Analysis Of A Modest Proposal

To me, Swift challenges the status quo in the story the most by saying how we should eat children. In the story, Swift states that at that time it costed families two shillings a year to raise a child. Jonathan believes that a man would have paid ten shillings for a “good fat child.” Within the same paragraph, he has calculated that one child will amount to approximately four meals that are extremely nutritious. Those four meals would keep the man and one person of company with full stomachs. At one point in the story the author says that an infant's flesh will be in season around march. Throughout the story there are countless examples where the author refers to eating children. In my opinion, it was not okay to eat children then, nor is it acceptable now.

The implied thesis of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal" is that 18th century Ireland would be in a better situation if the Irish society and monarchy actually treated problems such as overpopulation and poverty, While the overt thesis is that Irish people should consider eating their children and selling them to rich Englishmen to solve the issue of poverty and overpopulation in the country. They differ form one another as one focuses on eating children, while the other focuses on giving commentary through the essay itself.

Once this sense of agreement has been formed, Jonathan Swift diminishes it by dehumanizing humans and also comparing them to animals. He says, “a child dropped from its dam” to degrade woman and compare them to animals because of how they give birth to many children, like animals do (21-22). Another common term used throughout the text is “breeder”. He uses the term breeder to make it seem like a woman’s only purpose in life is to produce children and in turn, sell them to the market as a “delicacy”. In addition to women, Swift also dehumanizes children. He goes on to say that “twenty thousand [children] may be reserved for breed, whereof only one-fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle or swine” (Swift 63-65).

A college degree is becoming increasingly more valuable with many decent jobs requiring some sort of higher education. As more students prepare to enter college, many are faced with the escalating prices of not only tuition, but also other things such as textbooks and the cost of living. This problem has been especially prominent in California, particularly within the last month, due to the UC regent’s new and controversial plans for an in-state tuition increase of five percent in five years. With the rising prices of tuition many students must turn to student loans. These loans often get them through the expensive costs of school, but after they graduate, they are left with a substantial amount of debt to pay off. I think we can all agree that something must be done in order to stop students from having to pay these ridiculous tuition prices while still being able to get a quality college education. The answer actually lies in a system used decades ago, known as indentured servitude. If we want to create economic stability for future generations to come we must give them proper access to a college education without the worry of tremendous financial debt. In order to achieve this, I propose that any student will be able to attend a university free of charge, but after graduating must be given to an owner who will dictate their work, where and how they live until they finish their service which will range from fifteen to twenty years, depending on the

When Swift is describing the use of children as commodities, it is ironic because his intentions are to actually explain that the English view the whole Irish population as commodities. The English landlords are the ones responsible for Ireland’s poverty. The essay shows, through sarcasm, that the English have purposely took everything from the Irish because they view them as commodities. One example of sarcasm used to portray that idea is that the utilization of infants will be “proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children” (804). It is very apparent that Swift blames the English for Ireland’s problems. He also blames the Irish Catholics that allowed English policy to break down Ireland.

A Modest Proposal is an audacious piece of writing aimed for more than just the country of Ireland.  Jonathan Swift develops an objective plan of suggestions that would ironically do the complete opposite of what he wanted to achieve. His primary goal, along with many others, was to improve the country’s economy. This in turn led to an exaggerated piece in which the author recommends his country to eat the less valuable of the bunch; hoping to decrease hunger, overpopulation, and increase market income.

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,”

The presence of commerce in Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is anything but modest, but nonetheless it is there and it does take a certain side on finding a solution for society’s main problems at that specific time. In the early 1700’s, conditions in Ireland slowly began to worsen, hence his satirical, scathing response to the lack of solving the ever so present economic crisis the people of Ireland were experiencing. As he mentions in his proposal, poor children, predominantly Catholic, are seen all across the country, and in his point of view they are seen as burdens to their families and not so much of good use to the commonwealth.

“A Modest Proposal” is a satirical essay by Jonathan Swift written in 1729. In his essay, Swift proposes that the people of Ireland eat and sell their children to help better the living conditions. To justify his proposal he explains the problems Ireland is facing and illustrates the horrible condition Ireland is in. Swift’s proposal is justified because Ireland is in a poor state, there are advantages to it, and it is the best solution. Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is an eye-opening essay that gets readers motivated.

MODEST PROPOSAL: New Punishments for People Who Committed a Murder and Claim that the Victim Dishonored their Family by Shaming their Name, Sex Before Marriage, Refusing an Arranged Marriage, or Being a Victim of Rape

He states that mothers can barely feed their children and that finding employment is next to impossible. He lays out a grim reality for all of those reading the paper. Mr. Swift then goes onto propose that the peasants of yore should devour their own kin, as they are a burden and can get people in poverty out

In my opinion the proposal is unethical due to the fact the way government is controlling prices and limiting the liberty of society taking into consideration majority of the population would not be able to afford either the higher gas prices from the increases taxes or the purchase of a more fuel efficient vehicle therefore, preventing each person living a life as he or she pleases. The libertarian approach best supports my position considering regardless of the improvement of society with a cleaner environment the increased taxes on gasoline interferes with ones liberty to travel whether it be for leisure or employment. Furthermore, the injustice built into such measure is the government is forcing individuals to fund efforts they might not

This piece written by Swift may be satirical and a horrendous idea to the common people, it would fix the problems that Dublin is having. By selling off their newborns, which they can’t afford anyway, they can make quite a bit of profit, helping with the poverty problem. Soon, they won’t have to worry about the little thieves running around because all of the children that have been stealing will have grown up and there won’t be any new children coming into the business. Lastly, with the new generation being butchered and devoured, there would be a rapid decrease in the

The writer of the modest proposal is very genuine in presenting a solution for the poor people of Ireland: with the amount of babies being born on average in Ireland, the poor people can easily sell them for money to the elites for food consumption-considering there is no use in them for any manual work labor due to young age. This proposal will not only decrease the amount of abortions women have, but also provide money for the poor/beggars. The reason this proposal is genuine coming from the narrator is because he has nothing to gain given the circumstances of the proposal- “I have no children by which I can propose to a get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child bearing age” (Swift 5) This shows that the

A Modest Proposal: 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 was published in 1729 by Jonathan Swift. It was published during an economic crisis and a period where the English developed a great dissatisfaction toward the Irish. The Irish were facing a devastating economic crisis during the 1700s. The Irish faced starvation and Swift wanted to expose the misfortunate lives of the poor in order to have the country striving for change in the lives of each. The English were aware of everything occurring and were not satisfied with how awful