Part IV. A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms. Gulliver’s Travels is one of the classic pieces of the period of exploration in English literature. The book became rather popular at that time and it is still being universally read. Nevertheless, in the fourth part of it, A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms, the book can be problematized since the protagonist reflects the political, religious, and social issues of the time. To begin with, the human beings he encounters in the island are referred as “a strange sort of animal.” This demonstrates how Gulliver, as well as his contemporary leaders, were racist in the sense that any creature that was not white as them was supposed to be strange and savage. When the protagonist first encounters the human beings that were probably in Africa, he said “upon the whole, I never beheld, in all my travels, so disagreeable an animal, or one against which I naturally conceived so strong an antipathy.” The book also deals with gender issues because Gulliver left his wife and his children alone for months just because he felt bored. In this sense, it can be argued that the story promotes family disintegration, specifically from men. On the other hand, the protagonist is a problematic character since he contradicts himself probably like the authorities did at that time. For instance, Gulliver said, while talking about another man, that “he was an honest man, and a good sailor, but a little too positive in his own opinions, which was the cause of his destruction, as it has been with several others; for if he had followed my advice, he might have been safe at home with his family at this time, as well as myself.” This demonstrates that Gulliver is not rather a wise, intelligent, prudent, or humble man; on the contrary, he is criticizing a man that did the same he did and also saying that he advised this man to do what he did not want to do either. This book is famous because it is within the traveler’s adventures type, but it also deals with many social problems of the time that stand out in the fourth part of it.
Part IV. A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms.
ResponderEliminarGulliver’s Travels is one of the classic pieces of the period of exploration in English literature. The book became rather popular at that time and it is still being universally read. Nevertheless, in the fourth part of it, A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms, the book can be problematized since the protagonist reflects the political, religious, and social issues of the time. To begin with, the human beings he encounters in the island are referred as “a strange sort of animal.” This demonstrates how Gulliver, as well as his contemporary leaders, were racist in the sense that any creature that was not white as them was supposed to be strange and savage. When the protagonist first encounters the human beings that were probably in Africa, he said “upon the whole, I never beheld, in all my travels, so disagreeable an animal, or one against which I naturally conceived so strong an antipathy.” The book also deals with gender issues because Gulliver left his wife and his children alone for months just because he felt bored. In this sense, it can be argued that the story promotes family disintegration, specifically from men. On the other hand, the protagonist is a problematic character since he contradicts himself probably like the authorities did at that time. For instance, Gulliver said, while talking about another man, that “he was an honest man, and a good sailor, but a little too positive in his own opinions, which was the cause of his destruction, as it has been with several others; for if he had followed my advice, he might have been safe at home with his family at this time, as well as myself.” This demonstrates that Gulliver is not rather a wise, intelligent, prudent, or humble man; on the contrary, he is criticizing a man that did the same he did and also saying that he advised this man to do what he did not want to do either. This book is famous because it is within the traveler’s adventures type, but it also deals with many social problems of the time that stand out in the fourth part of it.