Blog Post #4 - The Transformation

Dana Watson
Blog Post #4

As I finished the book this week, I really started to notice a change in Gulliver. In the beginning of Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver was somewhat indifferent towards his situations and just learned to adapt. In the second portion of the book, you slowly see Gulliver become cynical and change his views towards humans in general. Then, finally, in the last part of the book, where he is on the island with the Houyhnhnms, he totally changes and forms strong hatred towards human people, or yahoos, because of his long and life-changing stay with the Houyhnhnms. His enjoyment of being on that island is cited in several places throughout the last portion of the book. Here are a couple:

On the top of page 254, Gulliver explains that during his stay with the Houyhnhnms, he never:

“found the treachery of a friend, nor lawyer to ruin my fortune… Here there were no pick-pockets, no cheating shopkeepers, nor lewd, expensive wives…”. There's actually a whole paragraph devoted to vices and temptations he didn't have to face when on the island.

And continued to page 255, Gulliver explains how much he loves the island how attached to the people he had gotten. And then finally, on page 257, when he was informed that he had to leave the country:

“I was struck with the utmost grief and despair…and that death would have been too great an happiness rather than to leave…”.

These passages show how much he enjoyed the island with the Houyhnhnms and how much he hurt when he had to leave. He saw this island as a utopia.

Once he left though, his cynicism toward other Yahoos really started to show.
On page 264, Gulliver “strove to conceal my antipathy to human kind”, and then on page 265, his hate towards humans is taken to a whole new level, when Gulliver says “…my family received me with great surprise and joy…but I must freely confress the sight of them filled me only with hatred, disgust and contempt.”

Gulliver’s views of humans (Yahoos) totally changed when he was in the presence of the Houyhnhnms. He learned of the vices and troubles that humans have and how corrupt and impure our race really is. So, once he returns to England, he is just disgusted with everyone around him, and even himself at times. I think these passages are very significant, because it really shows his change in character that took place throughout the book, culminating in some strong feelings that you would have never really picked up at the beginning of the book.