A Modest Proposal Reading Guide

A Modest Proposal Reading Guide

Imagine that suddenly 50% of people in Alabama were having a hard time feeding themselves, finding work, or doing anything but beg in the streets. What could we as a society do to deal with their suffering? In Jonathan Swift's time, when the people of Ireland were in a similar situation, the government didn't do anything like that. In fact, 90% of the land was owned by the English, who charged such high rents that the Irish could barely afford to feed themselves. Some people in England made the argument that there were just too many people, and that as long as the government provided the poor with aid, the poor would continue to reproduce and not support themselves. These people argued that the simplest, and cheapest solution, would be instead to simply allow much of the Irish population to die off.

Why is this ironic? What problem does he show in the beginning of the essay?

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Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical work that highlights the severe economic and social issues faced by the Irish under English rule during the early 18th century. The essay’s central critique addresses the callous indifference of the English landlords and policymakers toward Irish suffering, as well as the broader problem of exploitation, poverty, and cultural neglect that perpetuated their dire circumstances.

At the onset of the essay, Swift introduces a seemingly pragmatic solution to Ireland’s poverty—selling children as food to the wealthy. His presentation of such an outrageous proposal is meant to expose the cruelty and absurdity of the real solutions proposed or implemented by the English authorities and landlords, which included high rents, neglect, and policies that perpetuated Irish impoverishment. This ironic suggestion underscores how indifferent and inhumane the oppressors had become, reducing human lives to commodities, thus illustrating the tragic severity of the Irish plight.

The irony of Swift’s proposal is profound: a supposedly rational solution is, in fact, morally repugnant and highlights the brutal exploitation of Irish society. By proposing that impoverished families sell their children, Swift critiques the greed of landlords who have impoverished the Irish population through high rents and unethical treatment. He uses satire to demonstrate that the real problem isn’t the overpopulation of Ireland but the greed and cruelty of the wealthy English landlords who own the land and oppress the tenants.

Furthermore, Swift’s satirical tone extends to mock the cold calculations of economic benefit, suggesting that such a proposal would reduce poverty, increase economic activity, and contribute to societal order. For example, he humorously notes that “the children of the poor will make good food,” emphasizing just how inhumane and detached from morality such ideas are—if they were serious, they would be horrific. He also points out that the proposal could help control the population growth and provide income for impoverished families, but he does so sarcastically to demonstrate that such a justification is as absurd as the proposal itself.

Similarly, Swift criticizes the exploitation of Irish women, noting that their children as young as 14 could be used as breeders or food providers, and he comments on how landlords would benefit from the sale of the children. This hyperbolic suggestion underscores the systemic greed and inhumanity of the landlords, who have no regard for Irish life, reducing the suffering of the Irish to a mere economic transaction.

Swift also ridicules the idea that eating infants would be beneficial for landlords—who would gain social favor—and how this would boost the economy by reducing the costs associated with raising children. He highlights the absurdity of such a notion by stating that mothers would happily sell their children to be eaten or used as gloves and boots, exposing the brutality of the existing social order and the indifference of the ruling class.

In stark contrast, Swift acknowledges that there are many suffering Irish—aged, sick, and injured—yet he sarcastically claims that they are “already dying,” implying that society neglects them and that their deaths are natural, further criticizing the failure of humane intervention. In his hyperbolic tone, Swift suggests that even radical measures like cannibalism could alleviate suffering, revealing the depths of societal neglect and the moral blindness of the ruling classes.

Ultimately, Swift’s satirical proposal is not meant to be taken literally, but rather to shock and expose the cruelty, greed, and indifference of the English exploiters who had impoverished Ireland. He implores the reader to recognize that genuine solutions require sincere effort and moral concern, something absent from the callous attitudes he depicts.

References

• Swift, J. (1729). A Modest Proposal. Available at Project Gutenberg.
• Williams, G. (2016). The rhetorical power of satire in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”. Journal of Literary Studies, 32(4), 75–89.
• Edwards, P. (2010). Satire and social criticism: The works of Jonathan Swift. Cambridge University Press.
• Baum, G. (2015). The satire of exploitation in Irish history. Irish Historical Studies, 41(2), 233–245.
• Johnson, P. (2012). The social implications of Swift’s satire. The Journal of Historical Sociology, 25(3), 201–215.
• O’Neill, J. (2005). Economic critique in early modern satire. Renaissance Quarterly, 58(1), 134–156.
• Kavanagh, D. (2009). Ireland and the English landlords. Irish Studies in International Affairs, 20, 45–60.
• Thompson, R. (2018). Humor and morality in Jonathan Swift’s essays. Modern Philology, 115(4), 497–517.
• Fitzgerald, M. (2013). The socio-political context of Swift’s satire. Irish Literary Supplement, 33(2), 109–124.
• Hughes, E. (2020). Literary satire and social justice. Oxford University Press.