Modest Proposal By Jonathon Swift Essay, Research Paper

In Jonathan Swift?s essay, ?A Modest Proposal?, Swift proposes that the

poor should eat their own starving children during a great a famine in Ireland.

What would draw Swift into writing to such lengths. When times get hard in

Ireland, Swift states that the children would make great meals. The key factor

to Swift?s essay that the reader must see that Swift is not literally ordering

the poor to cannibalize. Swift acknowledges the fact of the scarcity of food and

empathizes with the struggling and famished souls of Ireland through the strange

essay. Being of high society Britain, which at the time mothered Ireland, Swift

utilizes his work to satirically place much of the blame on England itself.

Through his brilliant stating of the fact that the children cost money as well

as aid in the drought of food and necessities the reader can get an idea of the

suffering on going in Ireland; this brings the reader to see that instead of

keeping the children their parents should either eat them or sell them on an

open market. By wasting the scarce food in Ireland, the people are killing

themselves; thus the children can be consumed saving food and at the same time

making food. It is interesting to see how well Swift conveys his view towards

the poor in this odd manor. Swift sees how the poor are treated by the affluent

who may think that the impoverished are the reason for Ireland?s food

problems. In fact, the entire essay is nothing more than sarcastic piece that

deeply imbeds the blame upon the rich who he feels might have just as much or

even more blame on Ireland?s food problems than the poor ever have. Swift

intelligently uses his common sense logic in a strange way to convey his

feelings about this predicament. Swift goes to great lengths to intelligently

show these feelings. The ways at which Swift camouflages his ideas and thoughts

throughout this essay brought many readers at the time to think that he actually

wanted Ireland to revert to eating their children. His employment of such

literary elements of irony, mix cynicism, and pure contextual reaction from the

reader help to map the entire essay. Thoughout the work, Swift persistently

relies upon the use of irony. It is quite apparent that no rational human being

would bring themselves to eating the flesh of another, which also adds to the

irony of the story. Another interesting point of reflection is the fact that

although Swift has children of his own, his are grown and his wife can no longer

bear any more. Because of this fact, it is clear that further analysis would

show that this work is purely fictional and cannot be taken literally. Many

people of the time actually did take Swift?s recollections literally, which

brought about much condemnation to Swift as a literary writer. Cynical readers

of the time had come to expect such a voice from one like Swift. From the first

sentence of the essay, Swift begins to fool the reader by applying the dreary

atmosphere of starvation in Ireland. For example, Swift keenly routes to the

beggars in the streets with there starving children close at hand. It must be

brought to attention that Swift?s piece shows much remorse for the poor

especially the children of the poor, even though it doesn?t state this quite

so clearly. Swift does not feel that the starving children are of no use for the

Irish people, except for being expended of. He may state that the children of

the rich hold Ireland?s future in hand and the children of the poor. It is his

combination of feelings between the rich and impoverished which brings the

reader to see all directions to which the essay will embrace. Furthermore, this

roots to the many underlying statements, which emerge all throughout the story.

Swift clearly holds deep resentment directed to those who blame those who are

forced on bringing themselves to begging for food and wandering the streets.

Though he indifferently speaks of the needy as ?dead and rotting,? Swift is

being nothing more than satirical. What better way of ending poverty and strife

in Ireland than wiping out all of the young generations, which would delete all

of the destitute generations to come. Bringing the children to an open market

would allow the wealthy citizens to purchase them for dining reasons. The skins

of the ?carcasses? could be utilized to make gloves for the ladies. The

hardened soles of the their feet could be used to make boots for the gentlemen.

At this point, it is clear to the reader that Swift is being purely fictitious.

The rich would have more uses for the bodies of these children than an Indian

with a newly killed buffalo would. The entire context of the story must be taken

into account for the reader to have an adequate response. First off, the reader

must see the conditions from which the essay is recalled. Many of the poor from

this period lacked the ability to read. At the same time, Swift is aware of the

fact that much of his audience is compiled of the rich and well to do. This

class of people would most likely find it hard to consume the children of dirty

beggars. What would the lowly beggars have done anyway if they were made to

bring their children to auction, as if they were slaves or even prized meat?

Most likely, as anyone else, they would have rebelled and thrown a coupe. This

compilation of rhetoric and propaganda aimed to the upper class stirs an echo of

an ironic portrayal of cynicism. Swift proposes this heinous portrait to bring

an air of humor over the terror ongoing in Ireland through the respect of

cannibalism. Very few authors of the time would venture into such shady

territory; to poke fun at a dismal time such as the one Swift has seen. How can

cannibalism, the eating of human flesh, be take so lightly by someone who would

never revert to cannibalism himself? Actually, cannibalism is really not seen so

lightly by Swift. It is clear that a famine is not a time to joke about the

scarcity of food. Although to place blame on the rich through a sarcastic joke

is very affective. Swift is humorous, yet at the same time a bit brutal for his

justifications. Because of the indifferent tone which Swift imposes, he was very

often thoroughly analyzed, as well as judged, for his motives for writing. ?A

Modest Proposal? proves noteworthy of being neither modest nor even proposable

to any audience, no matter how rough the times may be. This indifferent tone

towards the selling of children of which Swift writes has more of an impact than

that of one in which the writer might actually be profoundly troubled over such

a famine. The affect that is risen by Swift?s employment of a mixture of

sarcasm, irony, and cynicism into his tone is one of clearity. It is his lack of

expectations towards a good outcome that exalts the tone of Swift?s paper to a

higher level. Swift knows that the depression and bleakness of the period will

take time in getting better. To the poor it will seem like an eternity; thus,

giving Swift a reason to write the way in which he does. Throughout his

writings, Jonathon Swift has used many different voices to explicate his views

on the melancholy time period in which he lived. He uses a totally inverse route

in writing his works. Swift brings to light many aspects of his culture such as

greed, poverty, and ignorance. Other writers of the period would probably not

even touch such aspects. ?A Modest Proposal? is a prime example of every

interesting degree of Swift?s writing abilities. Ingeniously, the essay is a

collection of these abilities. In conclusion to the story, the reader can

scrutinize each sentence to find a different meaning or interpretation. Clearly,

this essay is and should be treated as a work of fiction and nothing more.

Though it is nothing more than a fictional work it should be taken into account

that the essay carries a deeper meaning to which every reader can find

difference.