Swift S Modest Proposal

“A Modest Proposal” The welfare of people as members of a community has historically been addressed in most literary forms of Jonathan Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal for Preventing Children of Ireland from being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public”. In his proposal, Swift employs a savage irony to present his social commentary. He writes about the starving people of Ireland, and makes a wild and absurd proposal to help remedy the problems of overpopulation and poverty. Furthermore, Swift wanted to make a political statement by using the children as satire to grasp the attention of his intended audience, which includes, the English people, the Irish politicians, and the rich. Swift intention was to expose the conditions of the lower class, and describes how the poor of Ireland beg for food and money to fed their families, he also writes to the wealthy to promote the help and essential needs for the necessity of the poor. In a modest proposal, Jonathan Swift challenges the Neo-classical period by creating a sense of instability in their way of thinking. In an ironic and cleverly delivered twist of words, Swift elaborates on his belief that the rich people are devouring the land, food, and additional resources from the less fortunate people making it almost impossible for them to survive. Swift attacks the society by carelessly endorsing cannibalism in hopes to help Ireland through their economic crisis. He demonstrates this by humbly proposing and assuring "that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food." (Swift, para 14) Implying that society should eat children shows that the individual (the child) is seen as an unimportant individual to society; therefore, is not valued when considering an effective resolution to their situation. This provides criticism to the Neo-Classical beliefs that society is more important than the individual. The Neo-Classic's logic and reasoning aspect is attacked by Swift's persuasion that eating a child is valid response to help fix their oppression. His introduction clearly states that his purpose is for preventing the children of poor People in Ireland, from being a Burden to their Parents or Country, and for making them beneficial to the Public. His reasoning for the proposal is ultimately satisfied through his sound thinking that evidently has nothing to do with his feelings about the matter. The narrator than proceeds to give the audience justification of his statement, and therefore attempting to challenge the Neo-Classic's fact that logic and reasoning is more important than a person's emotions. Optimism in the Neo-Classical period is criticized through the projector's tone in the proposal. Swift demands the audience to recognize the narrator's purpose "having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infant's, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich." (Swift, para 26) The speaker optimistically believes that his idea is for the best. Jonathan Swift’s suggestion was satirical brilliance, and it was a modest proposal for illumination the cause of Ireland’s misfortunes. The proposal was not actually eating children but placing a mirror for the reader to reflect upon. The solution was tailored to appeal to those who he implied are the responsible parties for perpetuating the disadvantages of the Irish people. Swift’s skillfully constructed satire of the wealthy toward the poor and then subtly includes solutions. It was obviously written that the author was extremely dissatisfied with abuse of economic and political power that the Irish and English governments project onto their less fortunate citizens. In expression of his outrage, and to bring attention to the country’s scandalous ways, he has constructed a modest proposal to expose the system for what it really is. Swift, as Ireland-born English, was deeply moved by injustice and the suffering he found in Ireland. Adopting the disguise or persona of an English economist, he writes a modest proposal, and gives an ironic suggestion on selling and eating children, “a fair, cheap, and easy method” (Swift, para 2), to prevent the children of poor Irish from being a burden to their parents or country. In a satirical way, Swift makes known the desperate and widening gap between classes and the need for a social and moral reform in Ireland. Conclusively, in his biting political satire, Jonathan Swift seeks to create empathy for the poor through his ironic portrayal of the children of Irish beggars as commodities that can be regulated and even eaten. He is able to poke fun at the dehumanization of the multitudes of poor people in Ireland by ironically commenting on what he sees as an extension of the current situation. Swift’s essay seeks to comment on the terrible condition of starvation that a huge portion of Ireland has been forced into, and the absurd rationalizations that the rich are quick to submit in order to justify the economic inequality. He is able to highlight the absurdity of these attempted explanations by presenting cannibalism as a logical (although not particularly valid or sound), mathematically calculated alternative to the current situation. In doing so Swift is able to shock the readers into defending the poor. Through his emotionless tones and clever diction, Swift seeks to stir up the reader’s feelings of indignation and compassion and thus helps remind them that people are human beings and deserve to be treated as such, and not treated as pieces of meat.