Essay on A Not So Modest Proposal

Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” written in 1729 was his proposal “for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to he publick” (Swift, Title). This proposal included the selling, skinning and buying of babies at the age of one. This proposal that he has come up with is a very inhuman and controversial one when it comes to being socially acceptable.

Swift’s proposal attempted to do so with the same logic and motivation that he considered to be the cause of the melancholy that could be observed traveling through Ireland. He aims his observations and remarks as sympathetic for the people, but more importantly empathetic because, as a prosperous traveler, one does not want to see such things while

Furthermore, Swift also creates a strong argument throughout this essay, with the use of logos; appealing to logic and his use of statistics. Swift states that the “number of souls in this kingdom…of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples who wives are breeders”; furthermore proposing that an infant can be sold for “two shillings per anun” and “with eight shillings net profit the mother will also benefit and be fit for work to produce another child.” Another quote that implies the reader of his logic and reason , is when he states in these lines that an infant’s flesh can be seasoned throughout the year “with a little pepper or salt…especially in the winter.” He also states that the carcass

Since the beginning of the 19th century, America has had to deal with the on going

Swift obviously wants the readers to realize that he has studied the problem for a very long time. He even confides from a commendable person about the proposal, thus stating, “A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased in discoursing on this matter to offer a refinement upon my scheme” (Swift 3). By referencing experiences of friends and acquaintances, Swift asserts that his proposal is indeed feasible and can be applied to remedy Ireland’s economy and social ills. He writes, “But with due deference to so excellent a friend… my American acquaintance assured me, from frequent experience…” (Swift 3). Another one, “But in order to justify my friend, he confessed that this expedient was put into his head by the famous Psalmanazar… who came from thence to London above twenty years ago… that in his country when any young person happened to be put to death, the executioner sold the carcass to persons of quality as a prime dainty” (Swift 3). Likewise, from a grave author, an eminent French physician, who says that infant’s flesh are more plentiful in March because there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries due to the fish diet that they eat during Lenten season (Swift 2). Swift undoubtedly uses ethos to show the readers that he actually gathered facts from people

The sarcastic views of Swift’s understanding of the poverty of Ireland leads him to make a proposal for a solution to poverty, where he ignores the concern of human morale by displaying the lacking efforts of England to help. Swift uses methods that work to get or help better understand a situation, for example being sarcastic in a situation where a person wants something out of the situation by satire. The undeniable effect of satire catches the attention of England to further display the poverty of Ireland which is displayed throughout Swift’s Modest Proposal with exaggeration, incongruity and reversal.

Swift uses ethos to gain his audience trust. Swift states “I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in the endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country […] I have no children by which I can propose to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past childbearing.”, (364) This shows that Swift will not be making any money off this, and will not have any gain from this, making this proposal to only help others. Swift is also a very educated man, and so is the narrator. Swift went to Trinity College at the age of fourteen, and received his Bachelor of Arts degree, and was a priest. Swift uses this to his advantage, and shows that his is educated by using a substantial vocabulary. Words such as hitherto, Psalmanazar, and Episcopal are a couple of examples.

One example is when he states “that a child just born will weigh twelve pounds, and in a solar year, if tolerably nursed, will increase to twenty-eight pounds” (804). By giving infants a set of instructions and guidelines, in analogy to livestock, Swift tries to make it seem as if he has no emotional attachment to the Irish children.

Throughout Swift’s content, he uses rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos. Jonathan Swift intelligently uses pathos to play a huge roll on people’s emotion in an effort to convince them of the legitimacy of his argument, “… and 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,” (689). Logos appeals to the logical thinking of the audience is introduced in support of his case. Swift gives the logical portion by using numbers to show how many unfortunate babies would meet their demise yearly, “… the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to be males… one male will be sufficient to serve four Females. That the remaining hundred thousand may at a year old be offered in sale,” (689). Ethos was shown when he talked to high authority people about the situation, “Infant's flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March... For we are told by a grave author, an eminent French physician… there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries about nine months after Lent,”

Jonathan Swift, the writer of the satirical essay A Modest Proposal, grew up and lived in Ireland during times of famine and economic struggles (Conditions). Growing up with a single mother and no father, Swift knew what hard times and struggles were like (Jonathan Swift: Biography). His essay proposes an easy solution to the economic problems going on in Ireland for both the wealthy ruling classes and the poorer classes, although his intentions and the meaning behind his words are not what would be originally thought when initially reading the essay. Through his word choices and the description of specific events of his time, Swift uses satire to grab his audience’s attention and get his own personal ideas and opinions out about all the

Swift estimates that there are 120,000 children of poor parents born annually. These children are a burden on society because " . . .we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture "(2183), they have no practical skills or uses. To deal with this problem, Swift makes his "modest proposal," using a device that is timeless in its effectiveness-shock value:

Throughout “A Modest Proposal”, Swift uses facts, logic, and truth to help show why he thinks his idea is good. In the essay, Swift says “maintenance ...100,000 children less..than 10 shillings per piece… stock...increased by 50,000.” Swift uses this statistic to show the economic value of his proposal in that the consumption of children would bring more currency into circulation. “I subtract

Swift suggests that Irish women should sell their children as food and other necessities to the rich populace in order to benefit the economy and fight the problem of overpopulation. To specify, Swift proposes if the children are sold, there would be many more utilizations of the children instead of having to survive on the streets scraping for money. He uses this ridiculous example in hope that it will benefit the rich population as well as solve the predicament of overpopulation. As he states, “Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass;

Beginning with an examination of the subtitle, the stance of the narrator and his views of the poor are evident immediately. “…For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland, from being a Burden to their Parents or Country; and for making them beneficial to the Public." (Swift Para.1). This example is a distinct instance of irony; in which Swift uses such long, elaborate sentence to summarize his main proposition. By referring to

First of all 1729 Ireland was rough for the catholics they couldn’t vote, own land, have a valuable lease, own firearms, own a valuable horse or practice their religion. In addition to that Many people don’t know why an essay about eating babies is so famous. However Jonathan Swift’s famous essay “A Modest Proposal” embodies more than what the first few paragraphs would have you to believe. It challenged the status quo of the time and place it was written.