A Modest Proposal Free Essays

Short Story Analysis A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift once remarked, â€Å"We have just religion enough to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another† (Conditions). 1729 was a time where both economic and religious struggles raged between Ireland and England. Jonathan Swift’s motives for A Modest Proposal were driven by influence, oppression, and poverty. We will write a custom essay sample on A Modest Proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now This brutal yet ironic satire demonstrated Swift’s frustration in regards to English and Irish politics. His mocking tone was to shock Ireland out of its weary state, and at the same time humiliate England. In the years prior to A Modest Proposal, Swift was a lobbyist for the Irish clergymen. Swift supported a religious group called the Tories for the reason that they backed the Church of Ireland’s position regarding taxation. He didn’t believe it to be fair that English clergymen were exempt from paying taxes, while the Irish church was forced to pay â€Å"first fruits and twentieth parts† (Critical Companion). He pokes fun at the anti-Catholic audience with the statement, â€Å"†¦there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries about nine months after Lent, the markets will be more glutted than usual, because the number of Popish infants, is at least three to one in this kingdom, and therefore it will have one other collateral advantage, by lessening the number of Papists among us† (Modest Proposal). When the Whig government took over with King George I, he was left with no opportunity to advance his political involvement, so he felt forced to return to Ireland. â€Å"To Swift this meant for the time the fall from unique authority to absolute insignificance† (Life). This treatment that he received only fueled his anger and influenced his annoyance toward England’s neglect of Ireland. Oppression is defined as the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. Jonathan Swift implies in his writing of A Modest Proposal that England is full of greed and pays no regard to how their political actions may affect another country as shown in this excerpt from his satire, â€Å"But as to myself, having been wearied out for many years with offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of success, I fortunately fell upon this proposal, which as it is wholly new, so it hath something solid and real, of no expense and little trouble, full in our own power, and whereby we can incur no danger in disobliging ENGLAND. For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, the flesh being of too tender a consistence to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I could name a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it†(Modest Proposal). It is seen in history books of English laws that were strategically passed to cripple the Irish economy, because to England, Irish success meant competition for England farms and businesses. The Navigation Act, The Cattle Acts and the Woolen Act of the 1600’s are examples of England’s plan to control all exportation of goods in Ireland (Conditions). Which he states this point â€Å"Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law be made liable to distress, and help to pay their landlord’s rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown† (Modest Proposal). Swift’s satire was a feeble yet extreme attempt to solicit England for any kind of possible way to make money, since all other ways of trade or exportation have been taken over by the English parliament. In A Modest Proposal Swift takes on the facade of a troubled economist who suggests that, in order to battle the deprivation and overpopulation in Ireland, the children of the poor be sold as food to the wealthy. Inundated with poverty, famine, and the streets infested with beggars, 18th century Ireland was a dreadful scene. In 1718 the Archbishop of Dublin had written a letter to a friend that â€Å"the misery of the people here is very great, the beggars innumerable and increasing every day†¦One half of the people in Ireland eat neither bread nor flesh for one half of the year, nor wear shoes or stockings; your hogs in England and Essex calves lie and live better than they† (Conditions). Swift emphasizes on these conditions in with the very first paragraph of his satire â€Å"It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms† (Modest Proposal). Later in his story he goes on to say â€Å"Some persons of a desponding spirit are in great concern about the vast number of poor people, who are aged, diseased, or maimed, and I have been desired to employ my thoughts what course may be taken to ease the nation of so grievous an encumbrance. But I am not in the least pain upon that matter, because it is very well known that they are every day dying, and rotting, by cold, famine, and filths, and vermin, as fast as can be reasonably expected† (Modest Proposal). Swift argues that not only will the population be reduced, and brought back to a respectable country but the income of the poor families in Ireland will increase as they sell off their children for consumption. Jonathan Swift questions both England and Ireland in A Modest Proposal of just how poorly, whether it is the manipulator or the manipulated can be dehumanized, â€Å"Once the process of dehumanization gets underway, as it obviously is, in a country in which no one – not even the unfortunate themselves – seems to mind or object to the fact that tens of thousands of human beings starve to death each year, where can one calmly, sanely, and logically draw the line and say thus far and no farther? (A Modest Proposal: An Introduction). He was infuriated at the submissiveness of the Irish people for sitting by casually and doing nothing about the conditions and treatment of their country. Influence, oppression, and poverty drove Jonathan Swift to write one of the most infamous satires called A Modest Proposal. Bibliography Baker, Lyman A. â€Å"Conditions in 18th-Century Ireland (ca. 1729). † Conditions in 18th-Century Ireland (ca. 1729). N. . , 28 Mar. 1999. Web. 14 J une 2012. http://www-personal. ksu. edu/~lyman/english320/sg-Swift-18thC. htm. Cody, David. â€Å"†A Modest Proposal†: An Introduction. † â€Å"A Modest Proposal†: An Introduction. N. p. , July 2000. Web. 14 June 2012. http://www. victorianweb. org/previctorian/swift/proposal1. html. DeGategno, Paul J. , and R. Jay. Stubblefield. Critical Companion to Jonathan Swift: A Literary Reference to His Life and Works. New York: Facts on File, 2006. Print. Jokinen, Anniina. â€Å"The Life of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745). † The Life of Jonathan Swift (1667-1745). N. p. , 16 Oct. 2006. Web. 19 June 2012. http://www. luminarium. org/eightlit/swift/swiftbio. htm. Widger, David, and Jonathan Swift. â€Å"A Modest Proposal. †Ã‚  Www. gutenberg. org. The Project Gutenberg EBook, 27 July 2008. Web. 21 June 2012. http://www. gutenberg. org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h. htm. How to cite A Modest Proposal, Essay examples A modest proposal Free Essays A modest proposal BY green0784 A Modest Proposal In his satirical essay â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† Johnathan Swift examines treatment of the poor in Ireland during the eighteenth century: â€Å"l have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London; that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food; whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled, and I make no doubt, that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or ragout. (Swift 763) In his essay, Swift describes a repulsive suggestion or dealing with the children of the poor in Ireland. Swift describes in detail how poor children should be raised and sold to the wealthy at age one. We will write a custom essay sample on A modest proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now He details how the children should be and how they should be prepared for the wealthy to consume. Swift’s abhorrent proposal for the poor children not only points out the awful treatment of the poor in Ireland during the eighteenth century, but also Ireland’s inability to devise a more desirable plan for the poor. His use of statistics and graphical depiction of the poor children’s lives adds to the credibility of his essay. In the beginning of the essay, Swift describes the streets of Ireland as â€Å"crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms. † (Swift 762) Approximately 120,000 children are born annually to parents in poverty and the mothers of these children are forced into begging for money Just to care for their children. He backs up these facts with detailed approximations of the number of children born into poverty; â€Å"l again subtract fifty thousand for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by ccident or disease within the year. There only remain a hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born. † (Swift 763) Swift’s main goal of his essay was to convince the the people of Ireland that the treatment of their poor was unacceptable. By his graphical depiction of the arrangement for the poor children, Swift is able to add to the credibility of his essay. Swift first describes the use the children will have for society under his plan: â€Å"Those who are more thrifty will flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will ake admirable gloves for the ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen. † (Swift 764) He then explains how the children will be raised and sold once they reach the proper age and weight. l have already computed the charge of nursing a beggar’s child to be about two shillings per annum, rags included; and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child, which, as I have said, will make four dishes of nutritive meat. † (Swift 764) Swift then describes how the way in children will be prepared: â€Å"This food would likewise bring great customs to averns, where the vintners will certainly be so prudent as to procure the b est recipe for dressing it to perfection, and consequently house frequented by all the fine gentlemen, who Justly value themselves upon their knowledge in good eating. (Swift 766) Swift writes his essay in a way that will attract readers to his essay and give more credibility to his essay. He does this by the use of a vulgar depiction of his plan for the poor and his use of statistics to back up his facts. Swifts tone throughout the its country and come up with a solution to the problem. How to cite A modest proposal, Papers A Modest Proposal Free Essays Belliveau Patrick A00156136 ANGL 1042 November 7, 2011 As much the same as different â€Å"A Modest Proposal† is an unrealistically conceived attempt to find an easy, cheap and fair way to convert the starving children of Ireland into â€Å"Sound and useful members of the common wealth. † Swift explains how children across the country are impoverished because their families are too poor to keep them clothed and fed. A modest proposal pre-sents arguments for the many advantages on raising the children to be sold for a great deal of money as food. We will write a custom essay sample on A Modest Proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now He expresses himself with such confidence when telling his fel-low compatriots an easy way to reduce poverty and overpopulation. The most ironic thing about â€Å"A modest proposal† is that it is not modest at all. It is a scary and insane thought to raise children to be eaten. â€Å"A Mild Suggestion† sarcastically proposes that Caucasians choose a night to lure in a few black people into their homes and poison or kill them by any means necessary. DuBois chose to ironically write about the problems that black people were having that was too often ignored, such as racism. One of the most satirist parts of the essay is when the speaker says: â€Å"The next morning there would be ten million funerals, and therefore no Negro problem. Think how quietly the thing would be settled! † It is an ironic notion be-cause it should be the other way around, the white people should be the ones coming up with ways to rid the world of black people and not the black people themselves. It is un-conceivable that this black man is suggesting these ideas and making them sound so sim-ple, when all of their lives, black people have been fighting to be respected. The essay ends with everybody shocked and disgusted at what the colored man said they should do with all black people, which is also an ironic idea, considering most of these people had racist attitudes to begin with. The one similarity between â€Å"A Modest Proposal† and â€Å"A Mild Suggestion† that sticks out most is the fact that both propositions are savage and frightening, but at the same time, obviously not serious. They both sound insane, which has the reader in shock throughout each essay. While reading both papers, people found themselves saying: â€Å"this man cannot be serious. The writers are trying to make the people from that time realize that some of their problems might not be so terrible. For example, the little old lady in â€Å"A mild suggestion† who at the start of the essay was being racist, went back to her room horrified and not saying a word after hearing what the colored man thought we should do with black people. As for â€Å"A modes t proposal† people back in that time might have wor-ried about the poor and the problem with overpopulation. Once hearing about cannibal-ism and selling children as food for a profit, they may have started thinking twice about how serious this problem really was at the time. Another common thread in both these essays is the fact that they talk about human beings as numbers, no matter what their color. Swift writes about how to cut down poverty and overpopulation by raising children as food, and DuBois writes about how to get rid of the numbered black people around the world. Both writers show their disgust; DuBois at racism and Swift to the Irish peoples not being able to mobilize on their own behalf. One of the differences between these two essays are the people in which their mes-sages are aimed for. A mild suggestion† for example was aimed to help white readers take the issue of race more seriously, and for black people to have a greater sense of ra-cial pride. As for â€Å"A modest proposal,† this essay was mostly aimed at the compatriots of the time. These essays warn the population that instead of allowing what is most humane, natural and common, people who conceive theoretically and speculatively to solve a problem may end up thinking of the unthinkable. Also in Swift’s essay it is mostly a speech through first person, while DuBois makes use of the characters. How to cite A Modest Proposal, Papers A Modest Proposal Free Essays Assignment #1: Surprise Ending in The Modest Proposal Syreeta Bruster Professor Lynn Wilson World Cultures II – HUM 112 November 12, 2012 A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is a satirical story with lots of sarcasm. This proposal was written to shock or force the government into a reaction. As the government read his proposal it should bring about a response. We will write a custom essay sample on A Modest Proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now This proposal suggests a â€Å"barbaric solution† that amounts purely to cannibalism. Mr. Swift’s idea is to help end poverty and decrease the amount of women beggars by eating babies of the poor. He devised a plan where he would take 20,000 babies and decide how many would be sold, how many would be breeders thus creating a balance between rich and poor. Mr. Swift’s plan would give the poor a means of income and the wealthy would get a fine and delicate meal. He stated that feeding on Irish babies was a treat and the English should be honored to feast on the babies. Swift based his proposal on facts and figures of many years of analyzing the situation. He does seem well educated and well versed on his proposal. He noted several benefits and advantages to his proposal. Some of those benefits included women being more loving towards their children. Another benefit would be more marriages happening with men catering to their wives while they were pregnant. Swift also quoted a friend that was a modern day swindler. The friend was supposedly from Formosa and told a story where 18,000 young boys were sacrificed to the Gods’ and Priests’. The Gods’ dined on the hearts and the Priests’ dine on their bodies. Swift suggested his proposal was a good solution because the landowners had already â€Å"eaten† the poor people alive, so to speak. The unfair and unjust treatment of the poor people suggested this proposal could be a way out for them. Swift had calculated the cost to feed these babies and with the proposal these surplus of children would not be a burden or anyone, not their parents or the landowners or the government. As a matter of face the landowners could take the babies as payment if the rent was not paid. Swift wanted to evoke such a response that the government would see just how awful they have treated the Irish in this country. They should respond by coming up with a more logical and reasonable plan to care for the beggars and poor people of the land. Although his â€Å"barbaric† proposal was written while he suffered a disease that made his mind alter from stable to unstable; it was concluded by most that he was not crazy when this proposal was written. It is not certain whether he accomplished what he intended to with his proposal; however with the intensity and factual way he presented his proposal I can understand why people would want to follow his train of thought. It was quite easy for Swift to manipulate the facts to fit such a â€Å"Modest Proposal†. Before people really realized what he was actually meaning to do with these babies it could have sounded like a solid plan. In my opinion we need more persuasive people, like Swift, with such passion to give a sort of wake up call to humanity without actually â€Å"eating† our babies. We need to construct a more compassionate and solid plan with regards to how we treat people whether poor or rich that is far from Swift’s proposal. Being eaten alive is not necessarily an actual act but more of a sarcastic statement of how one can be treated. I don’t believe anyone ever really took into account the proposal in actual â€Å"humane† terms. I do feel that it made not only the government react but also his peers and other constituents. References Johnson, James William (1958), â€Å"Tertullian and A Modest Proposal†, Modern Language and Notes (The Johns Hopkins University Press) 73 (8): 561–563 Swift, Jonathan. â€Å"A Modest Proposal. † Victorian Web. http://www. victorianweb. org/ . Web. Viewed November 3, 2012. How to cite A Modest Proposal, Essay examples A Modest Proposal Free Essays If there is one event that haunts this writer to this day, it was the time when he talked with a crime victim, whose fear in the eyes was staggering. The victim shall never be named for the reason that being victimized by a crime is such an intimate matter, the secrets of which are usually well-guarded by the people who experience them.   Anything that we imagine that we know about others is best known to them. We will write a custom essay sample on A Modest Proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now    So, crime is their personal experience, no matter what. However, that is not a reason for society to remain uninvolved. The rate of crime and violence in our society continues to escalate, and if we do not act with swift deliberation, then all of us will become part of that silent and ashamed community of helpless victims. We have every reason to interfere. Most of us go through life believing that crime and violence will never happen to us. But it does, and by the time we want to actively prevent crime, it is often too late. A friend, a loved one; we all have already been victimized. The problems of others must be guarded by us in all sincerity.   This is to ensure that the problems would not spread like plague among other members of other communities.   Therefore it is incumbent upon us to stop crime in its tracks lest it spreads like wildfire to create a conflagration too big and terrible for any one of is to try to stop. Life is too rich and joyful to be spent on crying spells and martyrdom.   Indeed the misery of crime victims and their loved ones deserves justice, each and every one of them. So let us give these crime victims and criminals alike what they deserve: justice, the swift and instant type that will sow fear in the hearts of the cold-hearted criminals and give a sense of retribution to those who have suffered in the hands of these heartless criminals. What would it take to eradicate crime and violence? Well, first of all, we would have to fight crime and violence in the frontline, and use the weapons that they have against them. Fear has always been an effective deterrent of any action. People are paralyzed by fear, and that is true of hardened criminals as well as unsuspecting victims. Indeed we are lucky that we are in this position, to use fear to turn a dire situation around and use it to our advantage. With a thankful attitude, therefore, we should not want to fall into the trap of crime and violence by refusing to use violence ourselves. The proposal then is to kill anyone on sight anyone who has been seen committing a crime, regardless of the type of crime, no questions asked. Every type of crime must be given swift retribution, no matter how small or petty, the punishment is death on sight, no deliberations, and no hesitations. How does it work? Simple. The person witnessing the crime is sanctioned by the state to kill the criminal or suspected criminal on sight. If the victims are able to do it themselves and kill their attacker, then so much the better; however, that is not possible in most cases, so anyone can do it, before, during, and after the crime has been committed.   What would it cost us to directly kill criminals?   None at all. In fact society stands to gain so much more by doing so. The most important advantage would be the elimination of crime because criminal would be too scared to commit violence or any illegal act. The decision to commit crime and violence is generally regarded as a product of rational thinking. As such, it is with certainty that crime and violence can be best prevented through immediate, swift punitive action. These forms of punishment or retribution will discourage criminals because they fear the punishment more than they want to commit the illegal acts. The choice to become a criminal is largely dependent on the threat of punishment or being caught. If they think they will not get caught, then they will commit a crime without hesitation. But if we send the message that the price for crime is death, then that will change the scenario altogether. If criminals know what is at stake, then they will hesitate and think if the benefits of the crime outweigh the risk involved. All of us, even the most hardened of criminals value our lives. Nothing is more precious. And if we kill criminals on sight, then the fear of possible death would deter would-be criminals from ever doing anything bad. They know the consequences of doing so, and the risk is too high, even for anti-socials and repeat offenders. Hopefully, these people will regard their lives as too precious to be wasted on empty and meaningless violence and crime. As previously mentioned, use to fear to sow fear, violence to stop violence. Most criminals believe that they can get away with violence because the law takes too long to arbitrate and dispense justice. When justice is delayed, it is indeed denied for the victims, and the delay encourages criminals to keep on doing what they feel they have gotten away with. And that is the root of our endless problems with crime and violence; our deliberate approach to justice has been ineffective because while it means well, it inadvertently protects the criminals. Killing criminals on sight addresses the issue of dispensing justice and preventing crime and violence all at the same time. An accidental, but nevertheless important benefit of this proposal involves cost-effectiveness. When we kill criminals on sight, we would eliminate the need for a penitentiary system. The cost of building and maintaining prisons is very high and eats a lot of state resources. If all criminals are killed, then jails would no longer be needed, and the funds used for the upkeep of prisons and the care of prisoners could then be channeled for more productive ends. Moreover, because there is no penitentiary system to maintain, the citizens will no longer have to subsidize its costs and that could translate to lesser taxes. Lesser taxes would mean more disposable income for the family. When there is more money to go around, the spending power of every household is increased, which can very well improve our country’s overall economy. The existing prison facilities can then be converted to other money-making facilities such as museums, spa and wellness centers, theaters, shops, and other similar places. This one benefit alone can bring about a cascade of benefits that can have far-reaching and long-lasting effects. How to cite A Modest Proposal, Papers A Modest Proposal Free Essays Many mistake t for only being used as a mean to make mockery and turn a serious situation into a humorous one. It is actually applied to get us thinking and to help us understand the point from which the satirist is coming from. One satirist who, gruesomely but effectively, managed to push his point across to us by his shrewd application of satire in his work, is Jonathan Swift. We will write a custom essay sample on A Modest Proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now In his widely studied â€Å"A Modest Proposal† he used many satirical devices such as irony, juxtaposition and understatement to help his essays purpose and theme sound deeper and better thought-out. This technique helps him achieving his goal of swaying us to his side and accepting his opinion. His use of irony is splattered all over the essay and many examples can be found. This helps us have a better understanding of the situation because his irony highlights the underlying events he wants us to take note of. â€Å"There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children, alas! Too frequent among us! Sacrificing the poor innocent babes This is very ironic because how is killing them to eat at the age of one not â€Å"sacrificing the poor innocent babes†? This makes the readers start questioning Swift and his theory but also makes us think that if this is the hypothetical â€Å"perfect† solution, then how bad are the actual possible ones that are out there? Then there’s the overall irony of the whole piece: Swift actually says what he means, bu t says it as if he’s matter-of-faculty defending an unthinkable idea. He points out that the country has no agriculture or industry, that children as nouns as six are taught to steal, that a member of the ruling class spends more on one meal than it costs to feed and clothe an Irish child for a year or even years, that Irish women are driven to abortion or infanticide because they cannot afford to support their children. The reader needs to look beyond the â€Å"proposal† Swift appears to be making to the hard facts he presents. Jonathan Swift could never be accused of writing too simply. A Modest Proposal† brims over with complex sentences and subordinated clauses, combining and juxtaposing Swifts stated opinions with those of his acquaintances. Swift begins his treatise (essay) by describing, in general terms, the overpopulation and resultant poverty Of Ireland and his plan for a solution: â€Å"As to my own part, having turned my thoughts for many years, upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of our proje ctors, I have always found them grossly mistaken in their computation. It is true, a child just drop from its dam, may be supported by her milk, for a solar year, with little other nourishment: at most not above the value of two shillings, which the mother may certainly get, or the value in craps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is exactly at one year old that propose to provide for them in such a manner, as, instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing of many thousands. . ] do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration, that of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black Attlee, or swine, and my reason is, that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore, one male will be s ufficient to serve four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may, at a year old, be offered in sale to the persons of quality and fortune, through the kingdom, always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump, and fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, ND seasoned with a little pepper or salt, will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter. Swift then juxtaposes his own proposal with his acquaintance’s idea of replacing teenagers’ flesh in place of venison within the national diet, admitting that he finds this idea cruel: â€Å"A very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my scheme. He said, that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well played by the bodies of young lads and maidens, not exceeding fourteen years of age, nor under ;level; so great a number of both sexes in every country being now ready to starve for want of work and service: And these to be disposed of by their parents if alive, or otherwise by their nearest relations. But with due deference to so excellent a friend, and so deserving a patriot, I cannot be altogether in his sentiments; for as to the males, my American acquaintance assured me from frequent experience, that their flesh was generally tough and lean, like that of our school-boys, by continual exercise, and their taste disagreeable, and to fatten them would not answer the charge. Then as to the females, it would, I think, with humble submission, be a loss to the public, because they soon would become breeders themselves: And besides, it is not improbable that some scrupulous people might be apt to censure such a practice, (although indeed very unjustly) as a little bordering upon cruelty, which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, how well so ever intended. This juxtaposition has the potential of either confusing the reader as to what Swift s attempting to say or helping the reader see that Swift does not actually mean this but is merely trying to state a fact in an indirect and slightly confusing manner. Swift also makes use of bland understatement to advance his â€Å"proposal†: the organized cannibalism of poor children. The opening sentence to his introduction, â€Å"It is a melancholy object an Rigors understatement because the scene he proceeds to describe is more tragic than merely â€Å"melancholy. † Whether this is sarcasm or not is up to us as readers to decide but it is definitely an understatement. This device could have been used by him to either express how this serious topic is taken lightly or to emphasize on how bad the situation actually is. How to cite A Modest Proposal, Papers A Modest Proposal Free Essays In â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, Jonathan Swift takes aim at the common perception of the poverty stricken class in Ireland in the 1700s. Swift’s solution to the problems of economic strife faced by the lower class is to resort to infanticide and cannibalism upon the first birthday of any child born to a poor family. Obviously, Swift’s true motive for writing â€Å" We will write a custom essay sample on A Modest Proposal or any similar topic only for you Order Now com/english-12-a-part-3/"A Modest Proposal† is not to encourage society to sit down to a dinner of stewed infant, but to show how the lower class is unfairly perceived by society in general. One of the most common views of the population in Ireland during this time period was that in which people were not individuals, but mere commodities by the government. Several times throughout this proposal, Swift makes subtle but clear jabs at the Irish government and upper class, obviously voicing his discontent with their treatment of those less fortunate. There are several passages in Swift’s proposal that show his discontent with the people who he felt were ruling society in an unfair way. The landlords in Irish society wind up in the crosshairs of Swift’s barrage of attacks, â€Å"I grant this food may be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for Landlords, who as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children.† Obviously, Swift felt that the landlords were taking advantage of the lower class citizens, â€Å"devouring† what little money and other personal effects they may have had. Another example of Swift’s attack on upper class is the one he makes on the government, â€Å"Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: Of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: Of using neither clothes, nor household furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture†. This passage obviously shows Swift’s lack of sympathy for governmental policies that existed at this time. How to cite A Modest Proposal, Papers