What aspect of human civilization does Gulliver struggle to understand?

Gulliver's journey throughout the various lands he visits serves as a means of critiquing and examining human nature and society. His struggle to comprehend the intricacies of social interactions and morals highlights the confusion he experiences when faced with the diverse values and norms of different cultures. In each of the societies he encounters, Gulliver witnesses behaviors and customs that challenge his understanding of ethics, relationships, and social hierarchies. For example, in Lilliput, he observes the absurdity of political disputes centered on trivial matters, illustrating how societal norms can lead to irrational conflicts.

This complexity of social dynamics is a recurring theme in "Gulliver's Travels," where Swift utilizes Gulliver's naive perspective to reflect on the irrationalities of human behavior. Gulliver's difficulty in grasping these social intricacies underscores a central message of the narrative: that human interactions are often contradictory and fraught with moral ambiguity. This lack of understanding ultimately leads him to a sense of alienation, as he struggles to reconcile the behaviors he observes with his own beliefs about morality and social order.