“A Modest Proposal” is a satirical argument written by Jonathan Swift in 1729. In the argument, Swift is seemingly offering a revolutionary solution to Ireland’s potato famine and overpopulation. On the surface, Swift appears to suggest that the best solution for their problem lies in cannibalism. More specifically, in his plan, poor families will fatten up their babies and sell them for a profit to more wealthy Irish citizens. That way, the lower-class will end their poverty and the upper-class will benefit from the introduction of a new dish which is sure to become a delicacy. In his time, Swift’s argument was taken literally, and a general outrage spread across Ireland. However, if one reads carefully, Swift uses some rhetorical strategies …show more content…
When describing the people of Ireland in their deplorable conditions, he writes, in a fairly sarcastic tone that, “mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihoods, are forced to employ all their time to beg” (3). In this particular part of the argument, he specifically chooses not only to say “livelihoods” but “honest livelihoods” which would seem to suggest, given his ironic tone, that he doesn’t believe that these women are honest at all. He seems to be suggesting that they are, therefore, part of the problem. Furthermore, he goes on to describe the mothers’ begging as …show more content…
He discusses the youth of Ireland as if they’re livestock, and he makes the comparison very clear when he writes, “butchers, we may be assured, will not be wanting; although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife as we do roasting pigs” (8). This metaphor – children as livestock – is just another comedic writing technique Swift uses to hint that he is not serious about cannibalism. While reading this passage, one can almost imagine children in a pigsty, awaiting a buyer to take them to the butcher to be prepared for dinner. It would be a funny image, if it weren’t so gruesome. Swift extends the metaphor later in his argument when he claims, “Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their mares in foal, their cows in calf, or sows when they are ready to farrow” (12). In other words, men would look at their wives as just another animal on the farm, producing offspring for the profit of the family. This image may not be meant to have the same comedic effect as the previous comparison to children and pigs, but it serves to demean and dehumanize the “breeders” because they are, in Swift’s opinion, doing nothing to help
In Swift’s satirical essay he stated the main issue to be the hunger and starvation of Irish country and their lack of money to support oneself. He said the complication was they themselves don’t have food, to many families in poverty, and that the Englishman took their land and charging high prices for rent. Swift makes this argument because he too is an Irish men and he struggles to see his fellow men parish in the streets. He desires his people to stand up against England and take back what’s theirs. He argues that the Irish...
In the time frame that Swifts’ A Modest Proposal was written Ireland was going through political, economic, and religious struggles. In 1729 England had contrived, with the help of Irish venality, to wreck Ireland’s merchant marine, agriculture, and wool industry. Prostitutes in Swift’s paper are having kids like senseless people, but yet they can’t afford to feed them. Jonathan Swift proposes that his people should sell the babies and eat them. He thinks this would help solve the problem of over population. Swift tried to give his people pamphlets on how to fix the problem that was plaguing their country, but they ignored them. Swift says “These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants.”(1) Swift proposes that the mothers sell the babies for 8 shillings; the rich would find the child to be a delicacy and the extra money would go to the landlord. So everyone would benefit from this proposal. He does this as a way of making his people aware of what is going on in their
Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is an attempt to bring attention to horrible the condition in which the poor or destitute people in Ireland are living in. His argument that children of these improvised people should be sold to “the persons of quality and fortune” (A Modest Proposal) for consumption, is Swift’s gruesome way of saying you might as well eat the babies, if no one is going to actually try to fix the problems of the poor in Ireland.
In eighteenth century Ireland, the nation was in a famine and an epidemic of poverty due to the high prices of land and food. Jonathan Swift saw a problem, so h wrote and spread what we call today, A Modest Proposal. Swift’s essay is satirical. He exaggerates and gives inaccurate statistics to deliver a thesis that runs deeper than the explicit one about eating babies. While much of the essay seems to imply that Swift’s persona eats babies, there are some instances where Jonathan hints at the ironic themes of the writing.
In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift does not blame everything on the people of Ireland. In fact, he says that the people, politicians, and English were all at fault for the horrendous state the country faced. One annoyance Swift states is that the poor infants, if they survive their childhood years, would “leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain” or “they would sell themselves to the Barbados,” as indentured servants (Swift). He suggests that the lack of nationalism and pride in their country has led citizens to just leave instead of trying to fix the problem leading to the country 's
There are so many problems with this article, but first would include that Swift is very nonchalant about the murdering of these babies for money. He then goes on to talk about the babies as if they were cattle or a pig that a farmer would fatten up for Christmas dinner. Also, he was trying to be satirically funny at the end when he mentioned he would never be able to do this plan. But, he is plainly mocking the reader and quite frankly thinking that they are stupid, with Swift’s arrogance and inhumane look at these helpless babies that this work has nothing but grave weaknesses. Overall, the author tries to convince Ireland’s poor families to sell their children to the rich to eat for money. Such an outlandish plan that was useless to even consider, yet write about in the first place.
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” (1729), argues that in order to gain control of the overwhelming poverty and population problem in Ireland, a rational solution would be to turn to cannibalize the “bastard children” who have no means of survival. (Add in somewhere of how they would be eating poor kids who can’t be taken care of) Swift develops his argument by appealing to the reader with pathos, logos and ethos in many different ways. The authors purpose is to present his argument, for cannibalism in order to persuade the reader that it is a logical option that Ireland can take in the hopes to solve the poverty and economic problem. The relationship the author develops with the
Various types of proposals have been written for various reasons throughout time. Their purpose is to suggest a change or to sell something to better a process or suggest an idea to solve an issue. There have been many proposals written, however none as dark and sinister as, A Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift. His proposal is considered by many literary scholars as one of the greatest pieces of satire ever written in history. In his essay, Swift suggested that the poor citizen of Ireland raise their children like swine, hence they could sell them at market to survive (Swift). Therefore, his grandiose idea would solve Ireland’s poverty issues in the early Eighteenth Century. Indeed, Swift’s clever usage of satire
He advocates cannibalism of children as a means to counter the poverty and famine occurring in the Irish population. His ideas incorporate dramatic irony as the reader understands that the essay is satire, however the prose in which it is written indicates otherwise. The narrator mentions “the poorer tenant will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to a distress, and help to pay their landlord’s rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown”, which will solve the issue of poverty among tenants (Swift 2). Although, many may object to this form of resolution, unless a change is aroused, this proposal, while cruel, seems logical. Provided the narrator has contemplated all possible objections, he “can think of no one objection, that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged, that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom” (Swift 3). The narrator blatantly states that this proposal should arouse no objections, which insinuates that of the previous proposals stated to fix Ireland, the cannibalism of children is the best. Although cruel, the narrator suggest that it should outrank any other previous proposal made, which ignites recognition in the reader that the time period in which it was written desperately required
This essay will have no value unless the reader understands that Swift has written this essay as a satire, humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of a person, government, or society (Satire). Even the title A Modest Proposal is satirical. Swift proposes using children simply as a source of meat, and outrageous thought, but calls his propo...
This essay by Jonathan Swift is a brutal satire in which he suggests that the poor Irish families should kill their young children and eat them in order to eliminate the growing number of starving citizens. At this time is Ireland, there was extreme poverty and wide gap between the poor and the rich, the tenements and the landlords, respectively. Throughout the essay Swift uses satire and irony as a way to attack the indifference between classes. Swift is not seriously suggesting cannibalism, he is trying to make known the desperate state of the lower class and the need for a social and moral reform in Ireland.
Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is set in Ireland in the 1600s, a time of heavy poverty and a deplorable hierarchy. In the second paragraph of the narrative, Swift writes that someone should attempt to find a solution to “preserve the nation” and that person will eventually be him (2633). However, his solution, which is to turn the impoverished children into food for society, is eerily presented and coated with an arrogant tone, a tone also seen in Satire against Reason and Mankind by a narrative comparable to A Modest Proposal. Swift manages to bring his readers to see that they can imagine cannibalism as a last resort through comparative reasoning using the children, hypocritical ideals weaving through
In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift employs a satirical tone to mock both the callous attitudes towards the poor and the poor themselves. Swifts “modest” solution to the fiscal and social issues going on in Ireland is nothing but the opposite, as he proposes that the impoverished should sell their infants as food for money. In using the word “modest” to describe his proposal of eating Irish infants and/or offering their flesh as a source of clothing, Swift makes the sarcasm of his story evident from the beginning. By using such an inconspicu...
Jonathan Swift, a well-known author, in his essay “A Modest Proposal,” implies that the Irish people should eat children so that they can better their chances of survival. Swift supports his implication by describing how his proposal will have many advantages such as, eliminating papists, bringing great custom to taverns, and inducing marriages. He comes up with an absurd proposal to eat and sell the children to the elite so the Irish can have a brighter future. His purpose is to show that the Irish deserve better treatment from the English. Throughout his essay, Swift uses sarcasm, satire, and irony.
The proposal starts off by discussing the extreme poverty that has taken over Ireland and explains that no one will make changes and England is of no help. Swift’s tone could best be described as cold and rational as he is trying to get his point across. He briefly describes a ‘cycle’ of poverty in which parents are too poor which means their children will be too which leads to the suggestion of eating the poor kids. Jonathan backs up his proposal by saying that the economy will benefit by this and Ireland’s children can help feed the country. Swift says that the kids could be sold for money once ready to eat and that the money could go towards feeding the family and paying their rent thus relieving the poverty and reducing abortion which means no one would have to rely on England anymore. To translate this, the satire is meant to point out the flaws of how Ireland and England were dealing with economic and social problems. Jonathan points out that the Irish are also out of their minds for willing to sell their children for money. The whole piece is simply filled with political, moral, and economic questions that nobody has answers to. To fully understand A Modest Proposal, lots of research and rereading is necessary due to the fact that satire is usually hard to comprehend. In short, Swift is pointing out Ireland’s flaws and his disgust with England because of the conditions in Ireland.