English Society on Display in Gulliver's Travels In Gulliver's Travels, Swift takes us to many places that serve as a mirror to the weaknesses of English society, but none places does not attract such severe censorship of men like Houyhnhnmland. Here Swift made a clear distinction between pure reason, embodied in the Houyhnhnms (perhaps he was referring to "horse sense"), and raw passion, embodied in the Yahoos (which are "coincidentally" very virile). Here, Gulliver must make a choice between Houyhnhnms and Yahoos, reason and passion. He initially rejects the Yahoos due to their repulsion towards him, but at the same time he does not accept the Houyhnhnms either. In many ways he still wants to cling to his English heritage, but his discussions with his master prove, despite his stated differences, that he and his English society are indeed Yahoo! When I thought of my family, my friends, my countrymen, or the human race in general, I considered them as they really were, Yahoos in shape and disposition, perhaps a little more civilized and endowed with the gift of speech; but making no other use of reason than to improve and multiply these vices, of which their brothers in this country had only the share which nature assigned them. So Gulliver is again faced with this decision between Houyhnhnm and Yahoo, but now he sees Yahoo as himself and his country. He decides to reject Yahoos and himself and embrace Houyhnhnms and reason. I believe that chapter ten is the crucial chapter of the book, because Gulliver decides to abandon everything related to "Yahoo", and in the same chapter, Houyhnhnms and reason decide to reject Gulliver. At the beginning of chapter ten, Gulliver recounts his happy stay. ..... middle of paper ......f the satirist. Bern: Peter Lang Publishers, Inc., 1992. This book focuses on Swift's use of fictional devices in his satires and argues that it is this ability that gives his literature the great subtlety it possesses. * Gravil, Richard ed. Gulliver's Travels: A Case Book. London: The Macmillan Press LTD, 1974. As the title suggests, this book is a casebook or collection of essays relevant to the scholarship on Gulliver's Travels.* Rowse, AL Jonathan Swift: Major Prophet. London: Thames and Hudson, 1975. This book is a biography of Swift's life and relationships.* Ward, David. Jonathan Swift: an introductory essay. London: Methuen & Co Ltd, 1973. This book contains Ward's critical thinking on many of Jonathan Swift's works, including Gulliver's Travels.* Gulliver's Travels - Home Page