Topic > Analysis of Jonathan Swift's message in a modest proposal

Satire is the use of sarcasm, exaggeration, irony, humor and ridicule to denounce and expose human vices, especially in matters and in modern politics. Jonathan Swift often has to use satire because his ideas have fallen on deaf ears, so to raise awareness of his topic he has to write something shocking. Audiences may find Swift's "A Modest Proposal" scary as she writes in great detail why the Irish should practice cannibalism to boost the economy. He claims that Irish families could sell their children from the age of one to wealthy landowners. This would help combat overpopulation and famine and allow poor families to have extra income. Swift provides specific numerical data on price, weight, amount of children consumed, and amount left for reproduction. He goes into the gruesome details of recipes for children and how “winemakers will certainly be prudent enough to procure the best recipes to dress children to perfection.” Obviously, Swift does not believe that the practice of cannibalism will help Ireland become a better nation. The goal of Swift's satirical writings in "A Modest Proposal" is to grab readers' attention to expose the real problem in Ireland: the inability of the Irish to resist the English, be they nobles reluctant to fight due to their incompetence . or ordinary people who are too naive. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essaySwift believes that ordinary people in Ireland are too naive to challenge British power. Ordinary people live in terrible conditions where they are taxed heavily by landowners with “their corn and livestock already seized and money an unknown thing.” They do little to change their lifestyle as they do not focus on politics or changing their socioeconomic status. However, Swift does not believe that ordinary people do this on purpose, but instead live in such poor conditions that they only have to focus on the well-being of their family. Kevin O'Rourke has collected first-hand accounts from travelers who have visited Ireland. He believes that the “travellers came, saw, and were shocked by the squalor of the dwellings, the poverty of the clothing, and the general poverty they encountered.” With such horrible living conditions, it is easy to understand why the poor could not devote much time to social and political reform. Swift understands and recognizes that ordinary people live in poverty, which is why he does not blame them for the ineffectiveness in the fight against British repression. Instead, he blames the nobles who put the common people in a position of poverty through taxes. High taxation prompts Swift to demand that “landlords have at least a degree of mercy towards their tenants.” It is the landlords who choose to push the line of poverty in Ireland forward with their unfair tenancies that take almost everything away from their tenants. Instead of uniting against the common evil, the English, the Irish push each other, weakening the nation. Swift places much of the blame for the continued British crackdown on Ireland on nobles who feared opposing the English due to general incompetence and fear of losing their own power. Swift believes that nobles are incompetent because of their reluctance to accept new ideas. The author has suggested new ideas but says they have been “tired for many years of offering vain, idle, and visionary thoughts, and at last completely despairing of success.” This increases the.