Essay on Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

Swift begins his essay by describing walking down a street in Ireland. He describes how you would see, “beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms” (Swift, Para. 1). This gives the reader a mental

A strong rhetorical strategy used by Swift was factual and statistical evidence of the poverty issue in Ireland at the time. Swift describes how out of the “one million and a half” citizens in Ireland, there are “120,000” children born into poor families every year. Through this compelling use of statistics, Swift leads his audience of Irish citizens to believe that the rampant poverty in their country is a problem that can no longer be ignored. Later, Swift also describes how these impoverished children, who are eventually forced to work, will not be able to earn over “3

A Modest Proposal was a satire written by Jonathan Swift, a Dublin-born Anglican priest. Throughout the satire, Swift explains the reality that many Irish peasants were too poor to feed or support their own families. He had the idea that children were the source of income for a family, that if they were “bred and butchered for the dining table”, the family would earn some money to live on, relieving themselves of miseries. Swift describes the nature of society as being corrupt through his remarks on the lifestyle of Ireland’s lower classes.

However, in the beginning, it is clear that Dr. Jonathan Swifts ‘Modest Proposal’ is in fact a cannibal’s cookbook for eating Irish children. The text conveys ways and recipes in order to reduce the population and raise the industry and economy of Ireland and its poor peasant mothers and rendering them [Irishmen] useful to society as a whole. When stated as such, the atrocious nature of the proposal is clear.

The Irish famine influenced Swift because it was happening when this short story was published. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift uses the famine as an opportunity to bring attention to the social problems. Ireland was a country living in poverty and was extremely over populated. Swift uses this conflict to introduce his proposal that the people of Ireland should eat the children. Swift asserts that the children are a hassle and are useless, other than for food, of course.

The world we live in, especially Europe, has seen and will continue to see many writers who are very critical of their government and its current its economic and political state. None however match up to the critical writing of Johnathon Swift. Swift writes about how the Irish government is in a poor state, both economically and politically. He writes about the poverty rates and how it is affecting woman, especially. Swift goes on to explain how the poverty rate is hurting woman, most of which are mothers with multiple kids who cant afford to feed them all. Swift explains how the country would be better if parents sold their children, and if people ate them if they were not needed.

In A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, a solution to a problem that Ireland had in the late 1720s was explored. Jonathan Swift did not hold back on his use of verbal irony and satire language. Swift proposed that in order to fix the years of poor harvests Ireland faced in the 1720s, children should be seen on the same level as the animals and plants consumed at this time. A Modest Proposal would shock any individual if one did not recognize the irony in Swift's writing. I will admit, I was greatly taken back on the idea of a man uttering about children turning in to food to eat, but soon detected the wit in this article. Jonathan Swift had a lot of courage to release his outlook on this topic, however, for the reason that there may have been a substantial amount of people who thought him to be a deranged human after reading his proposal.

Swift’s piece compels me to challenge the general apathy surrounding the situation, and the inability to see potential in the impoverished and reconcile with the blatant inhumanity that sits center stage of the discussion of exploitation of the poor. While Swift may not have provided a true plan to resolve the issue, his ability to draw attention and outrage to the situation make his piece effective at deconstructing a myth fundamentally intertwined with society’s understanding of the poor. His medium of satire allows me, the reader, to receive the full message of the absurdity of the myth while enjoying the indirect medium of satire. So, as the myth that the poor are disposable mistakes of society continues to survive the test of time, the absurdity of Swift’s A Modest Proposal shall too withstand the challenge of time, inciting outrage at the myth and motivating a deliberate shift away from the myth by myself and generations to

Jonathan Swift is a well known writer who wrote Gulliver 's Travels and many more lesser known works. "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift can be used to argue many things. The work itself is a pamphlet to that explains how one could go about the famine in Ireland. He suggests by his title that this will not be a over the top or extreme suggestion instead being modest and understandable. The most notable part of his work however is the obscenity of it as he describes in detail what the benefits are to eating the children in poverty.

The theme of A Modest Proposal, a satirical essay written by Jonathan Swift, published in 1729, was predominantly about preventing the children of poverty from being a burden to their parents or country; in other words, making them beneficial to the “Publick.” This theme appears in the essay surrounding the significant attempt of irony to find a fair, cheap, and easy method for converting the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the commonwealth.” The author offers statistical support by giving specific data about the number of children being sold, their weight from birth until sold, as well as the price they are being sold. Swift’s solution to Ireland's devastating food shortage consisted of the eating of babies.

The essay begins as a Proposal for a solution to the extreme poverty and over population of Ireland during the time period. But with a subtle but quick shift in tone, the essay turns grim. Swift proposes that the children of the poor should be fattened up and sold as food to rich landowners. In doing so it prevents the children of poor people of Ireland from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public. He suggested that the children of Ireland would be considered as “delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food” for the wealthy.

The work comments on how the Irish were treated at the time of Swift’s writing, and Swift’s background may have influenced his views on it. Born to a poor Irish family, Swift’s living conditions were poor as a child. Since his father died, Swift’s mother raised him alone. As the 1700s rolled in, discriminatory policies put in place by the upper-class Protestants made the majority Catholics underprivileged, creating a wealth imbalance between them. The poor Irish had to loan land from rich landlords, and ate a meager diet consisting of potatoes and little else.

As disgusting, terrifying, and insane as Jonathan Swift’s proposal is, there is so much meaning behind it. There is so much more than just “eating babies” and “using their skin to “make women’s gloves and men’s boots”. Swift was actually trying to protest against a corrupt government. Ireland was very poor at the time, and out of despise for the law and politicians, the “Modest Proposal” was born. This is where Swift’s main argument comes into play. Swift’s main argument was to address the social issues of Ireland including the times of despair, and to find a solution. Why was it his main argument? It was his main argument because he was tired of what Ireland was going through at the time. He needed to address it in some form or another. He needed to show the people the reality of the situation. The way he brings his points across to the table is by utilizing irony, sarcasm, and satire.

Another point Swift brings up is ending the feud between the Protestants and the Catholics. He brings this up towards the end of his essay where he is speaking of things that he does not want to hear from people to counter his idea of eating the children. However, this is one of Swift’s real points that he truly means in his essay. In 18th century Ireland the persecution was ravaging the country. Many laws were enacted against the Catholic population that not only were demeaning to them, but also gave them no way to fight back. They were physically disarmed and they also had no say in the government. This caused many people to end up in poverty because of how they were segregated from the rest of the people. Swift compares them to the Jewish people that started slaughtering each other when their city was take. This like the Irish because they are assaulting each other even though they are of the same

Swift is exposing how England is imposing heavy taxes on the Irish as well as taking possession of their resources for their own. Not only does Swift blame others for the state of poverty in Ireland; he also exaggerates how horrible it is to amplify how poor and disgusting Ireland is. He first does this by making his "proposal" unserious. The way Swift is making the proposal "unserious" is when he starts to become insecure. He does however, use dishonesty and insincerity to his advantage in his underlying thought. Swift comes across as insincere throughout the entire proposal because of how crazy the whole idea is. He is proposing that the people should eat children, who are helpless and inncocent. Because Swift is talking