Gulliver's Travels Revisited

I wasn’t convinced with the argument from Gulliver’s Travels. I had an alternate theory, but, without sufficient evidence, I didn’t have a full-fledged argument to comment in class. Anyway, what I took from the book wasn’t such a cynical view as was discussed in class. I think the prevailing message is one of acceptance rather than exclusion. When Gulliver traveled to Lilliput, he was too big to fit in; when he traveled to Brobdingnag, he was too small and treated like an object; we he traveled to the flying island of Laputa, he couldn’t relate to the head-in-the-clouds people there; and when he traveled to the unknown land inhabited by the Houyhnhms and the Yahoos, he again couldn’t find a place where he fit in. When a person, in this case Gulliver, looses touch with his identity, madness is bound to ensue. That said, I think the criticism of human behavior, although true and accurately observed, is a bit hypocritical. Take the race of intelligent horses for example: for all their smarts and grace, the Houyhnhnms couldn’t get past the fact that Gulliver looked too much like a Yahoo. As much as Gulliver wanted to live with them, which was just as much as he didn’t want to return home, the Houyhnhnms were unable to get over his outer appearance. I know I wouldn’t want to be where I’m not accepted.

On another note: I noticed one thing that the arrival of Gulliver influenced—in each strange land the populace was united, even if temporarily, and everyone reacted once they were aware of Gulliver’s presence. This sort of reaction is in a way universal. As per my usual pop culture reference, in every Hollywood blockbuster (Independence Day, Armageddon, etc.) depicting the end of the world or an alien invasion, people usually come together in an effort to save the planet. Humans get all peace and love with each other, but in Gulliver’s Travels this is a common theme as well.

So as I stated above, I think if Gulliver could have seen that his place is with humans, he would have been better off instead of old and delirious and neglectful. But I think Swift left him that way to show readers what not to become.