Gulliver travels part 4 chapter 2

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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