The historic prose Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is abundant with meaningful themes and symbols which offer readers a glimpse into life and the viewpoints of people during the time which it was written. This does not mean, however, that the themes covered are only relevant to this time period, and are no longer.
This particular theme, which dates back to ancient philosophical times, and is still a concept discussed today, is the idea of the utopia. Essentially, Gulliver’s Travels argues that the concept of a utopia is flawed with skewed privilege towards a groups, rather than the individual, and thus is not the so-called perfect world it is hyped up to be. Swift uses the behaviors of the Lilliputians and the Houyhnhnms to convey this theme.
Before the significance and justification of utopias in Gulliver’s Travels can be discussed, a brief overview of the topic is required. The concept of a utopia dates back to at least an ancient philosophical Socratic dialogue by Plato, entitled Republic, but is first officially referred to by this name in a 1516 book by Sir Thomas More, entitled Utopia.
In the book, the concept of a utopia is discussed, which is essentially an envisioned community of perfection, where there are no flaws among it or any of its citizens, who all live happily and with no problems. This of course cannot truly happen in the real world, and Jonathan Swift makes his views about utopias known extensively in Gulliver’s Travels, through the actions of the Lilliputians and the Houyhnhnms.
The theme of the utopia may be under-shadowed by other larger themes in this work, but nonetheless, it is still of paramount importance. Essentially, the viewpoint is established that utopias are not and can never be perfect, as they claim, because they have a tendency to favor the population as a whole, rather than the individual.
The Lilliputians are a representation of this, as they raise their children as a group, similar to how the utopian society functions in Plato’s Republic. Of this, it is stated in the introduction to Gulliver’s Travels that:
“The Lilliputians are portrayed almost throughout…foreshadowing the ideally ordered Houyhnhnm society.”
This, of course, occurs since they are meant to be a representation of the utopian views Plato suggested in his Republic. Similarly, later in the story, the Houyhnhnms also become a representation of the flawed utopian society. They are seen practicing family planning, a process where children are exchanged between families based on gender, so as to equalize the amount of males and females in the society.
This is intended to bring balance and harmony — and thus perfection — to the utopian society, but according to Gulliver, it does quite the opposite, coming off as creepy and actually imperfect. Gulliver even states of them that:
“…upon my Arrival hither, I was as much astonished to see the Houyhnhnms act like rational Beings.”
Here it is indicated that upon arrival he immediately felt uneasy with their way of life and was surprised to see them acting rationally. The Houyhnhnms are essentially the opposite of Gulliver, who struggles to relate himself to his own society and understand who he is individually, yet the Houyhnhnms all seem to blend together, having no essence of individuality and belonging as one group.
The fact that the Houyhnhnms appear to blend together emphasizes Swift’s view of the utopia as imperfect as it skews towards groups, rather than the individual. It is nearly impossible to favor both the group and individual equally in a society, and so a true utopia is impossible according to Swift.
It is undeniable that the theme of the utopia is quite a controversial concept, and its possibility has been discussed and debated for millennia — and Gulliver’s Travels is certainly no exception. The actions of both the Lilliputians and the Houyhnhnms are directly representative of Swift’s views of the utopia and how it is doomed to fail by its very nature.
In essence, it becomes strikingly clear in comparison to Gulliver himself that these groups behave awkwardly, and their beliefs and traditions would simply either not work in a modern, developed society, or would be extremely flawed and looked down upon. Regardless, through the actions of the Lilliputians and the Houyhnhnms, Swift demonstrates why a true utopia is impossible to achieve.
Chris is a writer and publisher who travels America, and loves doing it. He also loves pizza, video games, and sports, and can tell you a thing or two about each. Follow him on Medium to be informed of new articles.
