Essays on A Modest Proposal

An essay “A Modest Proposal” was written by Jonathan Swift. In this paper, he derides politicians for attempting to solve the food and hunger problem in Ireland. He makes his claim by first summarizing the state of poverty-stricken Dublin, then introducing his fabricated recommendation and finally listing counter-arguments. Swift’s purpose is not to institute an absurd proposal that had no sense, but rather a ridicule politicians, in order to prove that their methods in solving the country’s difficult situation were insufficient. He also criticizes the wealthy and the unhealthy lifestyle of citizens. His tone of compassion for the Irish people is severe as he includes grievances of their inability in dealing with their own problems. And he loves his country and people and wants to help them by showing politicians what they do wrong and what they should do instead.

In the essay “A Modest Proposal,” written by Jonathan Swift, the author acknowledges the condition of Dublin, Ireland. In the beginning line, the author states, “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, the cabin doors crowded with beggars of the females, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms”. This line of imagery emphasizes the extent to which the destitution of the lower class has grown. By examining the masses, the author hopes to give a picture of the helpless state of some families. Ultimately, the vast majority of Ireland was not doing well in the late 1720s and the government was doing little to aid them and it was a huge problem.

In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift essentially parodies the style of solutions that had been proposed for Ireland. In line 59, the author states, “… and it is exactly at one-year-old that I 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 thousands”. This line displays Swift’s ridiculous proposal to eat babies. His proposition is significant because it is the true purpose of the essay which is satire. The idea of eating babies is completely horrific, which is precisely his point. Ultimately, Swift uses satire to reflect the incompetent and horrific decisions made by the politicians of his homecountry. Their decisions have not benefited Ireland at all.

In “A Modest Proposal,” the author asserts the options that the people of Ireland have. In line 192, Swift says, “ Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: Of taxing our absentees: Of using neither clothes nor, nor furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture: Of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury: Of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women: OF introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence, and temperance...”. This line shows all other stratagems that could be used against his absurd proposal. The list of viable solutions is essentially the author’s call to action for Irish citizens. Clearly, even though the Irish government cannot aid them does not mean they cannot aid themselves. But the role of the Irish government is crucial and Jonathan Swift wanted to show the government that they should change their ways of operating to help citizens.

Jonathan Swift’s “The Modest Proposal” was not written to encourage people to feast on innocent babies as it was obvious satire from his end. The purpose of Swift’s paper was to make fun of Dublin's politicians and show them that the solutions they had put into place were not efficient at all. After Swift’s essay, Dublin citizens were able to walk away with open minds and a better understanding of how they could solve their problems and help themselves. And although the people alone can only do so much, Swift was successful in satirizing politicians and people in charge. Dublin's government probably took notice and attempted to fix the mistakes they made.