It is human nature to strive for paradise, but is it actually attainable? There have been countless attempts to create utopian societies, but they have all ultimately failed. In his work, Gulliver's Travels, Swift recounts Gulliver's travels to various fantastic lands. Each land is very different from ours but also more similar than it would seem. In all but the last country, Gulliver discovers that other societies also experience more or less the same problems that plague human society. In the last land, however, that of the Houyhnhnms, human problems do not exist; instead, there is a much deeper problem: a complete lack of the very emotion that defines us as human. By placing Gulliver in various environments where his perspective and relationship with his surroundings change dramatically, Swift is able to outline, through the use of satire, the flaws of every society, as well as those that exist in our own - flaws that make us fall. unless a utopian ideal. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On his first voyage, Gulliver travels to the land of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are a fraction of the size of humans. Despite this obvious difference in size, however, Lilliputian society shares many attributes with that of humans. For example, their politics are very similar to those of Europeans. In their society, nobles advance based on favor gained with the king by performing useless tasks, rather than skill in a specific area. Gulliver describes this practice, saying, "When a great office is vacant...those [rope dancers]...ask the Emperor...and whoever jumps highest without falling, succeeds to the office" (28 ). Swift uses this custom to satirize the way European nobles advance themselves based on royal favor rather than ability. Since progress is not based on merit, problems arise at the government level, thus precluding a utopian society. Swift further ridicules European practices by citing the bitter war fought between the Lilliputians and their relatives, the Blefuscans. This war is fought because of disagreement over what is the right purpose for breaking an egg. Gulliver says: "[Lilliput and Blefuscu] have... been engaged in a stubborn war... It began... [when] the Emperor issued an edict, commanding all subjects... to break off the most small of their eggs" (40). This absurd reason for so much savagery and bloodshed is used to satirize the incessant European warfare. Swift believes that the constant wars between European powers are also fought for equally stupid reasons. The violence due to such absurdity is another reason why utopia has not been realized. By bringing Gulliver to Lilliput, Swift is able to expose various flaws in European and human society based on human meanness. In his next outing, Gulliver travels to Brobdingnag. Here it is a fraction of the size of the inhabitants, and not the other way around. Due to this abrupt reversal, he undergoes a complete change of perspective. Despite this change, however, he continues to observe many similarities between this new society and that of the Europeans. The inhabitants of Brobdingnag, like humans, think very highly of themselves. Gulliver, however, exposes this opinion as incorrect. He recounts their many physical defects, saying, "Their skin looked so rough and uneven, so variously colored, when I saw them up close, with a mole here and there as wide as a cutting board, and hairs hanging from it thicker than threads. from packaging, to say nothing that concerns the rest of their people"(117). He goes on to say, "...[A] very offensive odor came from their skins..." (117). Denigrating their education, Gulliver says, "The learning of these people is very deficient..." (136). There are evidently many things wrong with their society, yet they, like human beings, refuse to admit and address them. The inhabitants of Brobdingnag, like humans, deplore practices different from their own. When Gulliver tells the king of various human practices, the king responds by saying, "...I cannot help concluding that the majority of your natives are the most pernicious race of hateful little parasites that ever suffered to creep upon the surface of the Earth" (133). As humans often do, the King of Brobdingnag immediately rejects and deprecates what is different and what he does not understand. Through Gulliver's journey to this land of giants, Swift reveals the flaws that arise from the over-inflated sense of self prevalent in human society. Gulliver's next excursion takes him to Laputa, a floating island whose inhabitants fanatically believe in scientific reasoning and technology. The Laputians, however, are completely misguided in their attempt to harness the power that science can provide. They conduct ridiculous experiments like building buildings from the roof down and trying to extract sunlight from vegetables. Their clothes are also decorated with scientific symbols and their eyes point towards astrological signs. They literally can't see straight. The pursuit of knowledge through science has completely taken over their lives. Common sense has been abandoned, leaving the Laputians to blindly and foolishly pursue enlightenment. They sacrificed sense for reason and lost both. Here Swift highlights the folly of relying solely on scientific reasoning and its inability to provide the solution to the puzzle of Utopia. Also in this land Gulliver meets the Immortals. These immortals, however, do not live blissful and envied lives. Instead, their immortality is seen as an eternal curse, in which they are destined to live horrible and pathetic lives, entirely devoid of relief. Swift uses this example to show the foolishness of desiring eternal life. The journey to Laputa functions to disprove human aspirations regarding immortality and other impossibilities. Through Gulliver's ascent to this land in the sky, Swift tells the reader to lift their heads from the clouds. Gulliver's final and most significant journey takes him to the land of the Houynhnhnms. In this exotic place, he discovers two societies that exist side by side but are completely different. One company is Yahoo. The Yahoos have a beastly society, ravaged by rampant problems such as greed, lust and vulgarity. They are described as "hateful" (246), "degenerate and brutal" (248). They are driven by uninhibited emotions and live only to satisfy their primal desires. This society illustrates one extreme of humanity. If humans followed their passions without regard for the consequences and morality of their actions, this is what human society would regress to. In stark contrast to the Yahoos are the Houynhnhnms. They exist in a utopian paradise free from the problems that plague man. There are no problems that cannot be solved peacefully and easily, and there are no diseases. They have achieved perfection. They are, however, fundamentally different from humans; they lack passion and emotion. It is because of this lack of intense sensation, however, that they are able to achieve perfection. Humanity is, by definition, imperfect, because what makes us human, makes us intrinsically imperfect. By juxtaposing these two societies, Swift is able to illustrate the extremes of society: a society in which.