Summary Of A Modest Proposal

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The idea of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift was very intriguing in such a way that people were infatuated yet disgusted by it and the message that it sent. Swift’s idea was to solve a problem that was occurring and coming along fast. There were too many families living in poverty, having children at an alarming rate that were doing nothing but stealing and causing problems. Swift’s idea was to start eating the new born babies or the ones that have died to control the population of Ireland. Jonathan Swift begins showing ethos in his paper by blaming the mothers of the children stating that they should engage themselves on working to earn an honest living instead of wandering from house to house begging for alms “...to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country,when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of female sex followed by the three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms” (Swift). He also …show more content…

He gives many reasons and examples as to why his suggestion would help the poverty in Ireland at this time. The use of bargaining for example would be great to help the poor families, “I believe no Gentleman would repine to give Ten Shillings for the Carcass of a good fat Child, which, as I have said will make four Dishes of excellent Nutritive Meat” (Swift). There are so many things that you could do to control the population of a country, but do you really want to start by taking the lives of young ones and eating them? That is just plain sick and disgusting!

In conclusion, Jonathan Swift was a very successful writer of his time. It goes on to be shown in his rhetorical writing A Modest Proposal that was written in 1729. Although swift came up with this sick and twisted idea on how to control the population of the poor people in Ireland he states that he would never actually do that

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