Yahoos
In every civilization filled with human beings, there are similarities. This fact is endorsed by Jonathan Swift in his book Gulliver’s Travels. In this book, he is expressing different opinions and he is criticizing his society of Great Britain (eighteenth century). We could also refer to these comments as his moral and political philosophy. The following aspects will be discussed in this essay: his approach of misanthropy, how he treats pride and wealth, and his praise of reason.Firstly, his approach toward the Yahoos who are certainly the inhabitants of Great Britain may be considered as misanthropy. By definition, misanthropy is the hate, dislike, or repulsion felt by someone toward his fellow humans. As it is mostly probable that Swift is using Gulliver’s voice, he is a misanthrope. All along his work, he talks of how the Yahoos are stupid and disgusting. As often seen, he is ready to praise any Houyhnhnms and to condemn the others. He is treating them as animals that only care to eat and to mate. This last point is expressed in chapter seven of the fourth book when he relates on how the females hide behind a bush and wait for a male to approach and to seduce him. The most probable link he is doing is the way prostitut
The second value criticized by him is the search of wealth by his fellows. Again, he diminishes the way they are all lead by greed and that their honour can be bought. He gives the example of lawyers that can be corrupted with money. This is one of the Yahoo’s values that his Houyhnhnm master can’t understand. Swift believes that the extend of the Empire is only a pretext to gain more wealth and that the rich persons who hold power are responsible for the trades that brings luxurious objects in the country in exchange for food and other necessities that poor citizens lack of. To conclude, Jonathan Swift uses Gulliver to give his opinions of his society in a discreet way. The critics he makes are always referred as Yahoo’s and Houyhnhnm’s values. By using comparison he can say what he wants. His misanthrope personality can be observed throughout the book. His appreciation of rationality as well as his dislike of the misuse of pride and search of wealth is also obvious for an attentive reader. Finally, the casi-praise of reason of Gulliver (Swift, of course) is another obvious aspect of this book. The mention of this term is present in the whole story. The importance of reasoning is brought through
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Approximate Word count = 833
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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