What is the general theme of Gulliver's Travels?

The general theme of , to which Swift returns time and time again, tackling it from
different perspectives in four different books, is the absurdity, wickedness and folly of
mankind.

In Lilliput, the principal source of theis the diminutive stature of
the Lilliputians, which makes all their pomposity and their concerns of statecraft seem trivial.
The same object is achieved by the opposite means in Brobdingnag, where Gulliver is confronted
with a race of giants. Here, the Brobdingnagians are not the object of satire, but their wise
and benevolent king questions Gulliver about the customs of his homeland, and this provides
Swift with the opportunity to be very scathing at the expense of English culture and
society.

The third book satirizes the human quest for arcane knowledge in
the depiction of the flying island of Laputa and the Grand Academy of Lagado. This is perhaps
Swift's weakest and most mean-spirited attempt at satire, since most people would regard
the...