Thi Nguyen
Kelli Davis
English 102
April 13, 2015
The Taste of Children
During the late 1720s, Ireland was a country struggling with poverty; beggars and starving children appeared everywhere. It was a period of economic despair as trade deteriorated and poor harvests brought starvation (“Hang up Half a Dozen Bankers ': attitudes to Bankers in Mid-eighteenth-century Ireland”). The English were also tyrannizing the Irish very strongly. All Ireland’s money was shipped off to England and the English policies kept the Irish poor. During this time, political pamphlets were distributed throughout Ireland to promote the ideas of various intellectuals but many discarded them (Cody). Jonathan Swift took advantage of the overlooked pamphlets and constructed an outrageous proposal in 1729. “A Modest Proposal” offered an unimaginable but surprisingly logical solution to these problems of food shortage and human misery.
Jonathan Swift originated from a poor background. He was an …show more content…
The solution he suggested was to "fatten up" the undernourished children and sell them into a meat market where they will be sold for food; therefore solving the economic and population problems in Ireland. His motto was, “For preventing the children of poor people from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public.” One must think that this is an absurd proposal but Swift was able to provide rational reasoning to support his plan (Swift 582). Swift 's solution to the problem was not cannibalism. This was only used as satire to capture the attention of the people. England was figuratively "eating away" at the social structure and economy of Ireland. Therefore, he used the metaphor of cannibalism in order to open the eyes of the English people to the unjust treatment of
Kelli Davis
English 102
April 13, 2015
The Taste of Children
During the late 1720s, Ireland was a country struggling with poverty; beggars and starving children appeared everywhere. It was a period of economic despair as trade deteriorated and poor harvests brought starvation (“Hang up Half a Dozen Bankers ': attitudes to Bankers in Mid-eighteenth-century Ireland”). The English were also tyrannizing the Irish very strongly. All Ireland’s money was shipped off to England and the English policies kept the Irish poor. During this time, political pamphlets were distributed throughout Ireland to promote the ideas of various intellectuals but many discarded them (Cody). Jonathan Swift took advantage of the overlooked pamphlets and constructed an outrageous proposal in 1729. “A Modest Proposal” offered an unimaginable but surprisingly logical solution to these problems of food shortage and human misery.
Jonathan Swift originated from a poor background. He was an …show more content…
The solution he suggested was to "fatten up" the undernourished children and sell them into a meat market where they will be sold for food; therefore solving the economic and population problems in Ireland. His motto was, “For preventing the children of poor people from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public.” One must think that this is an absurd proposal but Swift was able to provide rational reasoning to support his plan (Swift 582). Swift 's solution to the problem was not cannibalism. This was only used as satire to capture the attention of the people. England was figuratively "eating away" at the social structure and economy of Ireland. Therefore, he used the metaphor of cannibalism in order to open the eyes of the English people to the unjust treatment of