“A Modest Proposal” itself is ironic since no one can take the proposal seriously. This irony is clearly shown at the end of the story when Swift states that the proposal is not going to affect him since his children are grown and his wife is unable to have any more children. It would unfathomable to think that a human being would want to partake in eating another human being. Therefore, Swift obviously had no intention of perusing this proposal. In my opinion, the real thesis of this essay is generating attention to the poverty issue in Ireland. Swift was drawing attention to the vast poverty issue that we all face all over the world.
What are the “six points” Swift outlines in support of his “Modest Proposal?”
First, it will decrease the number of dangerous Catholics. Second, it will give the poor some property. Third, it will increase the nation’s overall wealth. Fourth, the mothers will be free of the burden of bringing up children. Fifth, the new food will be welcomed in taverns and culinary circles. Sixth, it will enhance the institution of marriage as women take better care of their infants so that they may be sold, and men will take better care of their wives so that their wives can make more babies to sell.
What effect, do you think, the brutally no-nonsense tone of the “Proposal” has upon it’s readers? What (if anything) is the advantage of writing about a very serious social issue in a satirical way?
To begin with, Swift says that the Irish should not be treated like animals, he compares them to animals, as in this example: "I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs." Also, to point out that disease, famine, and substandard living conditions threaten to kill great numbers of Irish. Swift's "modest proposal" is how to solve the famine in Ireland and the social problems too. Swift says that many Americans have assured him that a healthy 1 year old child can be converted into a "nourishing and wholesome" dish to eat. This is how Swift comes up with a system of using some of the Irish children as an alternative food source, leaving many other children for breeding. He is very descriptive in the way that a child can be used in to feed a many people over a period of time. He talks about the cost of "infant flesh" and also who exactly will be eating the “infant flesh”. He talks about how much it will cost and how money will be saved by cooking the children in many different ways.
Obviously Swift is not being serious. He is using this “humor” to make a point. At first I was turned off but his writing, but then once I got more involved in the story and understood his humor, I actually enjoyed the reading.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift reaches out to the readers about social problems that the great town and county are going through. I believe Swift is trying to tell the readers in a satirical way that the government and political party are not doing anything in the country to solve the social problems. Swift believed the only way to catch their attention was to write the essay “A Modest Proposal”. Swift used satire in his essay to inform people of Ireland how high poverty, hunger, and death rates were not getting any help from the government.…
- 449 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
incompetence of Ireland's politicians, the hypocrisy of the rich, the domination of the English, and the unpleasantneses in which he sees so many Irish people living. In fixing this problem in society, he proposes to sell Dublin's poor unfortunate children into meat markets where this can be the remedy of Dublin's problems of overpopulation and unemployment. Johnathon Swift wrote "The Modest Proposal" in order to reveal that the Irish's politicians, upper class, and the…
- 701 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
This piece is about Swifts suggestion that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. By doing this he mocks the authority of the British officials.…
- 422 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” incorporates satire in his writing that exposes England’s economical exploitation of Ireland. The full title includes, “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Public” (Swift 558). His essay, very skillfully, brings shame to and sheds light upon the impoverishment of the Irish people at the hands of England’s greed for profits. He employed satire and irony as an effective tool to make the reader understand the state of oppression of the Irish using the most extreme statements. In his writing, although grotesque, Swift’s use of satire effectively confronts the abuses and shortcomings of the political and economic structure of the time, and he successfully uses sarcasm as a constructive method to criticize the social issues faced by the poor Irish natives.…
- 1172 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
Swift uses a different yet equally effective approach. He begins his essay, 'A Modest Proposal' not by introducing his proposal but by naming all the atrocities happening in Ireland that would be solved by his proposal. Swift's suggestion is that parents who are unable to support their children should sell them for to be made into food and clothing. This mock-serious intro and his detailed and calculated proposition so shock and disgust the mind that it forces Swifts audience to realize…
- 448 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
1. The persona in which Swift adopts for the modest proposal is that of someone concerned for the greater good of the land, Ireland, on the very outskirt of reading. Although as one dives into this proposal, they become bombarded with irrational means of dealing with this assumed problem; the plentiful source of beggars in Ireland. One becomes consumed with disgust yet intrigued by its soundness in reasoning. Swift creates a tone that juxtaposes its message, which further confuses the reader in his irrational yet balanced argument. On one hand he seems psychotic, on the other he appears to be a profound visionary.…
- 549 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
In our society, satire is among the most prevalent of comedic forms. This was not always true, for before the 18th century, satire was not a fully developed form. Satire, however, rose out of necessity; writers and artists needed a way to ambiguously criticize their governments, their churches, and their aristocrats. By the 18th century, satire was hugely popular. Satire as an art form has its roots in the classics, especially in the Roman Horace's Satires. Satire as it was originally proposed was a form of literature using sarcasm, irony, and wit, to bring about a change in society, but in the eighteenth century Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and William Hogarth expanded satire to include politics, as well as art. The political climate of the time was one of tension. Any criticism of government would bring harsh punishments, sometimes exile or death. In order to voice opinions without fear of punishment, malcontented writers turned to Satire. Voltaire's Candide and Swift's Modest Proposal are two examples of this new genre. By creating a fictional world modeled after the world he hated, Voltaire was able to attack scientists, and theologians with impunity. Jonathan Swift created many fictional worlds in his great work, Gulliver's Travels, when he constantly drew parallels to the English government.…
- 1403 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The late 1600s and early 1700s in particular were a difficult time for Ireland. Catholics made up most of the Irish poor who constituted 80 percent of the population and owned less than one-third of the land. As the Protestant English landowners took over in the 1700s, the Irish Catholics dove deeper into lives of famine and poverty. In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift presents several claims and supporting evidence that the consuming of the Irish nation’s growing number of children will solve the poverty epidemic as well as decrease religious enemies.…
- 555 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Jonathan Swift, a celebrated name during the eighteenth century, was an economist, a writer, and a cleric who was later named Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Although Swift took on many different roles throughout his career, the literary form of satire seemed to be his realm of expertise. Because satire flourished during the eighteenth century, Jonathan Swift is arguably one of the most influential political satirists of his time. In one of his famous essays, A Modest Proposal, Swift expresses his anger and frustration towards the oppression of the Irish by the English government. In order to gain attention from his audience, Swift proposes the outrageous thesis that the solution to Ireland’s problem of poverty is to feed children of the poor to the wealthy, aristocratic families. To whom Swift is directing his satire…
- 1309 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
Even before the essay, Swift implements his 'dark humor ' with his title. A Modest Proposal is truly anything but modest. The absurdities he uses to portray his solutions to all of Ireland 's problems. For example, offering suggestions of cannibalism is outrageous, yet follows still remains consistent with 'dark humor. ' The narrator says, "A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter"(385). He uses this and many other absurd scenarios in order to support his 'dark humor. 'Hidden amongst all the rhetorical tricks, lies a true moral theme. The speaker 's ludicrous solutions to Ireland 's problems cause the reader to become aware of the extent of the dilemma. Tremendously disgusted with the speaker 's solutions, the readers protest to the inhumane living conditions of the Irish lower-class. In order to clear all doubt against Swift 's proposal, he addresses the problem of possibly destroying the Irish race if their infants are all sacrificed. Swift proposes saving a number of children, strictly for procreation. The narrator says, "I do therefore humbly offer it to the public consideration that of the hundred and twenty thousand children already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed; whereof only one fourth part to be males, which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle, or swine; and my reason is that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages; therefore, one male will be sufficient to serve four females" (384). In the midst of all the absurd proposals, Swift also introduces his genuine reforms. He includes discouraging vanity, taxing…
- 1334 Words
- 6 Pages
Better Essays -
nothing, during a time of famine, to help the Irish people. Swift’s proposal has six main…
- 704 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
"A Modest Proposal" begins with a description of the state of 18th century Irish life. Ireland was a place where children too often became beggars or thieves to sustain themselves or their families, women had abortions because they could not afford to raise children, few jobs were available to the workforce, and landlords abused poor tenants. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift proposes we…
- 761 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The art of procrastination has troubled high school kids for quite some time now. Im sitting here typing my own essay at the eleventh hour, hoping that as the deadline approaches I can piece together an essay to save my grade. “Procrastination is for the efficient at heart”, this quote captures the procrastinators only strength: the ability to make the most out of the time they have. Most students will crack as the pressure of meeting the deadline with quality work overbears them, as they regretfully wish they spent their time wiser. Few will rise up to the challenge and meet the standards, but what separates the students who succeed and those who miserably fail?…
- 840 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
Assignment: After reading Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” write your own half-serious satirical solution to a problem in modern American society.…
- 500 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Jesminder Bhamra (Parminder K. Nagra) lives in London with her traditional parents. Her father (Anupam Kher) and mother (Shaheen Khan) are thrilled to have their eldest daughter Pinky (Archie Panjabi) marrying a nice Indian boy. Jess isn't interested in things like that; she's more concerned with soccer and fantasizing playing next to her idol David Beckham. Her parents are not fond of this hobby, but as long as it does not interfere with her future, they grudgingly go along with it. Then events set up a path for Jess that will interfere with her parents' idea of their daughter's future. Jess is recruited by Jules (Keira Knightley) for a non-professional league. The coach Joe (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers) is impressed with Jess' skills and agrees with Jules that she would be an asset to the team. Her parents find out and do not approve. Her mother attempts to replace the love for sports…
- 671 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays