feelings

Laputa is a satire upon philosophers, scientists, historians. The Laputans represent the foolish theoretical knowledge that has no use in the actual world. Laputa symbolizes the absurdity of knowledge that has never been tested or applied, the ridicules side of Enlightenment intellectualism. Indeed, theoretical knowledge in Laputa resulting in the ruin of agriculture and architecture and the impoverishment of the population. The Laputans do not symbolize reason itself but rather the pursuit of a form of knowledge that is not directly related to the improvement of human life.

The Houyhnhnms represent an ideal of rational existence, a life governed by sense and moderation. The Houyhnhnms do not lie at all. They do not use force but only strong exhortation. Their subjugation of the Yahoos appears more necessary than cruel and perhaps the best way to deal with an unfortunate blot on their otherwise ideal society. In these ways and others, the Houyhnhnms seem like model citizens, and Gulliver’s intense grief when he is forced to leave them suggests that they have made an impact on him greater than that of any other society he has visited.

Indeed, this apparent ease may be why Swift chooses to make them horses rather than human types like every other group in the novel. He may be hinting that the Houyhnhnms should not be considered human ideals at all.  

Taken on four voyages, Gulliver's ultimate travels are to a greater understanding of human nature and its flaws. After the first voyage, his image of humanity is little changed, likewise for the second and third, Gulliver's image steadily declines until the fourth voyage, when he meets the Yahoos. In this way, Swift presents his commentary on not only government but the human nature through Gulliver's Travels.

As we travel with Gulliver through the voyages, Swift brilliantly peels away our pretensions, layer by layer, until he shows us what we are and challenges us. In Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift continues to vex the world so that it might awaken to the fact that humankind needs saving, but it has to save itself. "

2022-12-14

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