The welfare of human beings as members of a community has historically been addressed in a variety of literary forms. Jonathan Swift in his essay “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country”(The Art of Writing:A modern Rhetoric,edited by Cosmo Ferrara, Random House, 1981, pp 155-170) employed savage irony to present his societal commentary. Written in 1729 to expose the tragic condition of the lower class, the satire attempts to manipulate readers with its sense of ridicule and scorn. A plea for human reason and decency, the essay expresses his moral indignation at the attitudes of the upper class for the desperate poor as he subtly suggests their responsibilities to a society in
…show more content…
He uses the useless beggars as a common ground to appeal toward the wealthy, who at that time were educated and could read. The wealthy though looked at the beggars as if they were just wild animals. Swift addresses the audience saying “I think it's agreed by all parties, and those who demand our charity in the streets” as a mean to make the reader think he is siding with them. Then by using this cunning method he can show a solution which then dehumanizes the beggars as if they were cattle in a ranch. Swift walks through his scheme step by step expressing how the higher class should sell the babies “which will be in season throughout the year” to slaughterhouse, and then to keep some of these beggars for breeding to produce more children. He uses a matter of fact to prove that his solution would solve the problem of the beggars by having them paid for newborn babies if they sell them for …show more content…
Rich are in rule and employ the poor. If the rich don’t acknowledge this problem, the threat of the issue will continue to worsen in the Kingdom of Ireland. There are over one million people who live in the Kingdom, of which, two hundred thousand are poor breeders. Subtracting thirty thousand people who provide for their children, fifty thousand who die of disease, miscarriage and accidents, a total of over a hundred thousand poor children would remain. Swift then notes that his American acquaintance once said “A young healthy child, well nursed is at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food.” In taking the statement in account, he would be able to keep twenty thousand for breeding, of which, one fourth would be men. By these means, a child born, would provide four dishes of meat and provide supplies for gloves and boots, while also lowering hunger and the amount of poor beggars. Marriage happiness would increase and men would be happy for pregnancy as they would receive eight shillings for payment. They won't have to worry about a miscarriage. The logical approach on this solution shows if you kill the poor, hunger would go down and food would be in more supply. The amount of beggars would also be
He uses the useless beggars as a common ground to appeal toward the wealthy, who at that time were educated and could read. The wealthy though looked at the beggars as if they were just wild animals. Swift addresses the audience saying “I think it's agreed by all parties, and those who demand our charity in the streets” as a mean to make the reader think he is siding with them. Then by using this cunning method he can show a solution which then dehumanizes the beggars as if they were cattle in a ranch. Swift walks through his scheme step by step expressing how the higher class should sell the babies “which will be in season throughout the year” to slaughterhouse, and then to keep some of these beggars for breeding to produce more children. He uses a matter of fact to prove that his solution would solve the problem of the beggars by having them paid for newborn babies if they sell them for …show more content…
Rich are in rule and employ the poor. If the rich don’t acknowledge this problem, the threat of the issue will continue to worsen in the Kingdom of Ireland. There are over one million people who live in the Kingdom, of which, two hundred thousand are poor breeders. Subtracting thirty thousand people who provide for their children, fifty thousand who die of disease, miscarriage and accidents, a total of over a hundred thousand poor children would remain. Swift then notes that his American acquaintance once said “A young healthy child, well nursed is at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food.” In taking the statement in account, he would be able to keep twenty thousand for breeding, of which, one fourth would be men. By these means, a child born, would provide four dishes of meat and provide supplies for gloves and boots, while also lowering hunger and the amount of poor beggars. Marriage happiness would increase and men would be happy for pregnancy as they would receive eight shillings for payment. They won't have to worry about a miscarriage. The logical approach on this solution shows if you kill the poor, hunger would go down and food would be in more supply. The amount of beggars would also be