Gulliver's Travels Part 4, Chapters 7-12

Part 4, Chapters 7-12

Gulliver explains that he chose not to defend the honor of his kind, and gave a completely honest account of his old world. The reasons for this candor were twofold, firstly, Gulliver had grown to venerate and admire the society and moral value of the Houyhnhnms. Additionally, he felt that his master was too acute a judge and so he could not hide the truth for him, as his appreciation of that concept had grown. Gulliver is so moved by his time with the Houyhnhnms, that he very nearly begins to hope that he will be able to forever remain in their company and live his life as they did theirs.

Gulliver's master talks about the race of the yahoos found in their land, and how some of their practices seemed to resemble that of the people from Gulliver's world. He believes that although the yahoos of Gulliver's world had been gifted with some form of reason, their nature continued to resemble that of the brute yahoos in this world. The yahoos too conducted bloody warfare among themselves for unknown reasons, but their physiology prevented them from bringing about too much of a loss. He explains that they too were known to have avarice for shiny stones that they seemed to with great value. He explains the odd practice of feeding them their waste to cure them of diseases that seemed to abound in that species. He also gives an account of some odd practices of the female yahoos that Gulliver finds to be somewhat true for women in his part of the world.

Gulliver wishes to understand the yahoos' behavior on his own, and so he often goes into the herd of the animals in the company of one of his master's servants. Gulliver discovers that the yahoos are among the most hateful, dirty, and violent creatures that he has ever beheld. They are completely unable to learn anything and seem fit only for carrying burdens. Gulliver has an embarrassing moment when a female yahoo pounces upon him as he bathes naked in a river close to the forest. He is rescued by the intervention of the servant assigned by his master. Gulliver then begins to explain that the Houyhnhnm society values friendship and benevolence above all others. So that his master is just as kind with his child as he is with that of his neighbors. He explains that their society has no place for love, courtship, and other such nonsense. Each Houyhnhnm union is based on passing on the virtues of comeliness and strength, but the noble Houyhnhnm families always just have two children, one male, and the other female. The unions of those lower class of Houyhnhnms are not strictly regulated. The children of these noble creatures are always educated in the same manner, they are not given any significant quantity of oats and milk until they turn 18. They are expected to learn the virtues of temperance, industry, cleanliness, and exercise. The young Houyhnhnms of every district meet four times a year to compete in various physical disciplines. The assembly of the horses occurs every fourth year, and the chief concerns addressed are those of yahoos, oats, and cows.

The general assembly is convened, and Gulliver accompanies his master to the meeting. The subject of the assembly is an old debate that questions whether yahoos should be exterminated from the land. Those who support this motion claim that the yahoos are some error of nature and not aborigines for they inspire the deepest hate in all creatures that surround them. Gulliver and his master had contrived a scheme, and his master tells the assembly a summary of Gulliver's world and their treatment of horses. The practice of gelding is exercised to make the horses more tractable, and so the same practice should be practiced for their yahoos. In this way, the creatures would be made more manageable, and then caused to simply fade out of existence without causing a loss to life. His master, however, had added another clause to his speech one that he hadn't revealed to Gulliver.

Gulliver then expounds on the culture of the horses, for although they cannot perform overly complex work, they still lead lives of virtue and harmony. He explains how their houses are made of although mean materials yet shield them from the extremities of the weather. They excel at poetry above all other living creatures and have no word for evil, so they use the yahoos appellation to denote ill-luck and other miseries.

Gulliver is allowed to live in a small hut near his master's house. Gulliver himself helps in the creation of the house and attends his master when visitors arrive, or when he visits his neighbors. Gulliver never wishes to speak but only hear, so that he may better learn to live a life of virtue and reason. However, his stay is soon cut short as his master informs him that the assembly has concluded that Gulliver must leave the country, for he was too reasonable to be treated like a normal yahoo. Gulliver is struck with grief as he learns of his misfortune, and faints. Once he has recovered, he learns that he has been allowed two months to create a vessel with the help of his fellow servants so that he could leave the land. Gulliver creates an Indian canoe and aims it towards a nearby island that he spies with his spyglass. He kisses his master's hoof before bidding him goodbye.

Gulliver has made up his mind never to return among the yahoos and wishes only to find a quiet and solitary island where he can live out the rest of his life in the way of the horses. Gulliver believes the pirates had dropped him off to an island near the Cape of Good Hope, and so makes for a direction that would have New Holland. He finds the island relatively quickly but remains in fear of being found by the natives, which eventually does occur. Gulliver manages to flee from the naked natives but sustains an arrow wound. He sights a sail of a ship nearby but his intolerance of yahoos drives him away from it. However, he is soon discovered by the crew of the ship, who notices his strange garb, and are able to elicit a response from him in Portuguese, their common tongue. Gulliver abhors the sight and smell of the Yahoos so endeavors to flee. He is tied and brought to the captain of the ship, who has Gulliver bound to his room so that he doesn't escape. Slowly, he coaxes Gulliver to relate to him his story and begins to get him used to the sight of yahoos. The ship arrives in Lisbon, where Gulliver remains secluded in the Captain's apartment unable to stand the smell or sight of the yahoos. This disposition soon begins to change, but his hatred for his species grows. The captain charges him to return home to fulfill his obligations, and there live in seclusion if he should choose to do so. Gulliver eventually returns home and faints at the touch of his wife.

Five years have passed since Gulliver returned from that voyage and yet he is unable to stomach the sight or sound of his wife and children eating. Gulliver buys a pair of horses and spends hours talking to them. He never uses them as beasts of burden but treats them rather as friends.

Gulliver concludes the tales of his travels and expresses his complete honesty in depicting plain facts. He hopes that other writers are also able to find the decency to write only the truth and no falsehoods. He explains that some have raised concern that these new lands that he had discovered ought to have been reported to the state. Gulliver argues that such a notion never occurred to him for he never saw any boundless riches in any land that he had visited, which might make it an interest to the crown. Moreover, the lands of the giants and the people of the flying island would put up a significant challenge to any foreign invasion. He argues that his country's colonial practices are hardly virtuous, and rarely a course of great honor. He concludes that he now wishes to retire to his lands in Redriff where he hopes to lead a life far removed from the vile natures of yahoos and live by his learnings from his noble Houyhnhnm master.

Analysis

Gulliver's desire to lead a simple life among the horses echoes similar sentiments in European literature and of the 19th-century romantics. This want for a simple and uncomplicated life was mainly a result of increasing urbanization that caused people to feel divorced from nature. In this satirical account, Swift criticizes not only the extremely convoluted lifestyles of humans, especially the nobles, but also criticizes those that argue a pastoral and animal-like life to be the solution to modern problems. The tone of the book changes significantly in the last voyage, as it becomes increasingly difficult for the reader to sympathize with Gulliver. In the earlier sections, the reader can share in Gulliver's amazement towards the tiny people of Lilliput, along with the contempt he feels for being treated as a toy by the giants. However, in Houyhnhnmland, Gulliver becomes completely alienated from the reader, as he begins to despise his nature and has trouble bearing the company of his children and wife. In the end, Gulliver retreats to a life in the countryside where he spends hours talking to horses that he never uses but rather treats like friends.