Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “a Modest Proposal”
Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”
During the late seventeenth century, political pamphlets were distributed throughout Ireland to promote the ideas of various intellectuals and laymen. However, many discarded them and did not pay attention to them. Jonathan Swift, author of “A Modest
Proposal,” takes advantage of the overlooked pamphlets, and constructs a ridiculous proposal.
He does this to illustrate how backwards and bad the state of Ireland is and the social classes.
Swift proposes that the babies of all the poor and desolate will “contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands” to improve Ireland’s economy and standard of living
(Swift 868). He says this because many women kept having children but were unable to provide for them. He also states that his proposal would make the babies “beneficial to the public” (866). Also, it is proposed because of Ireland’s sincerely grim living standards. For these reasons, he looks at the politicians to blame for the poor conditions because of the apathy they presented while in the decision making process, to resolve the conditions. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift effectively uses insincerity, sarcasm, and rhetorical exaggeration to reveal his annoyance of politicians, papists, and overall citizens of poverty-stricken Ireland in the late seventeenth century. However, there are three factors that make Swift’s argument not serious: the tone of the author, his insincerity, and ridiculousness of the proposal.
In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift does not blame the shortcomings of Ireland on the people. He says that the people, politicians, and English were all to be at fault for the terrible state and poverty of Ireland. Swift states that if a poor infant passes the dangerous years of childhood, they would “leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain [James Stuart]” or “they would sell themselves to the Barbados,” as indentured
During the late seventeenth century, political pamphlets were distributed throughout Ireland to promote the ideas of various intellectuals and laymen. However, many discarded them and did not pay attention to them. Jonathan Swift, author of “A Modest
Proposal,” takes advantage of the overlooked pamphlets, and constructs a ridiculous proposal.
He does this to illustrate how backwards and bad the state of Ireland is and the social classes.
Swift proposes that the babies of all the poor and desolate will “contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands” to improve Ireland’s economy and standard of living
(Swift 868). He says this because many women kept having children but were unable to provide for them. He also states that his proposal would make the babies “beneficial to the public” (866). Also, it is proposed because of Ireland’s sincerely grim living standards. For these reasons, he looks at the politicians to blame for the poor conditions because of the apathy they presented while in the decision making process, to resolve the conditions. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift effectively uses insincerity, sarcasm, and rhetorical exaggeration to reveal his annoyance of politicians, papists, and overall citizens of poverty-stricken Ireland in the late seventeenth century. However, there are three factors that make Swift’s argument not serious: the tone of the author, his insincerity, and ridiculousness of the proposal.
In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift does not blame the shortcomings of Ireland on the people. He says that the people, politicians, and English were all to be at fault for the terrible state and poverty of Ireland. Swift states that if a poor infant passes the dangerous years of childhood, they would “leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain [James Stuart]” or “they would sell themselves to the Barbados,” as indentured