Yahoos

            In every civilization filled with human beings, there are similarities. This fact is endorsed by Jonathan Swift in his book Gulliver's Travels. In this book, he is expressing different opinions and he is criticizing his society of Great Britain (eighteenth century). We could also refer to these comments as his moral and political philosophy. The following aspects will be discussed in this essay: his approach of misanthropy, how he treats pride and wealth, and his praise of reason.
             Firstly, his approach toward the Yahoos who are certainly the inhabitants of Great Britain may be considered as misanthropy. By definition, misanthropy is the hate, dislike, or repulsion felt by someone toward his fellow humans. As it is mostly probable that Swift is using Gulliver's voice, he is a misanthrope. All along his work, he talks of how the Yahoos are stupid and disgusting. As often seen, he is ready to praise any Houyhnhnms and to condemn the others. He is treating them as animals that only care to eat and to mate. This last point is expressed in chapter seven of the fourth book when he relates on how the females hide behind a bush and wait for a male to approach and to seduce him. The most probable link he is doing is the way prostitutes of London behave. He believes that reproducing and living together without any love is wrong and by the way criticizes the manner in which marriages are arranged in his country. He also condemns how the cleanliness is not promoted by the Yahoos. Again, it is believed that he is relying on the way feces and other domestic detritus are expelled anywhere (from the humans themselves and for the way people get rid of it on the street. The way he ends his récit also shows how he dislikes humans. He relates on how he was deceived to see his family again and how his wife disgusted him. He even says that he is shameful to be responsible for the continuation of his race.