A classic of English literature, Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) follows the subgenre of travelers' tales and presents an indictment severe against human nature through satire. Swift uses satire in Part IV – “A Journey to the Land of the Houyhnhnms” to represent human and animal entities. In the fourth voyage, Swift blames the human species, but a closer reading of the text reveals that Swift may also be satirizing the Houyhnhnms and the traveler protagonist, Gulliver. Swift ridicules Gulliver and his ideals which make him perceive the Houyhnhnms as a rational and intelligent species compared to the Yahoos, the humans. The following discussion examines the depiction of Houyhnhnms and Yahoos as examples used by Swift to explain the human condition. . However, the newspaper reaffirms that Swift maintained a conscious distance between himself and the protagonist, Gulliver, and that, as a result, each had a different perception of humanity. The article also focuses on the use of satire, irony and metaphor as tools to compare the vices and indifferent attitude of human nature. Understanding the dichotomy between Gulliver's and Swift's views is necessary for a critical reading of the Fourth Voyage. The reader must dissociate or alienate Gulliver's perceptions and opinions as his own and not necessarily those of the author Swift. By the time Gulliver reaches the end of his journey and before being saved by the Portuguese ship captain named Pedro de Mendez, his character undergoes several shades of change and in the end, readers see him as an obnoxious misanthrope, a object of ridicule. Again, identifying and accepting the intelligence of the Houyhnhnms (the horses) and middle of paper......while deeply human behavior and attempts to enlighten readers and motivate them to come out of their complacent position. , and strive to reach the pinnacle of human capabilities. Indeed, Swift does not intend for all of humanity to adopt Gulliver's passive attitude and withdraw from humanity altogether. His intention is to shock people and rid them of their pride and rid themselves of all deception. In other words, humans should not think of themselves as completely virtuous or completely evil. The "judicious reader" has the responsibility to analyze his human condition and find a middle ground between becoming Houyhnhnms and Yahoos.References: 1. Bullitt, John M. Jonathan Swift and the Anatomy of Satire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1966.2. Quick, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. New York: Signet Classics of Penguin Publishers, pub. 1999.