Transcript
Gulliver's Travels Part 4 – Chapter 2
This horse leads Gulliver to a house and Gulliver readies the toys
and jewelry he always carries to give to native peoples. As he’s lead in, Gulliver keeps expecting to see a human voice and wonders
what kind of man has all horses for servants. Still, he sees no
people, only a number of horses sitting neatly in clean rooms.
Gulliver at the house
Gulliver observes the power dynamics between the horses and sees the gray horse the master
horse. He seems to speak with the others
about Gulliver, frequently repeating the
word Yahoo. He leads Gulliver out behind the
house where some of the filthy ugly animals Gulliver first encountered are tied up eating
raw meat.
The filthy ugly
animals Gulliver
encountered with
The gray horse has Gulliver stand beside one for comparison and Gulliver realizes to his horror
that the animal is actually a human
being. The horses refer to the animal
as Yahoos and Gulliver sees they
think he is a Yahoo too, except for the presence of his clothes, which
the horses seem to think are a
part of his body.
Gulliver surprised
at realising that
these ugly creatures are
actually humans
The master horse tries to feed Gulliver the meat the Yahoos eat
but Gulliver is disgusted and gestures for milk. The horse gives
Gulliver milk and allows him to stand beside him while he and the
other horses eat together in a civilized fashion indoors. They eat
cold oats, except for a very old visiting horse, who has them warm. Gulliver shows them
that his gloves are removable, which pleases the horses.
Gulliver with other horses
They taught him more words in their language.
Later, Gulliver accepts some oats to eat and beats them into a cake. During his time in this land, he
sometimes missed meat and salt, but later he gets used to eating oat cakes.
In the evening, the master horse lodges Gulliver
in a place behind the house but separate from the stable of the
Yahoos.
Analysis
Swift positions Gulliver midway — figuratively and literally — between the super-rational, innocent horses and the filthy, depraved
Yahoos: Gulliver's home is midway between the stable house and the Yahoos. Physically, Gulliver is a Yahoo and only his clothes, thus
far, prevent the horses from identifying him as a Yahoo. If the Houyhnhnms had recognized
Gulliver as a Yahoo, Swift would have found it difficult to explain the way in which some of them accept Gulliver. Thus Gulliver's clothes are an excellent device for Swift. Because Gulliver's naked Yahoo-like self is hidden,
Swift's point is that humans' basic difference from the Yahoo is largely artifice. Clothing —
something artificial and extrinsic — "distinguishes" Gulliver.
Swift uses Gulliver's character to establish a further point. Gulliver
reacts to the Yahoos with immediate and overpowering detestation. He is horrified by the Yahoos' similarity to
him. He lacks the humility to see himself as a sort of Yahoo. Rather, his
pride leads him to try to become a horse. Yet Swift is saying that a person is not suited to become a
"horse" (a dispassionate and virtuous stoic). Such dreams are as futile as
Gulliver's belief that if he thinks hard enough he can acquire a fetlock or
pastern.
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