The scene that appears in Gulliver's Travels in part IV made me laugh at what was going on. Apparently, some horses appear with a way of being that shows the personification that Swift is using on them. They actually have some sort of intelligence that makes them act as human beings would act. "They were under great perplexity about my shoes and stockings, which they felt very often, neighing to each other, and using various gestures, not unlike those of a philosopher, when he would attempt to solve some new and difficult phenomenon." pg 175. This scene can't but be a satirical scene. Seeing this piece makes you laugh, and when you know the way in which Swift writes and how he doesn't take things seriously, you know it's meant to make you laugh. Thinking about how two horses may come out in the middle of a forest, begin to inspect you with their hooves, make gestures about what they are seeing, and understand what is going on at the moment as to act accordingly to what’s going on is simply something you would never imagine, and therefore makes you laugh. And this is a mixture of irony, absurdity, and target. How ironic is it for a horse that can actually reason, make gestures, and act as a human to inspect a man instead of the man inspecting such an unbelievable creature such as this one? And isn't it absurd anyways that in the middle of a forest a horse comes in and suddenly begins to act as a human? But then there must be a target for this.
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As you read further ahead you learn that these creatures are actually smart creatures called Houyhnhnm's that rule these lands and control human beings that are referred to as Yahoo's. You see how it is that these creatures treat the humans, and why it is they felt so curious towards Gulliver. The humans that were there were set completely off to what we think that humans act. Maybe this was the point brought by Swift in introducing something as absurd as a human acting horse race into the story. By showing us how the humans (or Yahoo's) acted in this place and why it was so strange that these new human acted different from them, he shows us how he sees human nature. He may be trying to show us that people act in a certain way because that’s their nature, and how sometimes it's not the best we can imagine, but then might also try to show us that there are exceptions to the rules as in the case of Gulliver, where he is completely different to what anyone in that place had ever seen.
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As you read further ahead you learn that these creatures are actually smart creatures called Houyhnhnm's that rule these lands and control human beings that are referred to as Yahoo's. You see how it is that these creatures treat the humans, and why it is they felt so curious towards Gulliver. The humans that were there were set completely off to what we think that humans act. Maybe this was the point brought by Swift in introducing something as absurd as a human acting horse race into the story. By showing us how the humans (or Yahoo's) acted in this place and why it was so strange that these new human acted different from them, he shows us how he sees human nature. He may be trying to show us that people act in a certain way because that’s their nature, and how sometimes it's not the best we can imagine, but then might also try to show us that there are exceptions to the rules as in the case of Gulliver, where he is completely different to what anyone in that place had ever seen.
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Whey: The watery part of milk that separates from the curds, as in the process of making cheese.
Comely: Pleasing and wholesome in appearance; attractive.
Sorrel: A sorrel-colored horse or other animal.
Nag: To annoy by constant scolding, complaining, or urging.
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