Character Analysis The HouyhnhnmsGulliver's description of the horses, the Houyhnhnms, is almost idyllic: "The behaviour of these animals was . . . orderly and rational . . . acute and judicious." Indeed, it is a horse that rescues him from the Yahoos — not by any overt, physical action, but by simply appearing on the road — no physical action being necessary. Show
Houyhnhnms live simple lives wholly devoted to reason. They speak clearly, they act justly, and they have simple laws. Each Houyhnhnm knows what is right and acts accordingly. They are untroubled by greed, politics, or lust. They live a life of cleanliness and exist in peace and serenity. They live by the grand maxim: Cultivate Reason and be totally governed by it. So perfect is their society, in fact, that they have no concept of a lie, and therefore no word to express it. The only word for evil is "Yahoo." Swift defines Houyhnhnm as meaning "perfection of nature." This definition establishes an important distinction. The horses are uncorrupted by passion — either base or noble. They are devoid, for example, of charity. Also, they are not subject to temptation. Swift, however, never suggests that the Houyhnhnms stand for perfected human nature; on the contrary, they manifest innocent human nature. What they do — and what they say and think — is akin to human nature, but the character of the Houyhnhnms is far from Gulliver's. They are ignorant of many things which most people would consider venial. They cannot, for example, understand lying — or even the necessity for lying. Swift thus establishes a range, or spectrum, of existence. The horses are literally innocent, having never (in theological terms) "fallen"; the Yahoos are super-sensual and seem depraved. The Houyhnhnms are ice-cold reason; the Yahoos are fiery sensuality. In between these extremes is Gulliver. Character Analysis The YahoosYahoos are the human-like creatures that Gulliver first encounters in the Country of the Houyhnhnms. Not recognizing their link with humanity, Gulliver describes the Yahoos as animals: " . . . deformed . . . . Their heads and breasts were covered with thick hair . . . but the rest of their bodies were bare . . . . They had no tails and often stood on their hind feet . . . ." He concludes with, "I never beheld in all my travels so disagreeable an animal." Although they are human in form and feature, the Yahoos are, indeed, animals. They are filthy and they stink. They are omnivorous but seem to prefer meat and garbage. (Significantly, they eat nearly everything prohibited by the biblical and Levitical food codes.) They are "the most filthy, noisome, and deformed animals which nature ever produced . . . " and they are "restive and indocible, mischievous and malicious." The Yahoos, however, are not merely animals; they are animals who are naturally vicious and represent Mankind depraved. Swift describes them in deliberately filthy and disgusting terms, often using metaphors drawn from dung. In terms of their evolution, the words used to describe the Yahoos are "degenerating by degrees." Swift positions Gulliver midway — figuratively and literally — between the super-rational, innocent horses (the Houyhnhnms) and the filthy, depraved Yahoos. Gulliver, however, reacts to the Yahoos with immediate and overpowering detestation and is horrified by the Yahoos' similarity to him. He lacks the humility to see himself as a sort of Yahoo. Rather, his pride leads him to try to become a horse. Gulliver will try with admirable determination to improve himself; he will try to change himself into a more horse-like state, but he will fail. He is, simply, more of a Yahoo than a Houyhnhnm.
 Gulliver humbly greets the Houyhnhnms upon his arrival on their shores. The Houyhnhnms are an equine race, and are described as a highly intelligent society of what appear, at first glance, to be ordinary horses. They coexist - to a certain extent - with a savage human-like race called Yahoos on an island known as "Houyhnhnm Land" located off the southern coast of Australia. Gulliver's description of these horses, the Houyhnhnm, is nearly idyllic: "The behaviour of these animals was . . . orderly and rational . . . acute and judicious." In fact, it is a Houyhnhnms that rescues him from the Yahoos — not by any kind of physical intervention, but by merely appearing on the road to scatter the savages — no physical action is necessary. Society and contrast with the Yahoos[]Houyhnhnms lead simple lives, completely devoted to logic and reason, but ironically very naive. They speak clearly and concisely, act justly and honorably, and abide by simple laws, but fair laws. Every individual knows what is right and wrong, and acts accordingly - for they know no other way. They are a people untarnished by the greedy, politically-motivated, or lustful intentions that Gulliver has observed in humankind. They live clean, peaceful lives, and exist in harmony and contentment. They live by their own golden rule: Cultivate Reason, and be totally governed by it. Their society is so perfect, that indeed they have no concept of a lie, and thus no word to express the action. Their only word for evil is "Yahoo." The author Jonathan Swift defines Houyhnhnm to mean "perfection of nature." This establishes an important distinction: the horses are uncorrupted by passion, neither basic nor cultivated. For example, they lack a grasp of the concept of charity. They are also never victims of temptation. However, Swift never goes on to suggest that they symbolize perfect human nature. Quite the contrary, they manifest innocent human nature, taking everything in life at face value, feeling little malice or compassion for those outside their society. What they do, say, and think is similar to basic human nature, but the displayed character of the Houyhnhnms is far from Gulliver's own (as much as he wishes to believe they are like-minded}. They are ignorant of many small transgressions which most societies would consider forgivable. An example of this is in their inability to understand lying — or even the necessity for ever doing so. With the contrasting differences between the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos, Swift establishes a complete spectrum of existence, with each race on an opposite end. The horses are completely innocent-minded, having never (in theological terms) fallen from grace - while the Yahoos seem over-passionate, animalistic, and corrupt by a lack of control over their primal urges and desires. The Houyhnhnms are stone cold reason; the Yahoos are red-hot carnality. In the middle of these two extremes is a luke-warm Gulliver. Biology[]Being horses, Houyhnhnms usually eat grass, hay, oats, and milk. Houyhnhnms' hooves are able to use tools (such as a needle or a flint) or do farming work as humans do. Houyhnhnms live up to seventy to seventy-five years, and they usually die of old age. Culture[]Houyhnhnms are very knowledgeable with medicinal herbs, create excellent poetry, and build simple houses. They train their foals to become more physically fit by running up and down hills and stony ground, and they organize four races every year. They also raise their foals without any differences by their gender except domestic management for their fillies. Younger Houyhnhnms also cannot eat oats until they have reached eighteen years of age (except on some days), and they rarely drink milk; and Houyhnhnms of any age graze more often at evening than in the morning. In adherence to their desire for reason:
Even though the Houyhnhnms have no religion, they believe that when one of their members dies, he or she "returned to their first mother". They also do not mourn (or even celebrate) when it happens, as they accept death as a routine part of life. They do not have a writing system, and their lunisolar calendar does not have weeks. Two principal virtues in Houyhnhnm culture are friendship and benevolence. As a result, war is completely unknown in the Houyhnhnms' culture. Gallery[]Trivia[]
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How does Gulliver describe the Houyhnhnms?Gulliver humbly greets the Houyhnhnms upon his arrival on their shores. The Houyhnhnms are an equine race, and are described as a highly intelligent society of what appear, at first glance, to be ordinary horses.
What did Gulliver learn from the Houyhnhnms?Gulliver develops such a love for the Houyhnhnms that he no longer desires to return to humankind. His master tells him that he has considered all of Gulliver's claims about his home country and has come to the conclusion that Gulliver's people are not so different from the Yahoos as they may at first have seemed.
What does Gulliver refer to his host Houyhnhnms as?He refers to his equine host as his master, a word with the connotations of teacher, boss, and spiritual guide. To the Houyhnhnm, Gulliver exists as an amazing rarity: a Yahoo with the power of reason.
How does Gulliver feel about leaving the Houyhnhnm?At last it is decided that Gulliver must leave the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver then returns to England, so disgusted with humanity that he avoids his family and buys horses and converses with them instead.
What makes the Houyhnhnms society in Gulliver's Travels Part IV ideal or a model for humans?They live by the grand maxim: Cultivate Reason and be totally governed by it. So perfect is their society, in fact, that they have no concept of a lie, and therefore no word to express it. The only word for evil is "Yahoo."
How is Gulliver able to communicate with the Houyhnhnms?Adept at languages, Gulliver learns rather quickly to talk with the Houyhnhnms. They speak a strange language, he says, yet it is similar to High Dutch. Besides the Houyhnhnms teaching Gulliver, he teaches them. They have no books, so Gulliver shows them how to write.
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What does Gulliver admire about the Houyhnhnms?
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