A Modest Proposal

In A Modest Proposal, the narrator suggests that impoverished Irish families should raise their children for slaughter and consumption by the wealthy as a solution to poverty. The proposal is presented satirically to criticize English economic exploitation of Ireland.

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is a satirical essay that suggests Irish children should be sold as food to address poverty in Ireland. The essay is controversial due to its shocking content and dark humor, which some readers may find offensive or disturbing. Critics argue that the work is in poor taste and insensitive to the very real suffering experienced by the Irish people.

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" was written as a satirical essay to highlight the socio-economic issues in Ireland during the 18th century. The purpose was to critique the British government's policies and the wealthy Irish landowners' exploitation of the poor. Swift used irony and exaggeration to provoke readers into questioning the prevailing attitudes towards poverty and inequality.

A Modest Proposal is an example of satire because it uses humor and irony to criticize societal issues, particularly the treatment of the poor in Ireland. Jonathan Swift's essay suggests a shocking solution to poverty and hunger, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.

He mostly uses "parody" which is a type of satire. Parody is basically making fun of something else, to create sort of a "humorous" feel for it. It's just like the parody for Twlight, that someone wrote to make fun of it. In A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift uses parody when he makes fun of the people and their children. Describing children as delicious food to be eaten.

Jonathan Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal" as a satirical response to the economic and social injustices faced by the Irish people during the 18th century. Through this work, he aimed to criticize the British government's failure to alleviate poverty in Ireland and provoke a discussion on the mistreatment of the Irish population.

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" suggests a satirical solution to poverty and overpopulation in Ireland by proposing that poor Irish families should sell their children as food to the wealthy. The main idea is to criticize the heartless attitudes of the ruling class towards the poor and to highlight the absurdity of the economic policies that Swift believed were exacerbating the suffering of the Irish people.

The intended target of "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift was the British government and wealthy landowners of Ireland, who were exploiting the Irish population and contributing to their poverty and suffering. Swift uses satire to criticize their lack of empathy and propose a shocking solution to bring attention to the plight of the Irish people.

One historical situation that can be compared to the moral dilemma presented in "A Modest Proposal" is the Rwandan Genocide. The use of extreme means, such as mass killings, was justified by the perpetrators as necessary to achieve their desired end of ethnic superiority and control. Another example is the Atlantic slave trade, where the dehumanization and exploitation of slaves were seen as acceptable means to achieve economic prosperity for European powers. Both cases raise ethical questions about the justification of immoral actions in pursuit of desired outcomes.

The main idea in Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is his satirical suggestion that the impoverished Irish population could alleviate their economic struggles by selling their children as food for the wealthy. Through this extreme proposal, Swift critiques British economic exploitation and social indifference towards the Irish people.

"Too far" is subjective, but Swift's satirical essay "A Modest Proposal" suggests extreme solutions to address poverty in Ireland, such as selling children as food. The essay is meant to shock readers into recognizing the dire circumstances faced by the Irish and criticize the British government's inaction. Ultimately, Swift uses hyperbole to highlight the absurdity of the situation rather than sincerely proposing such ideas.

"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift demonstrates bias through its satirical tone and extreme proposal to address poverty in Ireland by suggesting the poor should sell their children as food. The piece is biased against both the English government for their mistreatment of the Irish people and against the wealthy upper class for their indifference to the suffering of the poor. Swift uses irony and exaggeration to highlight the absurdity and cruelty of the social and economic conditions of his time.

The thesis of "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift is that the impoverished Irish should sell their children to the rich as a source of income and food in order to alleviate their poverty. Swift uses this shocking proposal to satirize and criticize the exploitation and indifference of the British towards the Irish.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_first_problem_the_narrator_mentions_in_A_Modest_Proposal"

Jonathan Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal" as a satirical essay to critique the economic exploitation and oppression of the Irish by the British ruling class during the 18th century. The essay suggests a disturbing solution to poverty by proposing that poor Irish families sell their children as food to the wealthy upper class, highlighting the absurdity of the situation.

The tone is sarcastic and straight-forward in which he states his proposal and thoughts immediately without going into details.

The tone is full of irony and satire( you can give examples)

The tone is mocking the government and the English people, and is seeking a change in the way Irish people are living.

There are two major parts of the essay that the reader needs to identify before trying to understand the dark satire that follows in the rest of his proposal. There is the part where the reader realizes Swift is joking (about his proposal), and what his proposal actually is. Swift drops subtle hints to his joking manner throughout the first few paragraphs. The first instance of satire appears at the last sentence of the second paragraph when Jonathan proclaims, "whoever could find out a fair, cheap and easy method of making these Children sound and useful Members of the commonwealth would deserve so well of the publick, as to have his Statue set up for a preserver of the nation." (Swift) No one should actually believe that he wants a statue in his honor is he should solve this dilemma of the overpopulated, impoverished people in Ireland; but rather making a mockery of the 'system'.

Swift is a man of detail. His accounts of how many children there will be to consume, how they should be cooked, how many a child will feed, and what to do with the skin, but make gloves of course. His goal was not to disgust you in way that you should dislike him and his thoughts, but to scare you into the reality of how big a problem these impoverished children have really become. Their welfare, and the welfare of all citizens of the city, is what should come first and foremost. I believe that Swift is trying to present the worst possible solution to a disturbing problem. His goal is to shock you, and make you aware of what is happening now! There is a point around paragraph seventeen where, the reader may be questioning this guy's sanity, he throws in a claim to peace, stating, "as a little bordering upon cruelty, which, I confess, hath always been with me the strongest objection against any project, how well so ever intended." (Swift) I think this is his little disclaimer that, yes this is disturbing, but yes this is a problem and I am only offering one possible solution.

I, personally, have a taste for dark humor and found this essay to tap into my inner thoughts and way of processing them. The sarcastic tone in his voice was the easiest thing for me to pick-up on. His tone is full of mockery and snide, but not malicious remarks. A good example of this would be paragraph 24 when John states, "the constant breeders, besides the gain of Eight Shillings�by the sale of their children, will [also] be rid of the charge of maintaining them."

In the opening paragraphs of "A Modest Proposal," the speaker describes the dire poverty and overpopulation in Ireland, particularly among the Catholic families. He suggests that the surplus population of impoverished children could be a burden on society.

The great town the narrator refers to in the opening paragraph of "A Modest Proposal" is Dublin, the capital city of Ireland. The narrator describes the poverty and dire conditions in the city to set the stage for his proposal.

Basically, he noted that thousands of very poor children in Ireland were starving to death in great misery. He suggested that wealthy Englishmen agree to feed these children and have them kept in comfortable warm places. Then, when they were nicely fattened up, they could be killed and eaten. This was offered as a solution that was good for everyone. It would take these miserable starving children off the street, and provide them with food and comfort. Even though they would eventually be slaughtered and made into sausages, they would have comfortable pleasant lives during the years they were being fattened up and growing. While their ultimate fate may seem harsh, Swift pointed out that they were going to die of starvation anyway, a much more painful way of dying. At least, under his scheme, they would be comfortable, fed well, and decently housed for a few years; their deaths would be quick, and they would provide excellent steaks and roast meats. He was, of course, using satire to make a point. He was not actually serious.

not identical

The irony in "A Modest Proposal" is that the author, Jonathan Swift, presents a solution to poverty in Ireland by suggesting that poor families should sell their children as food to the wealthy. By proposing such a shocking and absurd idea, Swift is actually criticizing the British government's oppressive policies towards the Irish people and highlighting the dehumanizing effects of poverty.

Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" suggests that his proposal can reduce the number of poor families burdened by children, provide economic benefits by selling babies as a commodity, and alleviate overpopulation and the strain on resources in Ireland.

Swift compares the landowners to an animal that feeds on the flesh and blood of the poor and vulnerable in society. He uses this analogy to criticize the selfish and exploitative behavior of the wealthy landowners.

There is at least one logical fallacy in A Modest Proposal. Swift refers to his American friend throughout as the guy he got all his information on eating babies from. It infers that Americans eat babies. The fallacy is that because he is considered an expert, when he says something readers must think its true, which it isn't.

Satire is a form of writing that employs wit to attack folly, Swift uses his entire essay as a witty attack on the social and economical problems of the time in Ireland.

Swift's main purpose in "A Modest Proposal" is to satirize the British government's treatment of the Irish people and highlight the economic and social injustices faced by the Irish. He uses irony and exaggeration to critique the oppressive policies imposed by the British, suggesting a "modest proposal" to alleviate poverty in Ireland by proposing Irish infants be sold as food to wealthy English landlords.