A Modest Proposal
“A Modest Proposal” Essay
Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal” to mock the Irish government for doing
nothing, during a time of famine, to help the Irish people. Swift’s proposal has six main
positions. He organises the positions numerically. For instance, at the beginning of paragraphs
twenty-one through twenty-six, he starts off with “for first” , “secondly” , “thirdly” , and so
forth.
Swift’s first position is that his proposal would take care of the amount of papists. In
paragraph twenty-one, he states that Ireland is overrun with papists, or Roman Catholics. Swift
says that papists, “being the principal breeders of the nation as well as out most dangerous
enemies;” , would be of great use should his proposal be followed. What Swift is getting at, is
that the Catholic population will decrease, a plus for the Protestants of Ireland, due to the fact
that the Irish Catholics tend to produce more children for consumption. The way the paragraph
is worded almost hides his idea of eradicated Catholics. His rhetoric devices make his position
sound eloquent and like a good idea.
The second position that Swift states is that “poor tenants will have something valuable
of their own”. Paragraph twenty-two discusses how the government and landlords seize
livestock and the agriculture they farm (Swift uses cattle and corn as an example). He says
“money is a thing unknown” to the farmers. With Swift’s proposal, the poor tenants will have
the ability to make money and get food without the risk of it being taken away because of their
various debts.
In paragraph twenty-three, Swift really groups two ideas together to form his third
position. He states at the end of the paragraph, “And the money will circulate among ourselves,
the goods being entirely of our own growth and manufacture”. What he is saying, is that the
economy will increase greatly because of the “new dish”. More wealthy
Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal” to mock the Irish government for doing
nothing, during a time of famine, to help the Irish people. Swift’s proposal has six main
positions. He organises the positions numerically. For instance, at the beginning of paragraphs
twenty-one through twenty-six, he starts off with “for first” , “secondly” , “thirdly” , and so
forth.
Swift’s first position is that his proposal would take care of the amount of papists. In
paragraph twenty-one, he states that Ireland is overrun with papists, or Roman Catholics. Swift
says that papists, “being the principal breeders of the nation as well as out most dangerous
enemies;” , would be of great use should his proposal be followed. What Swift is getting at, is
that the Catholic population will decrease, a plus for the Protestants of Ireland, due to the fact
that the Irish Catholics tend to produce more children for consumption. The way the paragraph
is worded almost hides his idea of eradicated Catholics. His rhetoric devices make his position
sound eloquent and like a good idea.
The second position that Swift states is that “poor tenants will have something valuable
of their own”. Paragraph twenty-two discusses how the government and landlords seize
livestock and the agriculture they farm (Swift uses cattle and corn as an example). He says
“money is a thing unknown” to the farmers. With Swift’s proposal, the poor tenants will have
the ability to make money and get food without the risk of it being taken away because of their
various debts.
In paragraph twenty-three, Swift really groups two ideas together to form his third
position. He states at the end of the paragraph, “And the money will circulate among ourselves,
the goods being entirely of our own growth and manufacture”. What he is saying, is that the
economy will increase greatly because of the “new dish”. More wealthy