Satire produces difficulties, not certainties. When used in prose form, it transforms an idea that seems preposterous into a believable concept that is to be accepted by the reader. In Gulliver's Travels, author Jonathan Swift uses satire to do just that. He takes a fairy-tale like setting and makes it acceptable to the audience, only to leave them with questions about their own doings. Through Gulliver's eyes, he illustrates a society that does not conform to the normal ideas of the human race. Gulliver is left by his shipmates on a far off island and discovers a culture most likely unknown to the rest of the world. It is run by Houyhnhnms, governing horses on the island that practice the true ideas of reason. Also inhabiting this island are Yahoos, formidable, deformed animals who exhibit the worst aspects of the human race. Swift uses these two character types to do two things. Firstly, he uses the truly vile characteristics of humanity, both physically and internally, and expresses them in an exaggerated way trough the actions of the Yahoos. Secondly, he depicts the Houyhnhnms as characters of true reason. As this satire was written during the Enlightenment Period, many people of the time strived to be truly enlightened, which meant acting solely from a reason-based logic. Thus, these characters represent a superior way of life to Gulliver. Swift uses these human like characteristics to allow the audience to easily connect themselves to both character types: the vile aspects of humanity that everyone posses, and the feelings of the Enlightenment that everyone strived to uphold. Swift however, does not use these characters to educate the readers, or leave them with a moral. His purpose here is solely to create questions, to leave the audience wondering not only about the story, but themselves and their society as well.
             As Gulliver first lands on the island, the first beings he encounters are the Yahoos...