Satire is the use of humor, irony, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or unawareness, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other current issues. This style of writing is characterized by a very exaggerative, tongue-in-cheek type language that is often suggesting ridiculous solutions to problems, in an effort to get the audience to understand society’s short-comings in a way that isn’t preachy or very demanding. Popular examples in the 21st century include the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the Colbert Report and the website The Onion. Jonathan Swift uses heavy, straight-faced satire in his book “A Modest Proposal”. This satire helps the reader understand the devastating turmoil and scarcity that the Irish
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He outlines a very complex economic system for selling and eating poor children, and offers statistical support for his assertions and gives specific data about the number of children to be sold, their weight and price, and the projected consumption patterns. “I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children…for we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture” (Swift, 84). He suggests some recipes for preparing this delicious new meat, and he feels sure that innovative cooks will be quick to generate more. He also anticipates that the practice of selling and eating children will have positive effects on family morality. “This would be a great inducement to marriage, it would increase the care and tenderness of mothers toward their children, and we should see an honest emulation among the married women…men would become fond of their wives during pregnancy as they are now or their mares in foal” (Swift, 87). He suggests that eating and selling children is a simple idea and the implementation of it would save all aspects of social and economic
He outlines a very complex economic system for selling and eating poor children, and offers statistical support for his assertions and gives specific data about the number of children to be sold, their weight and price, and the projected consumption patterns. “I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children…for we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture” (Swift, 84). He suggests some recipes for preparing this delicious new meat, and he feels sure that innovative cooks will be quick to generate more. He also anticipates that the practice of selling and eating children will have positive effects on family morality. “This would be a great inducement to marriage, it would increase the care and tenderness of mothers toward their children, and we should see an honest emulation among the married women…men would become fond of their wives during pregnancy as they are now or their mares in foal” (Swift, 87). He suggests that eating and selling children is a simple idea and the implementation of it would save all aspects of social and economic