Alexander Pope comments on this very form of cultural and economic cannibalism in “The Rape of The Lock.” In the first Canto of Pope’s mock-epic poem, he describes a young woman, Belinda, of incredible beauty and purity; upon her toilette sits “the various Off'rings of the World” (“The Rape of The Lock” 130). This line is intended to be satirical, as the offerings of the world are not enlightenment, self-actualization or some other grand treasure. Instead all the world has to offer are a handful of expensive items from foreign nations. Belinda’s treasures include “India’s glowing gems/…And all Arabia breathes from yonder box” (“The Rape of The Lock” 133-134). These items are a display of Brittan’s opulence and wealth. Modern cultural institutions
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This is evident in “A Modest Proposal” as Swift does not just advocate eating a specific child. Instead, he campaigns for the ingestion of children from a specific culture, in this case the Irish. But cannibalism does not have to be the literal consumption of human flesh. It can be the usage of other humans for logical purposes. This is the case in Hogarth’s fourth slate, “The Reward of Cruelty,” when Nero is dissected for scientific advancement. It is also the case in “A Modest Proposal,” as the cannibalism of children is used to solve an economic problem of over crowding and starvation. Cannibalism can also be the reduction of humans by literally removing their human pieces as in the case “A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed.” Similarly, the reduction of entire cultures to their constituent parts removes their humanity. In Pope’s “The Rape of The Lock,” Arabia and India are reduced to mere objects and lose the importance they embody in the nation of their origin. For all of these reasons, the works of Pope, Hogarth and Swift still reveal a truth about modern society. We are still beholden to the system of economics that began corrupting in the eighteenth century. These works hold a mirror up to our own way of life and ask us to examine how greed and money distort and cannibalize our own humanity and
This is evident in “A Modest Proposal” as Swift does not just advocate eating a specific child. Instead, he campaigns for the ingestion of children from a specific culture, in this case the Irish. But cannibalism does not have to be the literal consumption of human flesh. It can be the usage of other humans for logical purposes. This is the case in Hogarth’s fourth slate, “The Reward of Cruelty,” when Nero is dissected for scientific advancement. It is also the case in “A Modest Proposal,” as the cannibalism of children is used to solve an economic problem of over crowding and starvation. Cannibalism can also be the reduction of humans by literally removing their human pieces as in the case “A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed.” Similarly, the reduction of entire cultures to their constituent parts removes their humanity. In Pope’s “The Rape of The Lock,” Arabia and India are reduced to mere objects and lose the importance they embody in the nation of their origin. For all of these reasons, the works of Pope, Hogarth and Swift still reveal a truth about modern society. We are still beholden to the system of economics that began corrupting in the eighteenth century. These works hold a mirror up to our own way of life and ask us to examine how greed and money distort and cannibalize our own humanity and