A Modest Proposal
In this essay by Jonathan Swift, he proposes that the infants of Ireland be sold for consumption throughout the land to control the population, prevent starvation, and to help the economy flourish. The author is an Anglican, or of the church of England, is an upperclassman, and is very harsh towards Catholics, or papists as he refers to them. He figures that if families sell their children then they can make enough money to keep their families alive, and the food from the babies can be enjoyed by the upper class of society. The children being consumed are only 1 year olds because they are the "most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled..." at that age. He knows this because an American friend of his told him, and since he is an American he must be very knowledgeable. This is making fun of the fact that many foreigners think America is such a knowledgeable country. Also, the children consumed would be mainly male because they need to keep the females alive in order to continue breeding. He offers the readers ways to prepare the children (fricassee or a ragout), as if it will wet our appetite, and this is the first time when the reader could actually take this essay seriously. Throughout the story, he scientifically accounts for the amount of children will be consumed each year and how it will effect the economy. Any logical explanation against this proposal is simply thrown aside by the author because it seems absurd to him that people would not agree with him. It turns out that he is very biased in this account by the fact that he has no children. If he had any children than he might have found this proposal very absurd and outrageous. I found this very funny by obviously Swift did not agree with the proposal he wrote about. I assume that Swift is very opposed to the English rule over Ireland because he said that England would eat all of Ireland if they'd the chance. Also, he does not like the fact that the large landowners have so much power. He believes in giving the lower class citizens more power and taking the power away from the ruling class. Overall, this is one of the better satires I've read.
1 comment:
It is our shared sense of morality that makes this satire so effective. Perhaps it isn't funny in the way that The Onion often is, but his point is not to amuse but to ridicule the current practices by the wealthy nobility and their treatment of the poor in Ireland. By considering this absurd solution, we must consider a situation that could produce such a "modest proposal.
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