A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

Desperate times often call for desperate measures, and proposals of desperate measures are often met with swift criticism if they are found to be without rational thought and merit. It is unlikely that anyone in their right mind would consider, for any amount of time, the proposal of rearing children, or properly raising them, as food to help alleviate poverty-stricken Ireland in 1729. Yet, Jonathan Swift’s suggestion was satirical brilliance, and it was a modest proposal for illuminating the cause of Ireland’s woes. The proposal was not actually eating children but placing a mirror for the reader to reflect upon. The target audience of landlords, gentlemen, and other people of stature were more than accustomed to stepping on the poor on

The satirical essay “A Modest Proposal” written and published in in 1729 by an Anglo- Irish man named Jonathan Swift, in response to the worsening conditions of Ireland, was one of his most controversial and severe writings of his time. The narrator in Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal” argues for a drastic and radical end to poverty in Ireland. Swift’s proposal suggests that the needy, poor people of Ireland can ease their troubles simply by selling their children as food to the rich and make them useful, benefitting the public. With the use of irony, exaggeration and ridicule Swift mocks feelings and attitudes towards the poor people of Ireland and the politicians. However, with the use of satire Swift creates a

In the "The Modest Proposal," by Jonathan Swift he discusses a solution to poverty in Ireland during the 18th century. Swift’s bizarre, yet well thought out plan for helping families of Ireland, who were in poverty and desperately in the need of money, was fattening children and selling them to the wealthy landowners. He thought that this would be an excellent way for children not to be a burden on their parents but be beneficial. Swift even went on to write a pamphlet telling the parents just how they could fatten their babies and the perfect age and weight for the kids to be before selling them. One of Swift’s friends goes on to give some helpful/ tasty ways that the kids can be cooked before eaten. This does not only financially support Ireland, but it also improves the social, political, and economic problems. Swift didn’t see why anyone in Ireland would disagree with such a brilliant plan that could benefit them in so many ways, except the being eaten of course. Swift even goes on to say that by shrinking the population of kids it would just be less subjects to worry about ruling over and less chaos. Swift’s idea of fattening kids to sell as food to the wealthier landowners of Ireland was one of the most brilliant solutions to solve all of the problems being brought about in Ireland.

In the 1700s, Ireland was under the control of the British. They also owned Northern Ireland. The British were causing immense numbers of problems for the Irish people because their policies were leaving people homeless and starving. Jonathan Swift was a man who was born and raised in Ireland during these times. He engrossed himself in Irish politics especially during this time. Swift saw the struggles of the Irish people and became outraged by their conditions. He decided to fight against the British’s actions in a unique way, hoping that it would end this time of extreme poverty for the Irish. To do so, Swift wrote the satirical essay “A Modest Proposal”, using the voice of an upper class

During the late seventeenth century the English controlled-parliament had legislated several ideas and laws that restricted the rights of the Ireland Catholics. This caused the Ireland economy to slowly fall apart as many people discarded the issues. However, Jonathan Swift took advantage of the overlooked laws and went on to write the essay, A Modest Proposal. In this writing piece Swift lodged a ridiculous proposal. In doing so he manifested a clear cut image of how backwards and corrupted the state of Ireland really was in the hands of the English. Swift’s essay employed his insincerity, sarcasm, verbal irony, and rhetorics that depicted the conditions of Ireland and its people. However his tone of the whole essay along with his insincerity illustrated the comical effect of the proposal to make his argument seem unserious.

"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift is a satirical essay that is focused at exposing the dreadful life the poor citizens of Ireland had to go through. The author evidently blames the wealthy individuals for the situation.Swift, with a strategical and powerful use of rhetorical devices such as irony and appeal to emotions, effectively points out the real solution for the horrific condition of Ireland.

Jonathan Swift was a very crafty writer for his time. Living in 16th and 17th century Ireland must not have been easy considering the history. During this time there was a famine and England was watching and waiting for the downfall of this country. Swift was a satirical writer who was very good at his craft. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift introduces a lunatic idea that his country should “eat the children.” He is, of course, joking, but he makes a huge statement in saying this. It shows that the government would rather ignore or blame the problem on someone else rather than fixing the problem itself. This reading relates to an audience in that Swift is trying to let the people of his time see what a horrible government the people of Ireland live in. This argument mattered to the people of Ireland and it should matter today because it shows how a government can say it takes care of its people when it truly does not. “A Modest Proposal,” is a very valuable piece because it proves that it just takes one voice to open the eyes of others, and I believe that Swift did an excellent job using the rhetorical triangle because his satirical masterpiece made people think about how they were being treated by the government.

During the 17th and early 18th centuries there was a roar of wittiness and logic that came to the forefront of literature in the form of multiple well known Horatian, Juvenalian and Menippean satires (wiseGEEK). The essayist often brought a profound examination and keen persuasive rhetoric that exposed insincere idiocies and outlined the moral and economic decay (wiseGEEK). Satirical works often highlight ideals of reason, order, and social awareness, and thus these works contain a persistent undertone of civility (Holmes). The author superficially uses a façade of conventional traditions, edicts, egotism, and moral codes to incite a new sense of moral and political superiority (Holmes). The satirical literary device was at its peak during the Neoclassical Period in which the enlightenment writer, Jonathan Swift, was exceptional at this writing style (Jokinen). He excelled at rebuking Britain’s flaws and pointed out the hypocrisy at the time by extensive ridicule of the conventual school of thought. Jonathan Swift’s, A Modest Proposal is an inspiration to many aspiring satirical authors, as he is admired as a rhetorical virtuoso that shed light on the profuse moral and political decay. He also exposed the corruption in society by using a sly, yet polished voice. An example of a modern work inspired by A Modest Proposal, is Dan Geddes, A Modest Proposal to Convert Shopping Malls into Prisons. Though this is seen obviously in the Dan Geddes’s title of his essay, he also uses

In Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” he addresses the problem of extreme poverty and social unrest in Ireland in the early 1700s. He accordingly provides a solution: selling the children of poor men and women to be eaten. He gives this solution in the context of satire. While he may not truly believe that citizens of Ireland should eat children, he does believe that the commoners should take drastic action if the government will not aid them. To show his readers what the purpose of this essay is, he begins by providing many facts, statistics, and estimates about the destitute children and the poverty in the slums of Ireland. He moreover gives many reasons why Ireland desperately needs this, and how it will even solve things past financial difficulties. Lastly, he assures his readers that he will not reap any of the benefits he claims will be available upon use of this practice.

Swift was said to “declare at one stage in his life: ‘I am not of this vile country (Ireland), I am an Englishman’” (Hertford website). In his satire “A Modest Proposal,” he illustrates his dislike not only for the Irish, but for the English, organized religions, rich, greedy landlords, and people of power. It is obvious that Swift dislikes these people, but the reader must explore from where his loathing for the groups of people stems. I believe Swift not only wanted to attack these various types of people to defend the defenseless poor beggars, but he also had personal motives for his writings that stemmed from unconscious feelings, located in what Sigmund Freud would call the id, that Swift

So in conclusion things were not going well in Ireland during the 1720’s. And after many attempts of giving reasonable solutions, one Mr. Swift decided the best way to get their attention would be to come up with a truly preposterous solution. A solution so crazy that they couldn’t possibly ignore it. That attention grabbing solution became known as “A Modest Proposal” in which Mr. Swift states that to save Ireland, people should start eating year old toddlers. It is in this essay that he challenges the status quo of his

Johnathan Swift’s book A Modest Proposal is about the poor conditions of the Irish families in 1729. All the families are really poor and have way to many kids, so Swift suggests that these poor Irish families should fatten up their children and sell them to the rich English land owners. He makes the argument that the children should be sold into meat markets as early as 1 year old, as long as they are fed a lot in that first year.

At the point when a great many people have an issue with the way something is being done they come ideal out and say it clearly. Jonathan Swift tries an alternate approach keeping in mind the end goal to demonstrate his dismay with how Ireland is being run and the nation’s absence of thoughts on the best way to illuminate the social issues that are influencing it. Jonathan Swift, an eighteenth century comedian and writer, composed the exposition "A Modest Proposal" as a mocking approach to indicate individuals that they have not concocted pertinent or working plans to understand social issues, for example, fetus removal, overpopulation, and neediness. Through his terribly wry thought of savagery to take care of the issues of Ireland he can

In a “Modest Proposal” Swift expresses his grief as well as irritation of Ireland’s politicians, the hypocrisy of the wealthy, the tyranny of the English, and the degradation in which he witnesses the Irish people living. While Swift explains how England continuously exploits Ireland, he also expresses the utter disgust he finds in the inability of the Irish to help themselves. Swift mourns and shows compassion for the Irish people but critiques both for the issue at hand. (Sparknotes). Through this ironic essay of surprises and shocks, swift challenges the reader consider and critically analyze policies, motivation, and moral values. Jonathan Swift states in the essay that

In his biting political satire called ?A Modest Proposal,? Jonathan Swift seeks to create empathy for the poor through his ironic portrayal of the children of Irish beggars as commodities that can be regulated and even eaten. He is able to poke fun at the dehumanization of the multitudes of poor people in Ireland by ironically commenting on what he sees as an extension of the current situation. Swift?s essay seeks to comment on the terrible condition of starvation that a huge portion of Ireland has been forced into, and the inane rationalizations that the rich are quick to submit in order to justify the economic inequality. He is able to highlight the absurdity of these attempted