. "were observed to be the most unteachable of all brutes" (Swift 227). Here we see how Gulliver abandons religion as a teaching tool and a way to coexist with his fellow man. He believes that society cannot only function without religion but that it can do so quite well. Gulliver learns he is not what he thought he was and he is not as spectacular as he wanted to be. He realizes that he is from the very race that he considered repulsive and imperfect. Ross asserts that, "Gulliver, "trying to be a rational animal, reveals that he is not wholly so, but only capable of reason, in a limited Houyhnhnm way" (Ross xiii). This is the thing that drives Gulliver to madness. The Houyhnhnms' rejection of him is devastating. He discovers that if he thinks the human race is disgusting than he must be as well. This knowledge becomes too much for him to tolerate. He wants to consider himself somehow better than his fellow...

The corruption of reason reaches a peak at this point in the novel. Gulliver realizes that perfection cannot be attained.
Gulliver's Travels presents us with a unique view of humanity. Gulliver realizes what he is but desperately wants to be accepted as something different so that he might fit in with the Houyhnhnms. However, his desire is not enough to warrant this and his religion and political education have done him a disservice because they cause him to appear more Yahoo-ish than anything else does. Gulliver's lessons teach us how silly we are when we attempt to fit into groups in which we do not belong. Gulliver did not want to be human but that was all he could ever be.

Works Cited

Ross, John. Introduction: Gulliver's Travels. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1948.

Swift, Jonathon. Gulliver's Travels. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 1948.