart from the Yahoos, he quickly began to criticize them. After spending enough time with the Houyhnhnms and observing the Yahoos for himself, Gulliver believed that they really were as disgusting as the Houyhnhnms thought. Soon, he detested the Yahoos just as the Houyhnhnms did. He knew that he was superior to the Yahoos in various ways. However his ignorance was short lived. This was until he was bathing in the river and a female Yahoo in the river attempted to seduce him (272). This moved him to the conclusion, “the females had a natural propensity to me as one of their own species.”( 272) Such a disgusting realization, that he may have some correlation to these filthy animals, changed his life. It was not the sheer repulsion of the Yahoos but their comparability to humans. The Houyhnhnms also figured this as well. They came to the conclusion that the humans that Gulliver described were not very far from

Show More
Related

  • The Influence of Locke and Hobbes on Government

    1741 Words  | 4 Pages

    The foremost aspects to consider from the Leviathan are Hobbes’s views on human nature, what the state of nature consists of, and what role morality plays. Hobbes assumes, taking the position of a scientist, that humans are “bodies in motion.” In other words, simple mechanical existences motivated solely to gain sati...

    Read More

  • grendel vs. frankenstein

    1619 Words  | 4 Pages

    Grendel, surprisingly, adapts quite well to his society despite its detestation of his existence. Grendel live is a rattlesnake-guarded cave, which allows himself to detach from his society, giving him the necessary space to cope with the troublesome thoughts among his people about Grendel. Unlike Frankenstein, Grendel tries to associate with the members of his civilization but is rejected every time he tries to do so. Every night Grendel goes to Herot to listen to the Sharper’s stories because the history interests him. He is quite intrigued and appreciative of the tales he hears, but when he comes in contact with those from Herot, they do not reciprocate the appreciation of his presence in Herot. The ones he admires so much taunt and torture him to the point they try to kill him for “intruding.” As retaliation, Grendel fights back and raids Herot every night.

    Read More

  • The Hobbit Chapter 1-5 Summary

    254 Words  | 1 Pages

    The story starts off in Chapter 5, pg 76 where Bilbo regains consciousness from the fight with the goblins. He finds a ring on the floor and decides to keep it in his pocket. Lost, he decides to keep going onward in hopes of finding an exit, but instead finds an underground river. Bilbo keeps going until suddenly he hears a hiss sound from behind him. Scared, he thrusts his dagger in front of him and asks who it is. Gollum does not want to face the hobbit with the sword, so he offers a riddle game. If Bilbo can’t answer Gollum’s riddle, he will devour Bilbo, but if Gollum can’t answer Bilbo’s riddle, Gollum will show Bilbo out of the mountain. Bilbo who is eager to get out of the mountain, agrees to the riddle game and they commence making

    Read More

  • Isolation Theme in Grendel

    656 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story begins with a flash-back into Grendel’s early years. He is all alone even then, but he is too young to realize it and fills this void with imaginary friends. He talks about how he entertained himself during his early years saying “Crafty-eyed, wicked as an elderly wolf, I would scheme with or stalk my imaginary friends, projecting the self I meant to become into every dark corner of the cave and the woods above” (17). People in our world may invent imaginary friends also, sometimes for companionship, as part of play, or for other reasons. Imaginary friends can serve as an important source of companionship to some children and even adults, especially if companionship is absent for them in the social world. As an example “young children in boarding schools often develop imaginary friends to cope with extreme stress and separation from their intimate relations” (www.phycologytoday.com/z10/fl/mllr.7se.php)

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Grendel

    1504 Words  | 4 Pages

    John Gardner’s Grendel portrays a monster searching for his purpose in life. The characters know the meaning of their lives, but Grendel tries to discover his role and what life has to offer him. Grendel discovers his identity through other characters’ actions and beliefs. In Grendel, John Gardner illustrates the contrasting views of each character to show their view of society and the influence they have on Grendel.

    Read More

  • Hobbes Lord Of The Flies Comparison Essay

    623 Words  | 2 Pages

    And since there were no adults it was kind of like island paradise because they were free, but they had to take care of themselves. Another boy Jack, only wanted to care for himself, which accurately describes Hobbes view.

    Read More

  • Nature Of Man In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    949 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel Lord of the flies written by William Golding, Golding is able to fulfill Hobbes’ ideas of man by integrating events in the plot that reference Hobbes’ ideas. Golding incorporates many of the ideas of man throughout this fictional plot which helps lead to the major theme of human nature. In Leviathan, Hobbes identifies the nature of man as being signified by three principal causes of quarrel which are diffidence. Within the story line Golding is able to incorporate these three parts of the nature of man by using the plot to demonstrate the idea of nature vs. nurture amongst the boys which evidently coincides with Hobbes’ ideas of man. Competition, diffidence, and glory are all distinguishing characteristics that the boys

    Read More

  • Gulliver's Travels – Comparing the Yahoos to Humans

    494 Words  | 1 Pages

    The comparison of Yahoos to humans in Book Four of Jonathon Swift's Gulliver's Travels is entirely inappropriate.  The Yahoos are shown as base creatures of barbaric nature and with little or no aptitude for learning.  Swift's use of these lowly creatures to symbolize man is harsh, however, it does serve to enhance his satire to a certain degree.  Nonetheless, his comparison is inaccurate and degrading to Mankind.

    Read More

  • Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels - Yahoos and Houyhnhnms

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the fourth voyage, Swift presents a case study for opposing states of nature, with the Yahoos representing the argument that man is governed by his passions, seeking his own advantage, pursuing pleasures and avoiding pain, and the Houyhnhnms representing the argument that man is governed by reason. If this is the case, then Swift’s misanthropy was such that he saw men as the foul and disgusting Yahoos, and made it plain that reform of the species was out of the question. A major fault with this theory is that it leaves no place for Gulliver. When attention is drawn to the figure of Gulliver himself, as distinct from his creator, Swift, he is taken to be the moral of the story. If you can't be a Houyhnhnm you don't need to be a Yahoo; just try to be like Gulliver. The trouble with this idea is that when taking a closer look at Gulliver, he isn't worth emulating. The final picture of him talking with the horses in the stable for four hours a day, unable to stand the company of his own family, makes him look foolish.   Another theory is that Gulliver made a mistake in regarding the Houyhnhnms as models to be emulated: so far from being admirable creatures they are as repulsive as the Yahoos. The Yahoos might be ruled by their passions, but these have no human passions at all. On this view, Swift was not advocating, but attacking reason.

    Read More

  • Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the fourth book of Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift uses satire to draw reader’s attention towards his concerns about humanity and uses irony to reveal his cynical views towards human kind. According to the Great Chain of Being, a term developed by the Renaissance that describes a divinely hierarchical order in every existing thing in the universe, human beings are placed a tier higher than animals (http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english /melani/cs6/ren.html). However, by comparing human traits with unpleasant qualities of animals, Swift blurs the definition of human being and questions the hierarchical place of human. In the fourth book of Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver starts his journey as a well-educated European person who is considered to be a decent example of humanity. The first group of inhabitants Gulliver finds on the island where he is dropped off on are the Yahoos. Gulliver is disgusted by the behaviours of these wild creatures at first and he considers them to be animals that are owned by the dominate beings on this island. Gulliver then discovers the Houyhnhnms whom he perceives as brute beasts (Swift 2420) and animals (ibid.) because they share similar physical qualities compare to the horses in England. After a brief interaction with the two Houyhnhnms, Gulliver is taken to the house of a Houyhnhnm whom he will later refer to as his master. Through the interactions with the Houyhnhnms, Gulliver is able to show the ability to reason even though he shares some physical similarities with the Yahoos. Due to this quality and the fact that the Houyhnhnms cannot see his bare skin under his clothes, he is able to live with the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver starts to relate himself more to the Houyhnhnms than the Yahoos becau...

    Read More

  • Island In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    592 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Lord of the Flies, the natural setting of the island was essential for Golding to describe the characteristics of mankind. The island had many different attributes to contribute to its peaceful default, without man inhabiting it. Some of these traits included the relatively stable weather, good supply of food and water, and the lack of dangerous predators. Among these things, the boys also arrived completely unharmed. Altogether they were surrounded by the prime environment for survival, which only left their own decisions to go haywire. When this occurred, it strengthened Golding's message and perfectly displayed Hobbes’ belief that mankind is naturally bad and power hungry. Without the original peace on the island, one could have argued that outside factors played a part in the novel’s outcome, however there was nothing but peace, which left the outcome up to the evil inside of the boys. One of the boys, Ralph, did not conform to Hobbes’ policy because he held to his own and stayed away from the evils of Jack.

    Read More

  • Gulliver's Journey Of His Dream

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    After my meeting with Mr. Gulliver, I came to realize that Gulliver is having trouble bringing himself together to the real world he lives in. From the accounts he has told me, it is clear the environment that influenced him, has taken over his thoughts about the real world. He still believes that yahoos are brute, disgusting, non-logical creatures. The amount of influence he has had from the master houyhnhnm has changed his political and government views. In Gulliver’s eyes, the houyhnhnm’s have a perfect view of the world and a system where everyone values "friendship and benevolence" (2436). I will not prescribe any drugs for Mr. Gulliver, he just needs time to get used to the real world.

    Read More

  • An Analysis of Gulliver's Travels

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    ground. The king hears of the news and sends the army to stop the giant

    Read More

  • Theme Of Feminism In Gulliver's Travels By Jonathan Swift

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    In this book you see many examples of how Swift uses Gulliver to express how he felt repulsed towards women. Jonathan Swift references to the body of women and their sexuality, which morally degrade women, and can come off very controversial to women as Swift is corrupting the view of women. Swift often attacks women and their physical characteristics, showing disgust towards them. Simple bodily functions of a woman being exaggeratedly described as disgusting sight. Gulliver expresses his views on how he hates females and considers them inferior to males. He envisions women as dirty animals, who tend to be ignorant, and full of

    Read More

  • A World of Differences

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver learns that without experiencing different cultures, one cannot have a broad perspective of the world, such as when he meets the miniature people of Lilliput, when he becomes dependent among the giants of Brobdingnag, and when he encounters a society of Houyhnhnms that finds his kind repulsive. Gulliver originally takes for granted what the Lilliputians do not have, like his great size and physical ability. Conversely, he also finds that even someone such as him who was of great power in Lilliput can be rendered helpless in a different setting. Also, Gulliver realizes that in other societies he is viewed as a lesser being. To summarize, Gulliver finds that one cannot view the world accurately without having first been immersed in different cultures as exemplified by the tiny citizens of Lilliput.

    Read More

More about Summary Of The Story Of Gulliver's Trip To The Houyhnthhnm?

Open Document