Monday, May 27, 2013
man vs. animal
What separates humans from animals? So far the novel has cited rationality as a key difference. But to make the Houyhnhnms similar to humans, Swift adds more small characteristics such as speech, eating from separate bowls, cleanliness, and a stable shelter. He also makes the Yahoos into animals by their excessive hair, eating habits, and But many animals do a few of these "human" actions, and many humans behave like "animals" from time to time, so the line between humans and animals is blurred. Personally, I think there is no difference and that we are just rational animals able to make conscious decisions and rely a little less on instinct.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
The way Swift personified the horses to be Houyhnhnms was not to make them like humans, but to make them better than humans. Their society based on reason and benevolence was a utopia which is unachievable with humans due to our inherent greed. Human primal instinct and deep evil urges were amplified in the Yahoos as well to make us worse than any animal we know. This was how Swift made his points.
ReplyDelete