Summary:
An analysis of Jonathan Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal," a satire-laden piece in which Swift addresses the terrible living conditions that existed in Ireland during the eighteenth century. As is the case with any well-written satire, Swift created and implemented a shocking revelation and used a serious, detached tone to make it seem real.
A Truly Unmodest Proposal
Satire is the use of wit, especially sarcasm, irony, and ridicule to criticize faults. Arguably the most renowned author of satire is Jonathan Swift, chiefly known for his novel Gulliver's Travels, he also wrote numerous other pieces of literature, many concerning the politics of Ireland. His essay A Modest Proposal also brought him great fame. In it he proposed a vile solution for the problems of Ireland in the 1730's which he described as a plea "for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public" (Intro; 1). He uses satire to address the terrible living conditions at the time in an indirect way. Through this paper Swift was able to intensify the problem and make it clear to everyone it was an imminent danger and had to be dealt with one way or another.
Swift begins the essay by addressing the problem in a serious fashion, drawing people in with his passion and dedication to his native country. As the third paragraph begins, he has drawn the reader in and professes himself to only be thinking of others. He uses facts and statistics to make his point, and emotion and logic to grab every member of his audience until he shocks everyone with his actual plan: to use infants as food and even make their skin into clothing. After eight paragraphs of sincerity and concern, this comes as quite a shock to the reader. Once his true purpose is revealed, he again employs facts and numbers to indicate all the advantages and intelligence of his plan.
At this point, the reader is disgusted by all the details of the solution. Swift also sneaks in insults to other cultures and his own all while comparing humans to animals and making more disgusting suggestions every sentence for the uses of babies. He continues to use statistics and then asks the reader to come up with a better solution if he/she does not like his. Near the end he restates all the advantages of his plan and evokes the readers' emotions once more utilizing the severity of the problem he poses a solution to. Finally, he finishes his paper by explaining he could not benefit from this plan, as his children are too old and his wife past childbearing age (32; 11), proving that he devised this plan with the pure intent of helping others.
Throughout the entire paper Swift employs satire to make his point. He starts with a serious tone and progresses to making outrageous proposals and acting as if they are completely innocent. This in itself is satire, but numerous other factors make this essay into one.
Even the title is satirical, his proposal is not in the least modest as it would imply. Knowing his intentions and then reading this essay makes the satire much more visible. One of the first instances of this is in the fourth paragraph when he adds that he has "maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors [and has] always found them grossly mistaken in computation" (4; 2). He informs the audience he has always objected to other solutions to the problems of his country and throughout the paper reinforces his humanity. Swift tricks the reader into believing he is really trying to help by his use of statistics and serious tone. Ignorant of his true plan, the reader becomes hopeful in hearing it will help the children "contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands" (4; 2). Furthermore he prophesizes his scheme will help to stop abortions and mothers murdering their infants, and proclaims "alas! too frequent among us!" convincing the reader of his care for those poor children (5; 2).
Resorting back to statistics to prove he has researched the matter thoroughly, he keeps drawing in the audience, making everyone eager to see what he will write next. Finally, in the eighth paragraph he "humbly propose[s] [his] own thoughts, which [he] hopes will not be liable to the least objection" (8; 3). An American friend has told him an infant of one year old is "a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food" (9; 3-4), and he plans to use this advice to help his country rise above its problems. Swift repeatedly uses the word "humbly" which contributes greatly to his sarcasm and innocent tone. He suggests the population of Ireland should be broken up and divided into breeding groups, such as livestock and that a hundred thousand Irish children should be offered as food to the rich. Leaving twenty thousand for breeding and advising that one male should be adequate in helping breed with four females because that "is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle or swine" (10; 4). Swift goes on to describe how the child would be nursed and eaten using facts, statistics, and disgust to engage the reader. In the fourteenth paragraph, Swift reveals exactly how these infants help to provide clothing. Using dehumanizing words to describes the babies' skin, such as "carcass" he proposes that it "will make admirable gloves for ladies and summer boots for fine gentlemen" (15; 5). Also, he "recommend[s] buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as [people] do for roasting pigs" (16; 5). By dehumanizing mankind and comparing them to animals, he is able to indirectly show what he really thinks, that the Irish people of that time already treated each other so poorly they may as well really treat each other as animals by breeding and eating them.
Later in the essay, he discusses another virtuous friend's idea to hunt teenagers but decides against it because his American friend tells him "from frequent experience" teens are not agreeable in taste (17; 6). And since the females would be near breeding age anyway, it would be "a loss to the public" to kill them at that point in their lives (17; 6). His satirical analysis of this difficulty in the plan is undeniable; telling the audience he did not go through with this because it would hurt the masses is purely sarcasm, acting as if he believes his plan is entirely humane. He goes on to say that some might find this proposition "bordering upon cruelty" and that has always been his deciding factor (17; 6).
Near the end of his argument he restates all the advantages of his scheme noting, they "are obvious and many" (20; 7). While doing this, he is able to put the finishing and dramatic touches on his paper that truly grab the reader's attention. Discussing how the Papists are Ireland's "most dangerous enemies" (20; 7) and how the economy and attitudes of the Irish would improve, he greatly increases his sarcasm and repeats the problems he is trying to solve, as well as the other included advantages. Once again, Swift tries to persuade the audience that he is only looking out for the good of the nation, by commenting he only desires for this plan to be implemented in Ireland and confesses that it would have no benefit to himself.
Numerous insults also appear throughout, including slurs toward Catholics, Jews, Americans, and even the Irish themselves. Acknowledging "this food would be somewhat dear" (12; 4), he suggests it would be perfectly appropriate for the landlords to eat the infants "as they have already devoured most of the parents" (12; 4). However, this is neither the first nor the last insult, remember, it was his American friend who proposed this practice in the first place. In the paragraph directly after this, he insults the Catholics by revealing "there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries about nine months after Lent than in any other season" and places the fact that there would be less Catholics if everyone ate infants as one of the advantages to his plan (13; 4). Also, near then end of his essay, beginning at paragraph twenty-eight, Swift insults nearly everyone. Putting in his final comments about the Catholics, landlords, other Irish citizens unwilling to help, and even the Jews by urging the Irish they do not want to be like them, "who were murdering one another the very moment their city was taken" (28; 10). He also succeeds in belittling the English by noting he "could name a country, which would be glad to eat up [his] whole nation without [exporting the new delicacy of infant]" (30; 10).
Of course Swift did not truly wish to implement this plan, he only used it as a tool to help people see the problems they had created. Like any well-written satire, he implemented a shocking revelation, eating babies, and used a serious, detached tone to make it seem real and not some kind of a joke. Through satire he is able to prove his points without being completely straightforward. Use of dark humor and other aspects of a satire help him to harshly criticize corruption and incompetence. He offers statistical support for his assertions and gives specific data about the number of children to be sold, including their weight and price. Also, he anticipates the practice of selling and eating children will have a positive effect on families. Husbands will treat their wives better and parents will value their children more. By employing satire, Jonathon Swift is able to write about all of these things in a very indirect way so that he does not actually have to say what he feels.
This is the complete article, containing 1,588 words
(approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page).
