Satire In Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal

Ireland was a widely over populated area, overcome with sickness and poverty. People were not doing their best to solve these problems and to top it off “the English [were] devouring the poor” (pg 1199). In Jonathan Swifts essay “A Modest Proposal” he cleverly uses satire to shine light on the way the Irish are being viewed as commodities and not people. Satire is defined by using humor and irony to criticize people’s stupidity usually about politics. Swifts argument is so believable because he has facts that support his proposal and what he thinks the outcome will look like and by clearly developing the image of the world after we start eating children the reader is easily persuaded to see the advantages. Although Jonathan Swifts “A Modest Proposal” is clearly a political satire, he convinces his reader of the validity of his argument with logic, and imagery.
Johnathan Swift uses satire so cleverly through his essay right from his title. To be modest is to be humble and unassuming of the estimation of one’s abilities. This title opposes the entire work because it is anything but modest. Swift spent most of his life back and forth between England and Ireland, learning about politics and religion. He soon discovered his talent for satire and from there “A Modest Proposal” was born. His essay was …show more content…
Swift wrote this essay to mock the way the English were treating the Irish and to push people to find a solution to their social, political, and economic problems. Swifts proposal is clearly a satire but is persuasive enough that it convinces the reader that it is a true argument. The tools he uses to solidify his argument is logic and imagery. Ireland was starving and flooding with people and no one wanted to do anything about it. Swift suggests that people start selling and eating children to lower the population and to allow women to help make money to support their