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"GULLIVER'S TRAVELS".
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Examines evolution of Gulliver's character in Part Four.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines evolution of Gulliver's character in Part Four.

Paper Introduction:
This paper will discuss Part Four of Gulliver's Travels. The discussion will highlight some specific passages in the text which show how Gulliver's character evolved from the beginning chapters, to the middle chapters, and, finally, at the close of the book. In the first chapter of Gulliver's Travels: Part Four, the author has set out on another voyage as captain of a ship. After his men conspire against him and confine him to a cabin, they then set him on the shore of some unknown land. Gulliver travels into the countryside, walking "very circumspectly for fear of being surprised, or suddenly shot with an [a]rrow" (Swift 211). While some readers may think that Gulliver was just a little paranoid because of his recent abandonment by his crew members, a more likely interpretation of Gulliver's careful attitude is that

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Gulliver soonfound that he could live with less meat than usual and without any salt atall. Thehorse creatures value friendship and benevolence above all and extend thisattitude toward every member of their race. Among the Houyhnhnms, the truth was takenfor granted; they never had to worry about whether they could trust afriend. The Houyhnhnms, he surmises, are propertyof the Yahoos, the local apelike natives. This conclusion represents the first changein Gulliver's character. Instead, everything is resolved logically andrationally (Swift 255). There is no such thing as divorce or adultery;everyone just behaves reasonably at all times, and nothing outside ofrational behavior is ever engaged in or expected from anyone (Swift 256). Unfortunately for Gulliver, he looks more like a Yahoo than a horse,so his stay in this land of no evil is eventually terminated by aRepresentative, who, in the last General Assembly has taken offense to aYahoo being kept in the community (Swift 268). In the final chapter, Gulliver concludes that, although theHouyhnhnms are not capable of war or of even defending their country (Swift282), he preferred living among them than among the thieves and pirates inEngland. Although he was hungry, he was especially careful notto "kill or maim any of their [c]attle" (Swift 213). Basically,anything bad is considered Yahoo-like. Gulliver continues with his opinion that any people who can civilizesuch brute animals also excel "in the wisdom of all of the nations in theworld" (Swift 218). Hedecides that he prefers a culture full of imaginative liars, like inEngland, to that of a boring culture which has great truth at the expenseof utter dullness. So, despite the great improvement Gulliver has shown in hischaracter, he is told that he must go back to England (Swift 268-269). In the first chapter of Gulliver's Travels: Part Four, the authorhas set out on another voyage as captain of a ship. While some readers may think that Gulliver was just a little paranoidbecause of his recent abandonment by his crew members, a more likelyinterpretation of Gulliver's careful attitude is that he was walking inparts unknown to him. The first change in Gulliver's character occurs in the first chapter,after he meets two Houyhnhnms. Fortunately, the ship's captain is civil,and Gulliver makes his way, in one piece, back to England. Although the Yahoos are strong, theyare also filthy and make a lot of noise and trouble (Swift 259). No other way of behaving is known tothem. Surprisingly, he learns that the Houyhnhnms have no word in theirlanguage for a lie. This paper will discuss Part Four of Gulliver's Travels. His character has difficulty adjusting to his homeland and the evilways of his more modern society, and he hopes to share some of what helearned from his travels with his readers. Soanything which is deformed or ill is referred to as "Hhnm Yahoo," whichcould be something like unseasonable weather (Swift 264). The Houyhnhnms are equally surprised that the Englishhave words for the "thing which is not" (Swift 226). He notices that the horses are intelligent.This causes a small problem for Gulliver because he cannot bring himself tobelieve, at least at first, that horses are intelligent, like humans. The most noticeable change in Gulliver's character occurs at thepoint he is told that he must leave. He imagines himself returning toEngland and trying to explain to his friends that the creatures that lookedlike humans were brutes and the animals that looked like horses were theones with all of the reasoning ability (Swift 228-229). He remarks that the horse people are not particularly proud oftheir virtues (Swift 285) because they are not arrogant, and they simplyexpect decency from one another. Gulliver travels into the countryside, walking "verycircumspectly for fear of being surprised, or suddenly shot with an[a]rrow" (Swift 211). He also catches his own rabbits or birds, which,combined with a few herbs and butter, and an occasional salad, made a fineenough diet to sustain him for three years in the foreign country. Hedecides that the horses are really people who have changed themselves intohorses by using magical arts (Swift 216). He meets someimportant members in the community and tells them about his high seatravels. Toward the end of the book, Gulliver's character changed from that ofidentifying with humans to that of identifying with his new friends, theHouyhnhnms. On the whole, Gulliverconcludes, their society is far superior to that of England because itlacks all of the seedy aspects of civilized life as he once knew it. In the third chapter of the fourth part of Gulliver's Travels,Gulliver learns to speak the language of the Houyhnhnms. Thus, they have no need for lawyers or a courtsystem. At a General Assembly meeting, the Houyhnhnms gather to decidewhat to do about these apelike folks. They treat their neighbor'schildren as if they are their own, with no preferential treatment beinggiven to family members. The Houyhnhnms arenot able to conceive of lying, which seems virtuous to Gulliver. The author shows that, even among these superior being horses,the social class is the same as in England, where Gulliver has traveledfrom. As the author notes in the 1 th chapter, Houyhnhnm society has nopickpockets, backbiters, politicians, cheating shopkeepers, whores, rantingwives or swearing companions (Swift 266). So,although the horselike people have no word in their language for evil, theydo make analogies stemming from their observations of the Yahoos. These horselike-people have no such thing as a controversy, dispute, lawsuit, argument,falsehood or deception. ButGulliver also thinks that their inability to conceive of things which donot exist is also an indication of their profound lack of imagination. But his character is still in the process of changing. Ed. So his character became a little more accepting of changes in hisdiet, as he admits. New York: Potter, 198 . Within the same chapter,Gulliver continued with the same attitude, stating that he was afraid thatthe inhabitants of the land where he suddenly found himself alone might notwelcome a stranger. Some of the Houyhnhnmsreasoned that Gulliver was to be feared because he could conspire with theother Yahoos to destroy the local cattle or cause some other type ofdamage. In the next chapter, Gulliver observes that the horse that originallygreeted him was an upper-class horse and that the horses inside the housewere servants and women, who did not hold as much rank within theHouyhnhnms. After his men conspireagainst him and confine him to a cabin, they then set him on the shore ofsome unknown land. After meeting the intellectual horses,he soon changes his mind and acts as if he were looking forward to learninghow they came to be so wise. He faints at the feet of hisHouyhnhnm master, who at first thinks Gulliver has died with receipt of thebad news (Swift 269). He also grows as aperson because he learns that some inhabitants in the world have little usefor the concept of doubting or not believing something that anyone in theircommunity told them (Swift 23 ). Before Gulliver learns their ownname for themselves, he thinks that the Houyhnhnms are horses (Swift 217).Because the two horses were so well-mannered in the way they conferredamong themselves before approaching Gulliver, he concluded that theirowners might not be savage killers like he had first anticipated. Thisrepresents another minor change in his character because he first thoughtthat he could not survive without daily rations of meat. Work CitedSwift, Jonathan. The only topic of real discussion is how to treat those brutes, theYahoos. Isaac Asimov. The final point seems to bethat there is more to be said for getting along with and being truthfulwith people of one's own race than there is for arguing and war. Each member of the Houyhnhnms race is trulytreated as an equal. As an experienced traveler, Gulliver's attitude wasthat of any explorer treading on foreign soil. In fact,Gulliver concludes that the inhabitants of this country had enough reasonto teach their horses manners: perhaps they might also be the "wisestpeople" on earth (Swift 215). However, Gulliver had not completely adjusted yet; he craved meat butthinks that, if he can at least get some milk, then he will be able tosurvive long enough to escape and get back to his country (Swift 222). He describes them as being noble and as not having any conceptof that which is evil among members of their own nation. The Annotated Gulliver's Travels. However, in Chapter 11, hesubmits to the will of the inhabitants, constructs a canoe and leaves on adangerous voyage for new-Holland. Thediscussion will highlight some specific passages in the text which show howGulliver's character evolved from the beginning chapters, to the middlechapters, and, finally, at the close of the book. Although he hopes to settle there, he iswounded with a native's arrow and is later seized by force and taken aboarda Portuguese ship (Swift 274). Gulliver's character really begins to evolve during the middle ofPart Four when he realizes that the Houyhnhnms are more civilized creaturesthan the Yahoos, which resemble humans. At first, he never thought that he could make oatstaste good, but he learned to drink whey, and, overall, his character grewmore tolerant with time (Swift 223-224). Gulliver feared that,if he killed any animals belonging to the local people, they could turnagainst him. He evolved because he was generally thought of ashaving corrected his inferior nature and as having developed the moreadmirable traits of Houyhnhnms (Swift 268). When Gulliver began exploring the land, he assumed the people wouldbe hostile and shoot arrows at him. Hesoon learns to eat oats.

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