if u take english in college u'll learn about the author, swift, one of the big names of the era.
if you want food for thought, u can think of this book as a perspective on foreign cultures at a time when western europe was coming into colonialism and coming into contact with many different cultures. travel narratives were very popular at the time.
btw, i think the funny thing about the word utterly is that its one that i used when i was in high school, and then thought it was so banal, and then now i love it again