Gulliver’s Travels Essay Example for Free

Gullivers Travels EssayIt is the mistaken employment of reason that fast finds to be the greatest flaw of human nature 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 qualified with the gift of speech but making no other use of reason, than to improve and manifold those vices whereof their brethren in this country had only the sh ar that nature allotted them. (Swift 322) The fact that the horses are the most intelligent and virtuous creatures that Gulliver encounters is significant.The human race is therefore pose below that of the animals and Gulliver hints that the horses may prove more capable of rising above their condition than man seems to be. A Modest Proposal is equally ironic and perverting of belief in the superiority of the human race. As in Gullivers Travels, Swift implies a comparison between man and beast in this e ssay. The germ masks his irony under the appearance serious scientific enquiry into poverty and the solutions that he sees as available for it.The first part of the work deplores the condition of those children that are born in poverty and therefore condemned by the social order to a life of misery and hunger. The solution that the writer proposes is radical and astonishing he proposes that the babies coming from poor families be used as food. The hint to the animal nature which dominates man in many respects is evident. Swift encourages the consumption of unripe babies by men as an economical solution, also providing mock calculations of the profit that it would bring to society.Human nature appears therefore as free-base as that of the animals that are capable of violence and cruelty in order to satisfy their instincts. Swift uses the same mechanism he sees in man and thus employs his reason to cast and rationalize, without scruple, the value of human life I grant this food wi ll be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they defend already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children. (Swift 5) The author thus hints that his solution is only a response to the way in which the generous commonly treat the poor.Human nature appears in its entirety as base and selfish. Despite the fact that man has the power of reason at his disposal, he is withal capable of calculated cruelty masked as a disinterested and honest endeavoring for the good of society I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and bighearted some pleasure to the rich.(Swift 16) Here, Swift unmasks the crimes that the social man does out of greed and poor use of his faculty of reason. The proposal is written so as to practise the other measures taken by man in favor of social welfare. Swift hints at the exploitation of the poor and at the power abuse that the rich are often found guilty of. Cannibalism is therefore used as a metaphor for the lowliness of human nature, which is still very far from perfection. The two kit and caboodle outline the image that Swift had of human nature.Despite the fact that man has been gifted with spirit and reason, he is not able to rise above his base condition. As Swift emphasizes in both of the works analyzed, man is ingenious and extremely skilled, yet he is unable to employ his reason to a unfeignedly good purpose. In comparison to animals therefore, man appears to be even lower since he cannot fulfill his potential for wisdom and spirituality. Both of the works analyzed jest at therefore man as a superior and wonderful being that is yet unable to become truly noble.Swift dissects human nature to detect the most grotesque aspects it contains. Man has the potential of a noble, god-like creature and yet he behaves weakly and he is often petty, selfish and immoral. Swifts feat is therefore to reveal the essence of man as a noble and base creature at the same time.Works CitedSwift, Jonathan. Gullivers Travels. Chicago Rand McNally, 1932. A Modest Proposal. New York Plain Label Books, 2002.