tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246797287811539521.post1058435526989936972..comments2022-04-07T10:37:46.850-05:00Comments on English 208b: The Impossible, Perverse and Strange: There is no Heaven on EarthDahlia Porterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09174548009168267294noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246797287811539521.post-59843505303820886822010-02-11T00:41:50.915-06:002010-02-11T00:41:50.915-06:00The first part of your post points to the importan...The first part of your post points to the importance of the act of naming and language in Gulliver's Travels. By quoting the passage about the Houyhnhms's language: “their Language expressed the Passions very well," you draw attention to the role that words and language play in creating reality. This was an interesting moment in the text for me - usually an author (as a crafter and manipulator of words) is constantly highlighting the impact that word and naming can have on the physical world, or the absolute failure of words in being able to describe such abstracts as emotions. In this case, however, Swift seems to be suggesting that the agency one normally associates with the act of naming has broken down -- the Houynhnhms have the language to describe their passions, but this is not enough to create the passions in them. Reason carried to its extreme has supplanted the transformative power of language in this society.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246797287811539521.post-85049586562208682662010-02-10T21:15:08.404-06:002010-02-10T21:15:08.404-06:00Kathryn, I agree with you that Swift is really sat...Kathryn, I agree with you that Swift is really satirizing the idolatry of reason and its separation from emotion, but I think he does more than encourage us to seek balance between the two. We spoke about this in class, but I think he is really pushing us to question the rational of institutions and other people. I don't think Swift feels that there is one perfect combination of the two; instead it seems that it is defined by the individual. The confusion caused by Swift's contradictory satire and sharp reversals of attitude allow each reader to take from it what they will and focus on the criticism that seems most important. Doesn't this allow each reader to individually question there own environment? You claim that eugenics is wrong (I don't disagree) but there are, for example, many scientists who think it would be beneficial to eradicate genetic diseases from the population. So I agree that Swift wants us to find balance between emotion and rationality, but I also think you can take it one step farther.Celina Jacobihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15389444097080518806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246797287811539521.post-30401996237078594382010-02-10T15:56:44.819-06:002010-02-10T15:56:44.819-06:00Kathryn,
I really enjoyed reading this and found i...Kathryn,<br />I really enjoyed reading this and found it to be a very fresh insight into the story, a theme that I sort of picked up on, but this post explains everything so well. I especially thought you made a great point about how the Houyhnhnms are so rational that they cannot love with their heart, and that a world without love is just as bad, if maybe worse, than a world without reason. Great post!Clara Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06287895677965797357noreply@blogger.com