While in the land of the Houhynhnms, Gulliver spends some time learning about the Yahoos, both from talking to his Houhynhnm master and from observing them himself. Chapter 7 is particularly dense in reflections on their behavior, habits, and characteristics, some of it fairly self-evidently intended (by Swift) as a satire on contemporary English political and social life.
Are there any depictions of the Yahoos that hit particularly close to home? Is it possible for us (as less deluded than Swift) to see ourselves in the Yahoos? Is the portrait a uniformly repellent one, or do the Yahoos have some compensating dimensions for readers who can divest themselves of Gulliver's prejudices?
13 comments:
The Yahoos are depicted as ape-like creatures. These beasts are filthy and impulsive beings that are tolerated by the Houyhnhnms because the Yahoos perform duties for them and assume the role as slaves. They are abnormally covered with hair, run especially fast, and climb trees. Also, Conflict existed in their society. “The Yahoos were known to hate one another more than they did any different species of animals” (page 372). They did not live in harmony. For example, Gulliver’s master gave a probable situation in Chapter 7. He said that if someone was to throw five Yahoos enough food for fifty, then they would still greedily fight over it. This showed the impatience of Yahoos and their desire to “have all to itself” (page 372). Also, the Yahoos would engage in fights without anyone understanding the motivation behind it.
Although I would not want to personally label myself a Yahoo because they have such a negative connotation in the story, I think it is possible to see human beings as Yahoos. Humans are capable of acting in disgusting and grotesque manners with terrible hygiene. They have similarities with Yahoos, such as jealously, selfishness, and the need to be competitive. Humans are guilty of spontaneous behavior and the ability to inflict harm on one another without a justifiable reason. Therefore, humans can be seen as comparable to Yahoos.
The yahoos that belong to the Houhynhnms seem to have no redeeming qualities whatsoever. They are messy, eat anything, are completely uncivilized and undisciplined and are notorious for getting into fights with each other. Even the method by which they came to the Houhynhnms country is awful, two of them invaded from over the mountains and bred into a society. All of this is on the surface though. The yahoo's are capable of cunning, when two are fighting a third might steal whatever they are fighting over, and they have enough reason to worry the Houhynhnms that they might one day take over. These two qualities redeem them somewhat but I think that those qualities of the yahoo's in Portugal and England so far outweigh the qualities of the yahoos that the Houhynhnms are familiar with that the comparison is very unfair and thoroughly unflattering.
I do believe there are definite examples of the Yahoos that hit close to home. The Yahoos are described as hating each other more than any other species of animals- something I think is similar to humans. Humans can hate easily and (at least the way I see it) hold grudges much longer than any other species I have ever witnessed.
He also mentions how they must cover themselves- like we do with clothes- to "intentionally conceal our deformities from each other" (372). Humans cover themselves not only for warmth, but also to hide their nakedness form one another.
He also mentions their feelings of jealousy, their laziness, their messiness and their lack of hygiene, all of which are common complaints of humans.
Although we probably don't want to see or admit it, and I would never say humans are as extreme as a Yahoo, there are specific and definite similarities between Yahoos and humans.
I need not cite any more quotations than those above to illustrate the similarities between the Yahoo and the Human. Let's be literal for a moment, and look at the comparison between the Houhynhnms and Yahoos; horses and apes. Apes, while a common ancestor of man and quite intelligent for an animal, fling poo at each other and generally goof off in the trees. Horses, though they are less intelligent, are quiet and diligent beasts.
When I was reading, I saw this and I asked myself: how many purely Houhynhnm-people do I know? And then I thought, wouldn't life be better if we all were like that?
But what I then remembered was an essay by George Orwell entitled, "Can Socialists Be Happy?", in which he uses this very example. He says that to live like a Houhynhnm, who knows no fault, would be the most dreadfully boring lifestyle because there would be no contrast between good times and bad. He asserts that happiness, for anyone, is derived from that contrast; we could not know happy if we did not have sad preceding it. And so I think that the Houhynhnms are not to be emulated completely, nor do I think the Yahoos should be completely repulsed. We would not be complete without a little bit of vulgar alongside the prudent and pure.
I do believe that Yahoos are like humans. Though they only seem to be an embodiment of all of the bad qualities of humans. Swift description of the yahoos is not to be completely trusted and accepted. Remember that he was sent to Ireland, and thus must bear some resentment to humans in general. In one of the passages I remember that Gulliver states that one of the yahoos was more worser than the other ones and that was the ones with orange hair. Swift clearly made it no secret that he hated Ireland and probably also grew to hate the people that placed him there. While as my other peers have pointed out the yahoos are very similar to humans and the fact that they are to some extent intelligent, jealous and greedy, I don't believe them to be completely similar to humans. If they were really human then there must be some redeeming qualities to them. Also wasn't Swift a priest or something that was connected to the church. If you look closely at what Gulliver describes the Yahoos to behave like, they all are described to have characterics that are the seven deadly sins. Sloth, Greed, Envy, Lust, Pride, Gluttony, and Wrath. All of the yahoos show these emotions in their actions. I believe that because Swift believed humans to be distgusting creatures he probably created the yahoos to show that. Yahoos are very similar to humans, but only in that they have all of the bad qualities that humans have to offer. Swift himself was disillusioned with mankind, but that does not mean that because humans act like yahoos sometimes that we should be labeled as lowly, filthy creatures like the yahoos.
some of the parallels observed between Yahoos and humans are quite obvious, such as how they desire special "stones" and fight over these "stones" (as humans fight over money). But the most profound point I thought Swift made is on pg 372, "Yahoos were known to hate one another more than they did any different species of animals". I interpret the differences between the Yahoos and the Houyhnhnm is that Yahoos are essentially emotional and instinctual whereas Houyhnhnms are rational and thoughtful. This description shows one of the worst ways in which human emotion can affect humans -- hatred. However, there are positive aspects of human emotion displayed. When Gulliver returns, his wife and children weep at seeing their lost husband/father after so many years. Houyhnhnms do not seem to have such emotional connections with people. Gulliver, as he has accepted Houyhnhnm ways, is disgusted by their love and affections, emotions that humans share that can be very beautiful. I think Swift is showing that both Yahoos and Houyhnhnms have their downsides and that there is a tradeoff between the two. Yahoos may be ruled by instinct, but sometimes one can go too far as a "Houyhnhnm" like Gulliver does.
The thing that hits me the hardest is the truth in that the yahoos hate each other more than any other living thing. As humans, we believe ourselves to be the smartest creations on this earth. We have accomplished so much and we seem to dominate the world, being in charge of all other creatures. Therein lies the problem though. We have to dominate everything, especially things not like us. It goes as far as finding out which of us humans are different from each other so that we can have another challenge to dominate. We are ridiculous in the way we act. Swift pointing it out just makes you feel worse about it because he compares us to these savages who at first most of us probably judge before realizing they are us.
The yahoos sound like humans who do not keep up with their hygene. I pictured cave men when they were being described. Yes, they are human beings, but very primative. They are like us in apperance, but not in wit. I think that the image given of the yahoos was repellent. They where unintelligant and not well mannered. I think that anyone would think they were repellent, not just Gulliver.
I first want to make the point that came up in class on Wednesday. We understand that Gulliver may seriously be crazy. The things and different accounts that he goes through on a daily basis can be considered a bit false for his mental status. I feel that it is rather difficult to believe someone who we see as being gullible. He does not seem like a source that we can completely trust. The depiction of the Yahoos hit home a bit. Their characteristic do not resemble that of a human of today's world. But most importantly, we can not forget that there was a time when human were seen acting savagely. People were not always civil like today. The characteristic of them being greedy or untrustworthy isnt something that humans has not been seen as possessing. I would not say that I can see myself in a Yahoo, because its difficult to see myself or anyone else that I know acting that way, but I will say that it isnt far from the way that people used to be in the early development of the world.
As it's been said a handful of times previously, the Yahoos are filthy, disgusting beings. However, that's not what concerns me with their similarities to humans.
On page 372 Gulliver mentions the Yahoo needs to "have all to itself." As the novel was published in 1726, one should be mindful of European countries colonizing the world. On could look at the British colonization of African nations or India as humans trying to "have all to (themselves)."
Obviously, there are many wars and other crimes dealing with the selfish nature of humanity. We ARE like the Yahoos.
I think there are many characteristics that yahoos share with humans whether we would like to admit it or not. We all know that one person who is lazy and doesn't like to work, and that is how the Houyhnhnms view the yahoos. While humans as a species may not be completely lazy and using bad hygiene, many people are out there that fit that description.
I think swift meant for both the yahoos and the Houyhnhnms to represent humans. When we talked about what is being satirized in the story, someone brought up that the horses could be satire for the upper class. The yahoos would then represent the lower, working class in society. Because of the time period in which this was written, a middle class was not yet defined in society. While there were people who fit into categories between the wealthy and the poor, I think Swift wanted to show the contrast between the two.
After rambling and getting off topic there for a little bit, I just want to get back to the point that yes, I do see a lot of human characteristics in the yahoos, many traits which I hope don't parallel my own.
Its my personal opinion that humans have the potential for great good or, clearly, for great bad, and this can be observed in all sorts of atmospheres. The Yahoos embody the later extreme in a sense, and in this way we can see ourselves as humans in their characteristics in that we have the potential to be vulgar and primitive. While we can relate to that extreme, that doesn't mean that we do not have potential to be civil. The Houhynhnms themselves, being a human construction, act as an example of a civil society that we can imagine and therefore there is little reason that we cant see some aspects of humanity in them as well.
Clearly the passages cited above highlight some aspects of human nature, particularly the most base instinctual urges to petty conflict for insignificant gains. However, the Houyhnhnms are not entirely without their resemblance to humans either, with their ability to reason and manipulate. Humanity lies somewhere in the middle space between these two literary caricatures.
Post a Comment