The author uses satire to accomplish his objective not only because he is able to conceal his true identity but also because it is the most effective way to awake the people of Ireland into seeing their own deprivation. Firstly, the narrative voice begins the essay by describing the horrible conditions in which the Irish peasants are living. He demonstrates there is a serious problem with a great need for a solution. He then suggests a solution and then lists a whole list of advantages. His proposal of eating the Irish
“A Modest Proposal,” by Jonathan Swift begins by highlighting the sad fate of poverty-stricken Irish people who struggle and suffer to just put food in their children’s mouths. However, the author comes up with a solution to the problem. He says that since so many of the poor people produce too many children, they can use those children as a way to solve their problems. He says that they simply sell the children. He goes on to say that the children themselves will be sold to be cooked and eaten.
In the essay, “A Modest Proposal”, author Jonathan Swift proposes that many of Ireland’s problems could be solved with one simple solution, treating the poor as animals. Swift’s essay satirizes the lower class, the rich, and the political leaders. Swift portrays his disappointed attitude toward the subject of Ireland’s population and poverty through comparison of the lower class to animals, intentional irony, and symbolism of food and animals. Throughout the essay Swift compares the lower class to nothing but animals. A “young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food… upon a medium that a child just born will weigh 12 pounds…increased to 28 pounds” were they shall “contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands.” (3,2) He compares children of a year old to animals, where they will be used as food and even clothing.
He is sarcastically calling the government of Ireland to action. They are consumed with selfishness and neglect to help improve their country by taking measures that are more charitable. In an ironic and cleverly delivered twist of words, he elaborates on his belief that the rich people are vulcer’s devouring the land, food and additional resources from the less fortunate people making it almost impossible for them to survive. Many of the poor resort to selling themselves as slaves in order to survive and provide for their families.
Then, the surprise was so shocking to read. Swift wanted to nurse young healthy children and make them into a wholesome food by stewing, roasting, baking, or boiling them. This was his way of helping poor people with their problems with their children. He thought by eating children it would help with poverty in Ireland. I realized Swift was a person with serious problems when I started reading about children becoming a wholesome food at a young age.
An Eye Opening Proposal In A Modest Proposal by author Jonathan Swift, is an essay that uses satire to make its point. A satire is a literary work that attacks or pokes fun at vices, abuses, stupidity, and/or any other fault or imperfection. He adopts the persona of a concerned economist who suggests that, in order to better combat the poverty and overpopulation of Ireland, the children of the poor be sold as food to the wealthy. As a result, he argues, not only will the population be reduced, but the income of the poor will increase significantly as they sell their children. In developing this outrageous thesis, Swift provides abundant detail, projecting the costs of child rearing, estimating the portion of the population affected, and even providing specific ideas regarding the number of servings a child might provide.
He illustrates that the mercy of helping many people may make catastrophes occur. In addition, the author highlights that prosperity people gaining is the exchange of dwindling of the natural resources from the earth. Moreover, he uses the yearly increasing population as an example implying that people should not share the resource to the poor people. Hardin identifies that the population in the poor countries is a huge global problem because the reproduction isn’t under control of the government. He logically acknowledges that mutual ruin will occur inevitably because people would like to share resources with others for being humane.
There is an evident criticism of the treatment of the poor by those responsible for their welfare. Sharply ironic, Dickens satirises the officials of workhouses and institutions for the poor, by portraying Mr Bumble, albeit quite an insignificant official, as a pretentious and proud character who takes satisfaction in abusing whatever little power he has over the poor. Mr Bumble’s character is used to satirise the government and members of society who encourage acts of piety and morality in the poor, which they themselves obviously disregard. Exhibiting nothing more than the truth, Dickens explains how “The parish authorities magnanimously and humanely resolved, that Oliver should be ‘farmed’ [...] in a branch-workhouse [...] where twenty or thirty other juvenile offenders against the poor-laws rolled about the floor all day, without the inconvenience of too much food, or too much clothing” (2.1). Assuming an ironically sarcastic tone, Dickens describes the situations to which the poor were subjected in order to provide insight into the poor treatment of their charges and the dishonesty of the officials.
This is where he saw the poverty and oppression of the Irish (Bromberg). His religious views informed his satire; writing poetry, essays, political tracts and fiction all with his biting wit (Bromberg). In his Essay “A Modest Proposal”, (originally titled: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents and Country, and Making Them Beneficial to the Public) was published as a pamphlet in September 1729 (Bromberg). A pamphlet was a short
In Jonathan Swift’s satire, “A Modest Proposal” (1729), Swift makes a wild and far-fetched proposal to the people of Ireland to eat the young of the poor people. He proposes several reasons for this solution to the problem of an over-abundance of poor people living on the streets of Ireland. However, it is the opinion of the author of this review that Jonathan Swift did not successfully answer the question of how to pay for the rearing of the children. Therefore the argument is not truly effective. At the same time, it is in this authors opinion that the solution given within the proposal was not in fact meant to be an actual answer to the problem, instead it was a call to arms for the people of Ireland to begin thinking about the growing problem of the poor, and to perhaps come up with some answers to the problem at hand.