Analysis: A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

Reading Anatomy #2: “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
a) The purpose of this text is to point out the flaws in Ireland’s society, specifically the poverty brought to them by the English invasion, and this is shown through Swift’s blatant sarcasm in introducing a plan to rid of the problem. Swift is known to be an outspoken and intelligent man who is aware of his society’s faults. He especially was known to ridicule the wealthy class because he knew they were the cause of many of Ireland’s problems. During this time, a satirical writer was a sign of a socially aware person, such as Jonathan Swift or Alexander Pope. Moreover, Swift used his education and place in the societal hierarchy to try and solve these problems, so he wrote about them. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift writes about poverty in his country in order to remind those around
“A Modest Proposal” takes a falsely-serious, almost comic approach to solving a serious matter of poverty, but “The Rape of the Lock" takes a trivial matter and dramatizes it in order to solve a more significant underlying issue. The former of the two texts is meant to point out the wealthy class’s lack of sympathy for the poor people of Ireland. In comparison to that, the latter of the texts is meant to show how the wealthy class gets caught up in unimportant cases. This comparison is significant because firstly, the two authors lives overlapped, meaning they lived in similar societies due to their locations and time periods in which they lived. Secondly, the two men bring up valid points about the flaws the wealthy class has. This is important because it signifies a revolt against the wealthy class. Finally, intelligent, socially aware people are using their powers of influence to call out the upper class on their