Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” begins with Swift’s ironic persona preparing the reader for his outrageous solution to the problem of poverty in Ireland. Swift’s dark satirical solution is
to eat the Irish babies
, which would bring in profit and decrease the surplus population of Ireland.
What is the problem being solved in A Modest Proposal?
The overarching social problem the clueless narrator addresses in “A Modest Proposal” is the problem of poverty in Ireland. Being of a very analytical frame of mind, the narrator breaks
poverty down into a number of other problems he argues will be solved if the poor fatten and sell their babies as food
.
What is the real message of A Modest Proposal?
The main idea of the actual story has to do
with decreasing the overpopulation by selling babies as food
. Swift suggests that the wealthy purchase the infants of the poor and serve them as a delicacy. He gives specific details which are designed to disgust and enrage the reader.
What is the main problem and solution stated in the modest proposal?
The issue that the author is addressing is
the ever-growing problem of poverty, starvation, sanitation, overpopulation, and enslavement of the Irish people
and the fact that nobody, including the Irish themselves, are willing to do anything to fix the problem.
What solution does the speaker propose in A Modest Proposal?
In Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay “A Modest Proposal” the speaker proposes that infants in Ireland, whose parents have no means of feeding them or clothing or housing them other than by begging (or stealing) and who are most often not children produced in a marriage, should,
at the age of one year old, be sold as a
…
What is Swift’s main purpose in A Modest Proposal?
The purpose of Swift’s satirical essay is
to call attention to the problems that were being experienced by the people of Ireland
. He wanted the English (who ruled Ireland) to realize what they were doing and to put in place reforms that would solve the problems they had helped to cause.
Who is the audience in A Modest Proposal?
The elevated style of A Modest Proposal—a parody of scientific papers presented to the Royal Society—indicates that Swift’s audience consists of
men much like himself: learned, intelligent, politically conscious
.
Who will be the beneficiaries of this modest proposal?
Who will be the beneficiaries of this “modest proposal”?
The Irish people
are the beneficiaries because they won’t have as many mouths to feed.
What real problem is Swift trying to point out?
Swift, in the persona of a learned scientist, attempts to
tackle the chronic problem of over-population in Ireland
. In turn, this problem leads to lots of other problems, such as poverty, starvation, and an excess number of Roman Catholics.
What types of evidence does the speaker use to support his argument in a modest proposal?
What types of evidence does the speaker use to support his argument? Swift uses
“experts”, statistics, “logical thinking”, and cost/benefit analysis
to bolster his argument.
What are the 5 problems in a modest proposal?
- babies. Problem- only a few babies born to poor parents because of complications and expenses. …
- Children ages 1-12. Problem- children of beggars don’t turn out well, expensive. …
- Elderly, maimed, or ill. Problem- they cannot work or get food, burden on society. …
- satire. …
- Actual solution.
What are the six principal advantages in a modest proposal?
What are the six principal advantages? According to the speaker, his plan would
(1) reduce the number of Catholics
, (2) give the poor a tangible asset, (3) aid the economy and introduce a new food, (4) decrease the time “breeders” have to raise children, (5) improve taverns’ business, and (6) encourage marriage.
What is a modest proposal about quizlet?
The full title of Swift’s pamphlet is “A
Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burden to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick
.” The tract is an ironically conceived attempt to “find out a fair, cheap, and easy Method” for converting the starving …
What objection to the proposal does the speaker think readers might raise?
The speaker proposes that “out of the one hundred and twenty thousand children from poor families born annually,
twenty thousand should be kept for breed and the remaining one hundred thousand sold as food to persons of quality of fortune
, at one year of age.” He does not think that his proposal will raise many …
What problem does the speaker describe in the opening paragraphs of A Modest Proposal?
The speaker describes
the problem of poverty in Ireland
, which he attributes to the lack of opportunities to earn money.
What is swift actually satirizing in his essay?
Swift targets the landlords that live in Britain that are responsible for the poverty in Ireland. They seem to not care for the Irish because of the difference in religion (protestant vs roman catholic) He is satirizing
his own proposal for addressing a serious topic in a funny/unserious tone
.
