Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Gulliver's Houhnhm master comments on the lifestyle of yahoos/humans.

The section I wanted to blog about is begins on page 218. This is was the particular time when Gulliver's master, hereafter referred to as Mr. Horse, told Gulliver just how he and the yahoos were indeed related.

Mr. Horse gets a lot of things right. His first few points in the similarities really seem to just be beating around the bush, but he really dives in once he begins to talk about the manner and reason which humans cover their bodies, and the way yahoos acquire food which isn't unlike our cut-throat society concerning wealth.

He says that the yahoos hate the "odiousness of their own shapes, which all could see in the rest and not in themselves (pg 219)." This exact passage reminds me of the narcissism and self-centeredness which we as humans at some point feel or experience. Mr. Horse continues on to say that this is the reason we cover our bodies with clothing, because we can't stand the sight of each other and our deformities. Which Gulliver says, "He therefore begun to think it not unwise to cover our bodies," which upon first learning of the reason for clothing Mr. Horse found against reason to cover what nature had provided. Gulliver later relates to the reader that upon his arrival in England he was unable to suffer the company of his family and was often unable to look in the mirror. Therefore he propagated the idea of being unable to sustain the company of those who he related to the yahoos.

Another point which Mr. Horse made which I found to be quite insightful was when he was speaking of the situation of greed among the yahoos. "For if you throw among five yahoos as much food as would be sufficient for fifty, they will, instead of eating peaceably, fall together by the ears, each single impatient to have all to itself (219)." This observation is completely applicable to the behavior of humans in just about everything that they do. This fact I am completely able to understand merely because at the place where I work I see it quite often. The hotel where I work often has buffets, in the restaurant, during special events, and sometimes meetings. People often scramble to be the first in line, as if they believed the food would soon run out. During these time people will often pile their plate full of food, which only a supreme glutton would be able to finish, and when their plate is still full after they have had their fill, they go back for dessert. Another instance on a much broader scale would be the constant fighting over land and riches. The gold rush in America, when everyone hurried out West because they believed they would find more riches than could sustain their lifetime. There is also the quest for land, which was often mentioned in Gulliver's conversations with the king in Brobdingnag.

Mr. Horse pin-pointed the two very key conceptions with just these illustrated points. His boundless insight lasted for 5 more pages until the end of the chapter where he again pointed out some major issues with humanity, through the personification of the yahoos.

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