A Modest Proposal - Analytic Response

A Modest Proposal – Analytical Response

By Garry Jenkins

‘A Modest Proposal’, written by Jonathan Swift in 1729, is a satirical text responding to the social issues in Ireland relating to the increasing population, leading to more homeless beggars struggling to support themselves let alone their many children. Swift’s clever use of irony, sarcasm, paralipsis, hyperbole and evocative language helps convey his point of view. Swift proposes that the poor should sell their children in order to obtain a profit. He utilizes his work to satirically place much of the blame on England in order to help the defenceless poor beggars.

Swift is using the majority of satirical techniques. The whole essay is an example of grim irony and understatement. This irony is the dominant figure of speech and creates a totally opposite meaning of what Swift is trying to convey. The reader is shocked when the idea of eating offspring is announced, he also believes that selling and eating the children will ease the economy and presents financial calculations to support his proposal; and to complement a horrific statement, he offers cooking advice on how to prepare and serve the newborn offspring. Metaphors are used throughout the text, an example includes ‘A child just dropped from its dam’, emphasizing that the child was not literally dropped from its dam, but instead the child came out of the mothers whom. An interesting device used in the text is paralipsis where Swift is emphasizing beliefs by pretending to ignore it, for example when he says: ‘Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: Of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: Of using neither clothes, nor household furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture: Of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury...’. Hyperbole is used throughout the text to over exaggerate his ideas and beliefs, for example, ‘eating children’ and the ‘deplorable state of the kingdom’. Swift’s use of evocative language is designed to shock the reader, for example, ‘children in rags’ and ‘begging for sustenance’. Swift is not serious, and, although the tone of the text seems to be sad and sombre, it has a very serious message.

The vocabulary used in this satirical text are carefully chosen to convey Swift’s point of view, which is that the disadvantaged people of Ireland should not have to beg or steal for a living, especially the mothers and children, who should be out working or going to school. Swift begins by subtly engaging the reader’s attention by addressing a very real problem: the proliferation of beggars accompanied by malnourished children in the deplorable state of the Kingdom. Much of the proposal’s shock value derives from the fact that the first portion of the essay describes the plight of starving beggars in Ireland, so that the reader is unprepared for the surprise of Swift's solution when he states, "A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."

Swift values freedom from oppression and the opportunity for all people to have a good working life. He also values Irish independence and empowerment. The target of criticism is the English Government but also at the Irish for not taking any action to deal with the problem, although they probably could not have done anything because their lives are restricted by English policies and laws. His beliefs are that something drastic will have to happen in order for things to change. While Swift’s proposal bemoans the bleak situation of an Ireland almost totally subject to England’s exploitation, he also expresses his utter disgust at the Irish people seeming to have the inability to mobilise on their own behalf. The proposal is showing that the English Government, Protestants and the Irish are the cause of the kingdom’s lamentable state. Swift’s compassion for the misery of the Irish people is severe, and he has also included a critique on their incompetence in solving their own issues.

In conclusion to Swift’s unique proposal, it can be said that there is a deeper meaning behind this social issue. Swift’s point of view he is conveying is that the disadvantaged people of Ireland should not have to beg or steal for a living. Swift cleverly uses irony and satirical techniques to position the reader into many emotions, such as sorrow when he is describing the poor and the shock when he announces his ‘humble’ proposal of consuming young babies or selling them for money. Swift is aiming his ideas mostly at the English Government because of the shameless exploitation of the Irish Kingdom and its people, although some blame goes to the Irish themselves for not acting against their social issue. There is no argument that the kingdom was in a deplorable state, and that a miracle has to occur to repair it.