Is swift a misanthrope?

Swift is not a misanthrope rather he is a philanthrope. It is the misconception of those who

think Swift as a misanthrope. Swift only wants to reform mankind out of their follies and
stupidities. He says that the chief end of all his labour is:

“to vex the world rather than divert it”.

Secondly, he declares that:

“I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities and all his love is towards
individuals.”

Thirdly, though Swift does not believe that:

“Man is a rational animal”.

Yet he believes that:

“Man is capable of becoming rational if he makes the necessary efforts.”

But we see that Swift is notorious for being misanthrope. He was subjected to this allegation
during his lifetime because the critics, identifying Gulliver with Swift, attributed Gulliver’s
blunders to Swift. That Gulliver, in the last voyage, becomes a misanthrope is undeniable and
indisputable. Prima facie, it appears that by developing a negative view of mankind, he starts
preferring horses to men, but a solid reason of Swift underlies this act of Gulliver.

We observe that in the fourth voyage, Gulliver reaches a country of animals, ruled by
animals. There are two categories of animals living there in: ugly and repulsive brutes –
Yahoos:

“Yahoos who are unteachable brutes, cunning, gluttonous and disposed to great
mischief”.

And comparatively better and nice-looking animals – Houyhnhnms. The moment he enters
the country he is confronted with Yahoos and they give him such a nasty and obnoxious
treatment that he develops a disliking for them in his heart, which is later converted into
hatred owing to their disgusting physical appearance and their filthy and mischievous way of
life. But his first meeting with Houyhnhnms, on the other hand, proves a nice experience.
And this:

“First impression proves the last impression”.

They secure him against Yahoos, behave properly and gracefully escort him to their abode.

“The behaviour of horses shows him to be animals with an extraordinary power of

understanding.”

Naturally, this kind of treatment creates a sort of fondness in Gulliver's heart for
Houyhnhnms and their way of life. Upto this time, nothing is objectionable, but his fault
begin when he become so enamored of Houyhnhnms that he starts hating man or equating
Yahoos with men, he begins to abhor Man. He develops a general hatred against all men. All
the subsequent incidents – his hatred against the Captain, against his family, etc. – reflect his
misanthropy.

The blunder which Gulliver committed is that, he over-idealizes them because Gulliver is a
man who is fed up with Man’s corruption. Therefore, he cannot see corruption in Man. He
finds Yahoos in a detestable and abhorrent condition on account of their being a slave of
emotions, sensuality and sentimentality. He says:

“Yet I confess I never saw any sensitive being so detestable on all accounts; and the
more I came near them, the more hateful they grew, while I stayed in that country.”

Houyhnhnms, in a comparatively better condition, lack that type of corruption that Yahoos
have, for Houyhnhnms have no emotion.

“Houyhnhnms are free from lust and greed.”

Naturally, he attributes whole of Man’s corruption to emotions, passions and sentimentality.

As a remedy, he starts hating emotions, passion and he falls a victim to pure intellect.

“Here was neither physician to destroy my body, nor lawyer to ruin my fortune, here
were no gibers, …, backbiters, …, bawds, …, ravishers, murderers or … poxes.”

So, he mis-idealize Houyhnhnms, due to their pure intellect, somehow establishes a

subjective ideal before him i.e. to be a man is to have pure intellect. He thinks:

“The only remedy for doing away with Man’s corruption and pollution is to get rid of
all kinds of emotions”.

In the country of Houyhnhnms, when Gulliver has a choice, he adopts for the Houyhnhnms
way of life, completely rejecting Yahoos’ path. But when he is compelled to leave the
country and to break away form his beloved way of life, and to come to another way of life
which he dislikes, it is but natural for him to hate it. In fact, his this ideal is perfectly
erroneous. Swift says:

“Idealism leads towards destruction.”

So, it is wrong to detest Man, equating him with Yahoos and it is again inappropriate to set
up the ideal of perfect man on the basis of Houyhnhnms’ pure intellect because neither a
Houyhnhnms nor a Yahoo is a man, instead, man is a juxtaposition of both intellect and
emotions.

“The best code of conduct is Golden Mean which is ‘balance’.”

So he mis-defines Man. However, the fact of the matter remains whether Swift becomes a
misanthrope or not, but can we impute Gulliver’s misanthropy to Swift? If we virtually
succeed to establish, some identity between Swift and Gulliver, Swift, too, will become a
misanthrope.
But according to Swift a man is he who strikes a balance between rationality and sensuality
and this balance is not gifted by birth. It has to be acquired. That’s why even Gulliver is
subjected to Swift’s satire, for he loses the said balance.

That is the reason we don’t identify Gulliver with Swift and, inspite of Gulliver’s
misanthropy, we call Swift a great philanthropist. As he, himself, says:

“I write for the noblest end, to inform and instruct mankind.”

Swift's "Gulliver's Travels": A social satire
“Gulliver’s Travels” is a great work of social satire. Swift’s age was an age of smug
complacency. Corruption was rampant and the people were still satisfied. Thus, Jonathan
Swift tears the veil of smug complacency off which had blinded the people to realities. In
“Gulliver’s Travels”, there is a satire on politics, human physiognomy, intellect, manners and
morality.

In the first voyage to Lilliput, Swift satirizes on politics and political tactics practiced in
England through Lilliputians, the dwarfs of six inches height. He satirizes the manner in
which political offices were awarded by English King in his time. Flimnap, the Treasurer,
represents Sir Robert Walpole who was the Prime Minister of England. Dancing on tight
ropes symbolizes Walpole's skill in parliamentary tactics and political intrigues. The ancient
temple, in which Gulliver is housed in Lilliput, refers to Westminster Hall in which Charles I
was condemned to death. The three fine silk threads awarded as prizes to the winners refer to
the various distinctions conferred by English King to his favourites. The Lilliputians were
highly superstitious:

“They bury their dead with their head directly downwards because they hold an
opinion that after eleven thousand moons they are all to rise again.”

Gulliver’s account of the annoyance of the Empress of Lilliput on extinguishing fire in her
apartment is Swift’s satirical way of describing Queen Anne’s annoyance with him on
writing “A Tale of a Tub”. Swift’s satire becomes amusing when Gulliver speaks of the
conflict between the Big Endians and the Little Endians. In this account Swift is ridiculing
the conflicts between the Roman Catholics and the Protestants. High Heel and Low Heel
represent Whig and Tory – two political parties in England.

In the second voyage to Brobdingnag, there is a general satire on human body, human talents
and human limitations. Gulliver gives us his reaction to the coarseness and ugliness of human
body. When Gulliver gives an account, to the King of Brobdingnag, of the life in his own
country, the trade, the wars, the conflicts in religion, the political parties, the king remarks
that the history of Gulliver's country seems to be a series of conspiracies, rebellions, murders,
revolutions and banishments etc. Kind condemns the fatal use of gunpowder and the books
written on the act of governing. King mocks at the human race of which Gulliver is the agent.

“The most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl
upon the surface of the earth.”

Swift here ridicules human pride and pretension. The sight is, indeed, horrible and disgusting.
Among the beggars is a woman with a cancer in her breast.

“It stood prominent six feet, and could not be less than sixteen in circumference … spots
and pimples that nothing could appear more nauseous.”

There is a man with a huge tumor in his neck; another beggar has wooden legs. But the most
hateful sight is that of the lice crawling on their clothes. This description reinforces Swift
views of the ugliness and foulness of the human body.

In the third voyage to Laputa, there is a satire on human intellect, human mind and on
science, philosophy and mathematics. However, his satire is not very bitter. We are greatly
amused by the useless experiments and researches, which are going on at the academy of
Projectors in Lugado. Here scientists wants to extract sunbeams out of cucumbers, to convert
human excrement into its original food, to build house from the roof downward to the
foundation, to obtain silk from cobwebs and to produce books on various subjects by the use
of machine without having to exert one’s brain.

“Their heads were inclined either to the right or to the left, one of their eyes turned
inward, and the other directly up to Zenith.”

Swift amuses us by making a fun of the people whose sole interests are music and geometry.

“They made a lot of theories but practically nill.”

Swift here ridicules scientists, academics, planers, intellectual, in fact, all people who
proceed, only according to theory which are useless when they come to actual practice. He
satirizes historian and literary critics though Gulliver’s interviews with the ghosts of famous
dead. The point f satire is that historian often distorts facts and literary critics often
misinterpret great authors like Homer and Aristotle.

In the fourth voyage to Houyhnhnms, there is a bitter poignant satire on human moral
shortcomings. Voyage contains some of the most corrosive and offensive satire on mankind.
The description of the Yahoos given to us by Gulliver is regrettable.

“Yet I confess I never say any sensitive being so detestable on all accounts; and the
more I came near them, the more hateful they grew.”

By contrast, the Houyhnhnms are noble and benevolent horses who are governed by reason
and lead an ordered life. It is, indeed, a bitter criticism on the human race to be compared by
the Houyhnhnms. The satire deepens when Gulliver gives an account, to the master
Houyhnhnms, of the events in his country. He tells him that war in European countries was
sometimes due to the ambition of kings and sometimes due to the corruption of the ministers.
He speaks of the numerous deadly weapons, employed by European nations for destructive
purposes. Many people in his country ruin themselves by drinking, gambling and debauchery
and many are guilty of murders, theft, robbery, forgery and rape. The master speaks of the
Yahoo’s love of shinning stones, their gluttony and their weakness for liquor. The master also
speaks of the lascivious behaviour of the female Yahoos. By contrast, the Houyhnhnms are
excellent beings.

“Here was neither physician to destroy my body not lawyer to ruin my fortune; no
informer to watch my words and actions … here were no … backbiters, pickpockets,
highwaymen, house-breakers … politicians, wits … murderers, robbers … no cheating
shop-keeper or mechanics, no pride, vanity or affectation.”

They hold meetings at which the difficulties of their population are discussed and solved.
They regulate their population and do not indulge in sexual intercourse merely for pleasure.

“Everything is calculated as the Plato’s Utopian land ‘The Republican’.”

Swift’s purpose here is to attribute to horses certain qualities which would normally be
expected in human beings but which are actually lacking in them. Gulliver’s reaction o
Houyhnhnms fills him so much admiration for them and with so much hatred and disgust for
human beings that he has no desire even to return to his family.

Thus we see that “Gulliver’s Travels” is a great piece of art containing social satire in it.
Every satirist is at heart a reformist. Swift, also, wants to reform the society by pinpointing
the vices and shortcoming in it. And he very successfully satirizes on political tactics,
physical awkwardness, intellectual fallacies and moral shortcomings.