Modest Proposal Essay, Research Paper

In his lengthy literary career, Jonathan Swift wrote many stories that used a

broad range of voices that were used to make some compelling personal

statements. For example, Swifts, A Modest Proposal, is often heralded as his

best use of both sarcasm and irony. Yet taking into account the persona of

Swift, as well as the period in which it was written, one can prove that through

that same use of sarcasm and irony, this proposal is actually written to

entertain the upper-class. Therefore the true irony in this story lies not in

the analyzation of minute details in the story, but rather in the context of the

story as it is written. One of the voices that is present throughout the story

is that of irony. The story itself is ironic since no one can take Swifts

proposal seriously. This irony is clearly demonstrated at the end of the story;

Swift makes it clear that this proposal would not affect him since his children

were grown and his wife unable to have any more children. It would be rather

absurd to think that a rational man would want to both propose this and partake

in the eating of another human being. Therefore, before an analyzation can

continue, one has to make the assumption that this is strictly a fictional work

and Swift had no intention of pursuing his proposal any further. One of the

other voices that is present throughout the entire story is that of sarcasm. In

order to understand this further, a reader has to comprehend that Swift,

becoming infamous after Gullivers Travels, was a member of the upper-class.

Right from the first paragraph Swift attempts to fool his readers by the sarcasm

of the dreary scene that Swift presents. For example, he mentions that it is a

melancholy sight to see beggars and their children on the street. The sarcastic

paradox in this statement is whether it is a melancholy object for him, having

to see homeless people every day, or for the beggars lifestyle? Upon first

reading this one may be led to believe that Swift is a compassionate writer

attempting to feel the pain of the beggars. But as the story continues, a reader

can look back and note that he is using a sarcastic tone and the only sad sight

that he sees is the fact that people of his status have to deal with commoners.

It is a good combination that makes the reader think twice about any other

statements, and the voice used, after the first paragraph. This leads to the

underlying statements that appear throughout the story. It is quite clear that

Swift has strong feelings of resentment, bordering on hate, for the poor people

that wonder the street. For example, he tries to qualify his proposal by saying,

"it is very well known that they are dying, and rotting , by cold and

famine, and filth, and vermin . . . they cannot get work and consequently pine

away for want of nourish.". Once a reader understands this, they can see

the true purpose of his proposal. He wants to lower the population of beggars in

his country, so what better way to do it than by putting an end to the younger

generation of beggars? This is also proven since throughout the story he only

mentions that the upper-class of society would be able to purchase the

sacrificial children. The upper-class would also take the carcasses and use them

to, "make admirable gloves for ladies summer boots for fine

gentlemen.". Also, when he makes his calculations as to how many children

would be available for sale, he never takes into account the children from the

rich families. In short, Swifts message is that rich children serve a purpose,

the advancement of Ireland, while poor children are nothing but a burden to the

republic. One other clear indication that Swift was motivated by his hatred for

the poor is the list of six reasons that he write to qualify his proposal. In

the third statement, Swift explains how by buying the children and then selling

them to their friends, the upper-class can keep on thriving. This was a plan to

get themselves even more rich, as Swift states, "the money will circulate

among ourselves, the goods being entirely of our own growth and

manufacture.". Secondly, he also compares this type of meal to that of

eating a pig. He elaborates by naming a variety of ways that you can cook the

child, use if for bacon, or to make clothing.He never once mentions what the

poor people can gain after they have been paid the purchasing price. He only

mentions the benefits of the rich. Yet,Swift wants the writer to believe that he

wasnt attempting to bring harm to the people of his country, on the contrary, he

was only trying to make his friends rich. This is another demonstration of the

sarcasm and irony that Swift uses to both persuade and deceive the reader.

Opponents to this analyzation of A Modest Proposal would agree that there is

irony present in the story, but it was intended to demonstrate the irony that a

writer can use to persuade readers in a different sense. In this case this

proposal was intended to make the upper-class examine the conditions under which

the lower class lived. In fact it was intended to help the lower-class to gain

more recognition from the upper class. If a reader does take his proposal

seriously, then the use irony and sarcasm in Swifts writing is exemplified. But,

if a reader takes note of the irony they will notice the true point of the

story; the assistance that the lower-class needs. Either way, the irony is

present and Swift gets his message across. In response, one could argue that the

whole context of the story must be taken into account. First of all, one must

take into account the environment in which the story was written. During this

time period, the beggars that Swift describes could not read, much less afford

to buy one of Swifts works. Swift was well aware that his audience was the

well-to-do upper class. He could write proposal like this knowing that there

would be no repercussions since the upper-class would treat this as a comedy.

Actually, the lower class could have revolted fearing that their children were

in danger if they knew of the story. In effect, it is a combination of both

propaganda and humor aimed for the educated audience. Secondly, if Swift did

want to help the lower-class, he wouldnt have created an exemption for himself

in the last paragraph. If he wanted to initiate this plan to help the

lower-class, then he should have been the one to start it all. Also, why would

he propose such a heinous plan that involves both the sacrifice of another human

as well as cannibalism and expect to be taken seriously? Very few authors have

had their works analyzed and critiqued as thoroughly as Swift has. Many of these

essays have dealt with the question of the true purpose of A Modest Proposal.

One reason that this is so difficult to understand is because in actuality there

is a dual irony in this story. Referring back to the example of the first

paragraph, a melancholy object can work two ways. Again the question arises; who

is it sad for? Even in todays world, there are some people that give money to

the homeless, because the homeless are in a sad situation, and there are people

that vehemently refuse to give money to panhandlers and they get sad because

they have to be bothered by the homeless every time that they walk by. It is

difficult to distinguish which one of these dissenting views of irony is

correct, that is assuming that one of them is valid. This is a difficult task

because we do not fully understand the environment in which it was written, we

can only analyze the voice in which it is written. A personal opinion would be

that he wrote this story purely for the amusement of the upper class. This is

qualified because, as stated before, during the time that this was written the

beggars could not read and could not afford one of Swifts works. Also,

demonstrating his well executed use of irony and sarcasm could have gained him

advancement among his peers. A reader has to conclude that a work of this

nature, from such a dynamic author, must be read with both some literary awe and

criticism. One can spend many hours trying to analyze the words, the sentences

and even entire paragraphs to find a deeper hidden meaning in this story. Yet,

this story should be viewed as a fictional work and as one of the best

demonstrations of dual sarcasm and irony combined. Anything beyond that would be

purely hypothetical and would distract from the purity of this story.