Themes in Gulliver’s Travels:

Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is a complex book and hosts a number of themes. Satirizing the human condition is one of the major themes of the book. Swift exposes the flaws of human nature through a microscope. The work is often regarded as misanthropic anatomy of human nature; a mockery of our society. Swift uses the tale of a susceptible traveler exploring strange lands to reveal the innate * depravity and moral degeneration of human beings. In the first Book,

Swift exposes the corruption of Lilliputians, miniature human beings. The Lilliputians are illogical and spiteful. Pride, selfishness, and hypocrisy of human beings are exposed and criticized in the first Book. In the second Book, Gulliver as a proud man is attacked. The frailties of English society and government are subtly exposed. The third Book satirizes the intellectual part of man– man’s tendency to overlook the limitations of his intellect. In the Book, Swift mocks unproductive activities in the name of scientific inventions. The fourth Book bitterly exposes. the precarious human condition. Man’s debased state is represented by the Yahoos, human-like animals, who are dirty, savage, and barbaric, with no capacity for reason. In the figures of Yahoos, Swift exposes the barbarism of humanity.

Politics is another theme that is central to Swift’s book. The first Book of “Gulliver’s Travels” is a complex political allegory based on Swift’s own experience of politics during Queen Anne’s reign. Many of the happenings and characters in this section can be traced back to a number of significant events and personalities in English politics during the years from about 1708 to 1715. The petty Lilliputian Emperor represents the worst kind of governor, pompous and too easily influenced by his counselors’ selfish ambitions. He is also a stand-in for King George I, from his identification with the Whig party (the fictional Low Heels) to his betrayal of his friend and helper, Gulliver (who represents Swift and his Tory friends Oxford and Bolingbroke), to his ridiculous means of choosing his advisors and rewarding them with meaningless ribbons (which represent titles and other useless favors bestowed by George I on his cronies). Swift also explores the duties and purpose of government in Parts I, II, and IV. By having Gulliver discuss his system of government and: compare it to the ones he discovers, Swift raises questions about the government’s role in public education, provisions for the poor, and distribution of wealth.

Gulliver’s Travels is primarily satire. The book is a satire on four aspects of man – the political, the physical, the intellectual, and the moral. It is not only a satire on human vices and follies but also a satire on government and politics. English government and politics are categorically satirized. Swift also does not lose the slightest opportunity in launching his satirical butt upon women. He also satirizes various professions like lawyers. The book involves contentions like whether the Gulliver’s misanthropy reflects Swift’s attitude towards humankind or whether Swift is a misogynist. The idea of a utopia, the idea of a perfect society, is also hinted at in the final part of the book.