Satire In 'A Modest Proposal'

Satire is a kind of writing that ridicules human weaknesses, vice, or folly in order to bring about social reform. Satires often try to persuade readers to do or believe something by showing opposite view as absurd or vicious and inhumane.

Johnathan Swift published a book called A Modest Proposal. A Modest Proposal is about the impoverished Irish and that they might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies. The problem in the story is their economy is failing and they don’t know how to fix it. So, they go to the idea of eating and selling children because they are running out of food.

While I was reading A Modest Proposal, I couldn't help but feel as though I was watching Steven Colbert. The way Swift was so incredibly serious about his plan, yet it was clearly false. I feel like this work is incredibly relevant to modern times. Perhaps not in the situation, but in the ridiculousness of the solution. It reminds me of some of the solutions I have heard some politicians suggest through this current election season.

Jonathan Swift's 1729 essay, A Modest Proposal, was a true example of satire at its best. Many readers at the time rejected the essay because they failed to understand the irony. It is presently one of the most well known works of satire and is a classic example of the technique most commonly used today. The entire essay from the title down to the last sentence were meant to be taken ironically, which is a rare form, but very effective when trying getting a point across. This essay will explain why the text was meant to be taken ironically and why Swift used irony instead of straightforward statements.

Satire is frequently used as an effective mode of persuasion, and this can be demonstrated in the Essay A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. The purpose of this essay is to highlight the dehumanization in respect to the working class Irish, as well as proposing a solution that alludes to taking advantage of the poor Irish, much like the English were taking advantage of the Irish. A Modest Proposal uses graphic imagery to explain the thoughts of Jonathan Swift, an Irish-born Englishman and politician. He declares that the dead body of a nice fat baby (paragraph sixteen) would make a sufficient meal. This statement, while satirical, is extremely vivid, and causes the reader an emotional response.

The story A Modest Proposal starts by clarifying the poverty and Irish who need to invest all their energy searching for nourishment to encourage their children. The author has come up with an excellent approach to put these children to great utilize. Raise them as food for wealthy citizens. The author proceeds his theory and explains the benefits. The author states that it's a great solution because only 100,000 Irish children out of the population will be set aside for dinner.

In ‘A Modest Proposal’ the author, Jonathan Swift utilizes techniques such as satire, sarcasm, and irony to create a bigger picture to the reader. Within the poem, Swift not only presents a humorous approach to social and economic issues but does so in a well-constructed and carefully composed manner. A closer reading of the text reveals a deeper critical analysis of the social perceptions of the poor at the time. Through Swifts’ use of irony, he creates a proposal that is so extremely absurd that some may believe the piece to be genuine. By taking an issue and providing a corrupt and merciless solution, the writer uses a unique approach to catch the attention of the people of Ireland and presents them a proposal they cannot ignore. Through the use of irony, Swift creates a poem that not only criticizes social perceptions of the poor but also remarks upon the issue without directly addressing the reader.

Irony is a beautiful technique exercised to convey a message or call a certain group of people to action. This rhetorical skill is artfully used by Jonathan Swift in his pamphlet “A Modest Proposal.” The main argument for this mordantly ironic essay is to capture the attention of a disconnected and indifferent audience. Swift makes his point by stringing together a dreadfully twisted set of morally untenable positions in order to cast blame and aspersions on his intended audience. Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” employs despicably vivid satire to call for change in a world of abuse and misfortune.

However, America does not act as drastic as the narrator did in the satirical essay. “In A Modest Proposal “ they think of solution which is completely absurd. To solve their problem of overpopulation and poverty they deicide it would be a phenomenal idea to sell their baby to the rich so they can eat them for their nutritional benefits. The narrator suggests that, of the 120,000 babies estimated to be born in Ireland per year, 100,000 should be sold and eaten as a food staple. He argues that the plump flesh of the newborns will provide the tenderest meat and that their skin will make fine leather.

Satire describes the literary technique that combines dark humor and irony to criticize and expose humanity's stupidity. The purpose is to entertain readers with perverted humor while illustrating the horrors of war that Vonnegut consistently describes, “anyone who seeks glory and heroism in war is deluded” (Vonnegut 26).

Satire is defined as the use of a variety of elements such as sarcasm, irony, ridicule and humour to mock and criticise a subject by bringing its flaws to light as means to encourage change. In Gulliver’s travels human vice and folly are held up to ridicule, scorn and deride in an attempt to "shame men out of their vices" (Bullitt., 14).

When one thinks of the phrase “A Modest Proposal,” does one come to think of fattening babies so they can sell as meat. In Jonathan Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses satirical writing to communicate with the reader to expose the critical situation of the poor people of Ireland. Whom besides going through a tough period of famine have to endure the overwhelming taxation rates of the English empire. The author’s proposal intends to convince the public of the incompetence of Ireland’s politicians, the lack empathy of the wealthy, the English oppression, and the inability of the Irish to mobilize themselves against this situation. Johnathan proposed an outrageous solution that the Irish folks eat their children at the age of one or sell them in the market as meet. Finally, he manifests to be open to other suggestions to help overcome the country’s crisis. The proposal was made strategically using several different parts: the text, author, audience, purpose, and setting to persuade the tax to go lower.

“A Modest Proposal” was written by Dr. Jonathan Swift. In this essay, Swift suggest that the poor people of Ireland should sell their children as food to the the rich men and women to help ease their economic troubles. This is not the right thing to do. To sell your own children as

Jonathan Smith’s A Modest Proposal uses certain literary strategies throughout his essay to portray his opinions on the condition of the Irish Catholics. At first glance, his arguments and use of language may seem quite ridiculous and even horrifying. However, his true intention does not seem to be to convey a straightforward opinion. Instead, Smith employs a more ironic and satirical tone throughout his writing in order to portray . Jonathan Smith expresses his thoughts in his writing with satirical technique through his discussions containing exaggerated descriptions, economic reasoning, and parodies of political messages.

Satire is a literary device used by writers typically to critique society or an individual. It can be done a variety of ways, including humor, irony, and ridicule. An example of a writer using satire to critique society would be Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Using a variety of techniques, Austen criticizes how society viewed novels and the people who write them by parodying common tropes in novels.