Purpose Of A Modest Proposal

Improved Essays
n, “A Modest Proposal”, by Jonathan Swift, is a satirical piece that suggests that the Irish should sell their children as food to reduce the overpopulation and poverty. This proposal is an intriguing satirical piece that brings to attention the struggles of the time period. Swift vents his mounting aggravation at the hypocrisy of the wealthy and the squalor and degradation in which he sees so many Irish people living. The essay shocks the reader with an extreme piece of writing that, as intended, leaves the reader astonished, and fully attentive to his argument. The purpose of Swift's satirical essay is to motivate change towards those very problems that were being experienced by the people of Ireland. Through his radical proposal, Jonathon

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Swift's motivation in composing this successful satirical essay is to point out exploitation caused on Irish Catholics by English Protestants. Swift conveys this purpose regardless of the audience’s understanding of the history of the text. A Modest Proposal proposes that poverty in Ireland can only be prevented by killing children and serving their meat as a delicacy to the nobility of Ireland. Swift expresses this fact when he states, “Those who are more thrifty may flay the carcass, the skin of which, artificially dressed, will make admirable gloves for ladies and summer boots for fine gentleman” (Swift 8). Swift intentionally exaggerates by stating such an extreme, to encourage citizens of society to find a prudent way of reducing the levels of poverty in Ireland.…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Initially, the proposer is sympathetic and expresses a need for a solution. However, Swift is cold and rational, despite his initial sympathy. Swift believes that there is a continual cycle of poverty where the parents are poor, so their children remain poor, which makes them useless to society. The proposer suggests that the impoverished Irish can make use of these useless children and ease some of their economic issues by selling these children as food. He argues that children could be sold into the meat market at the age of one, giving the poor families income, while sparing them the expense of raising a child and having the cycle of poverty repeat..…

    • 1335 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Jonathan Swift`s A Modest Proposal, Swift expresses his soaring agitation with Ireland`s political leaders, the hypocrisy of the affluent, the despotism of the English, and the squalor in which he catches so many of his people living. Swift uses logos, visual imagery, and a desperate, satirical and serious tone to convey his thoughts. He demonstrates that a nation`s most significant problem can come from oppression in hopes that not only outsiders but that other Irish people will stand up and fight. With facts and logics Swift does the math to prove that when we let ourselves be oppressed, what a crazy solution to a big problem could be. He states “[t]he number of souls of this kingdom… reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the “Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift had an idea that the best way to prevent poor children in Ireland from being a burden, is to eat them. He proposes, what we fatten up these famished children and feed them to Ireland's rich land owners. Also, these children could be sold into a meat market starting from infant to twelve. Throughout, this essay he offers statistical support for his proposal and gives specific data about the number of children to be sold, their weight and pricing.…

    • 744 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his satirical piece, A Modest Proposal, Dr. Jonathon Swift’s use of pathos demonstrates that civil neglect has debilitating effects on the poor in Ireland. Swift uses reduction to convey the degraded value of human life. Swift proposes that “the skin [of a child...] will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen” (I. 94-96). Since poor children are an eyesore to the upper class in the streets begging for food and money, Swift proposes that these children should be ridden of and killed. A poor child’s life, that would have been wasted away struggling to survive, takes on meaning by making use of its body parts to serve the upper class.…

    • 420 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    "A Modest Proposal" delves into many social issues that are still seen today. Even though this piece is satire, the glaring inequality in the story helps to create a sense of predator and prey. The narrator views the Irish people as vulnerable prey who are regarded as animals. This view that the impoverished Irish people are a group of animals is seen as a sign that they are hunted. This predator versus prey is seen throughout the story, not just the opening lines.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    We’re all familiar with Satirical literature: literature that mocks or ridicules events, attitudes, and people, with the goal that it will reach out to audiences and influence change. Satirical literature has been around for quite some time, but one of the best and most original examples can be found in the essay, “A modest Proposal” , by Jonathan Smith. This essay hits on some concrete issues that Ireland was facing during the early 1700’s such as famine, poverty, and ridiculous parliament laws passed by England, which only exacerbated the issues. Jonathan Smith uses satire in attempts to shock and influence people, and he succeeds to do so, as he introduces an odd and unorthodox idea for parents to make money off of their children--to raise…

    • 2041 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.”…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    A Modest Proposal

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages

    According to the text “metadiscourse is language that does not refer to the substance of your writing, but instead it refers to yourself, your reader or your writings”. This sentence is an example of metadiscourse. 1a. My attempt to explain to my readers what metadiscourse is particularly difficult, because I do not fully understand it myself. This sentence refers to the reader and myself is a prime example of metadiscourse.…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Modest Proposal is a satirical piece written by Jonathan Swift which uses the idea of satire to convey a message. His use of this literary device exaggerates the main message to comment on both the social and political hardships of overpopulation and poverty with Irish immigrants. There are multiple examples of irony that Swift uses, but these are about four of these pieces of evidence within the text that effective show his mastery of this literary device. The first example of Irony is within the title itself.…

    • 568 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After all, if Swift was not quite informed of the subject and of other proposals and willing to consider all other proposals if his proposal was not sound and also the best option for Ireland, then he would have no reason to introduce and share it. “A Modest Proposal” was Jonathan Swift’s satirical proposition on how Ireland should solve its economical and hunger problems. Swift was able to convince the readers of his pamphlet that while it may seem absurd, the idea of consuming infants could truly be advantageous for Ireland. Through his tone, diction, and careful word choice, Swift was able…

    • 1113 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Modest Proposal

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal For preventing the obese children in the United States from becoming a misfortune to society and their families, and allowing for higher aspirations in their lives A child eating his way to death. Shoving fistful after fistful of food into his mouth, more than he can handle. Continuing this day after day, year after year is certain for death. He gains so much weight, that he is almost unable to raise his arms, but the satisfaction of eating food is worth the struggle. At 40 years of age, he finally falls over, undergoing a heart attack.…

    • 526 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In clergyman Johnathan Swift’s essay, A Modest Proposal, Swift presents a proposal that small children should be sold for food. Swift supports his proposal by providing examples of how selling the small children would be beneficial, describing how his proposed system would be set up, and also by supporting his proposal with logical evidence that shows he spent time creating a well-crafted argument. Swift’s purpose is to present an absurd proposal in order to show how absurd the poverty level in Ireland. He hopes to inspire an improvement in the country with the repeal of many penal laws set by Ireland’s mother country England.…

    • 922 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    A Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift, is a satirical essay from 1729. In the essay, Swift describes the circumstances and the amount of Irish people throughout Great Britain living in poverty, along with the lack of assistance from the English. He writes about how the Irish’s situation could have improved if they were willing to sell their children (especially babies) as food for the people of wealth in Great Britain. Unlike in the Wizard of Oz, the Irish females in A Modest Proposal don’t experience self-realization. They have no confidence in themselves or want to improve their lifestyles whatsoever.…

    • 1440 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Ireland, there is nothing to do for the poor women to survive except begging for their helpless infant. The author tries to depict the pitiful life for the poor people through the essay. However, he portrays them in a completely different way. The author Swift uses ironic literary technique to expose a wretched life of poor Irish people. Even though the actual life of Irish poor people was painful, he describes the poor people as a great grievance for the country.…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays