Houyhnhnm fields of oats". The Houyhnhnms are rational, equine beings and are masters of the land, contrasting strongly with the Yahoos, savage humanoid creatures who are no better than beasts of burden, or livestock. Whereas the Yahoos represent all that is bad about humans, Houyhnhnms have a settled, calm, reliable and rational society. Gulliver much prefers the Houyhnhnms' company to the Yahoos', even though the latter are biologically closer to him. It is possible to interpret the Houyhnhnms in a number of different ways. One might possibly, for example, regard them as a veiled criticism by Swift of the British Empire's
In the Land of Pain comments mockingly on his disease and its symptoms at times. Some of the most poignant moments in the book are Daudet's expressions of sympathy for his fellow sufferers. In the Land of Pain In the Land of Pain is a collection of notes by Alphonse Daudet chronicling the pain and suffering he experienced from tabes dorsalis, its effects on his relationships with friends, family, and other people, and the various drugs he took and physical treatments he underwent in his fight against the disease. Daudet originally began making these notes for a projected book, but none of the material was