In Jonathan Swift’s essay, “A Modest Proposal”, Swift proposes that the
poor should eat their own starving children during a great a famine in Ireland.
What would draw Swift into writing to such lengths. When times get hard in
Ireland, Swift states that the children would make great meals. The key factor
to Swift’s essay that the reader must see that Swift is not literally ordering
the poor to cannibalize. Swift acknowledges the fact of the scarcity of food and
empathizes with the struggling and famished souls of Ireland through the strange
essay. Being of high society Britain, which at the time mothered Ireland, Swift
utilizes his work to satirically place much of the blame on England itself.
Through his brilliant stating of the fact that the children cost money as well
as aid in the drought of food and necessities the reader can get an idea of the
suffering on going in Ireland; this brings the reader to see that instead of
keeping the children their parents should either eat them or sell them on an
open market. By wasting the scarce food in Ireland, the people are killing
themselves; thus the children can be consumed saving food and at the same time
making food. It is interesting to see how well Swift conveys his view towards
the poor in this odd manor. Swift sees how the poor are treated by the affluent
who may think that the impoverished are the reason for Ireland’s food
problems. In fact, the entire essay is nothing more than sarcastic piece that
deeply imbeds the blame upon the rich who he feels might have just as much or
even more blame on Ireland’s food problems than the poor ever have. Swift
intelligently uses his common sense logic in a strange way to convey his
feelings about this predicament. Swift goes to great lengths to intelligently
show these feelings. The ways at which Swift camouflages his ideas and thoughts
throughout this essay brought many readers at the time to think that he actually
wanted Ireland to revert to eating their children. His employment of such
literary elements of irony, mix cynicism, and pure contextual reaction from the
reader help to map the entire essay. Thoughout the work, Swift persistently
relies upon the use of irony. It is quite apparent that no rational human being
would bring themselves to eating the flesh of another, which also adds to the
irony of the story. Another interesting point of reflection is the fact that
although Swift has children of his own, his are grown and his wife can no longer
bear any more. Because of this fact, it is clear that further analysis would
show that this work is purely fictional and cannot be taken literally. Many
people of the time actually did take Swift’s recollections literally, which
brought about much condemnation to Swift as a literary writer. Cynical readers
of the time had come to expect such a voice from one like Swift. From the first
sentence of the essay, Swift begins to fool the reader by applying the dreary
atmosphere of starvation in Ireland. For example, Swift keenly routes to the
beggars in the streets with there starving children close at hand. It must be
brought to attention that Swift’s piece shows much remorse for the poor
especially the children of the poor, even though it doesn’t state this quite
so clearly. Swift does not feel that the starving children are of no use for the
Irish people, except for being expended of. He may state that the children of
the rich hold Ireland’s future in hand and the children of the poor. It is his
combination of feelings between the rich and impoverished which brings the
reader to see all directions to which the essay will embrace. Furthermore, this
roots to the many underlying statements, which emerge all throughout the story.
Swift clearly holds deep resentment directed to those who blame those who are
forced on bringing themselves to begging for food and wandering the streets.
Though he indifferently speaks of the needy as “dead and rotting,” Swift is
being nothing more than satirical. What better way of ending poverty and strife
in Ireland than wiping out all of the young generations, which would delete all
of the destitute generations to come. Bringing the children to an open market
would allow the wealthy citizens to purchase them for dining reasons. The skins
of the ‘carcasses’ could be utilized to make gloves for the ladies. The
hardened soles of the their feet could be used to make boots for the gentlemen.
At this point, it is clear to the reader that Swift is being purely fictitious.
The rich would have more uses for the bodies of these children than an Indian
with a newly killed buffalo would. The entire context of the story must be taken
into account for the reader to have an adequate response. First off, the reader
must see the conditions from which the essay is recalled. Many of the poor from
this period lacked the ability to read. At the same time, Swift is aware of the
fact that much of his audience is compiled of the rich and well to do. This
class of people would most likely find it hard to consume the children of dirty
beggars. What would the lowly beggars have done anyway if they were made to
bring their children to auction, as if they were slaves or even prized meat?
Most likely, as anyone else, they would have rebelled and thrown a coupe. This
compilation of rhetoric and propaganda aimed to the upper class stirs an echo of
an ironic portrayal of cynicism. Swift proposes this heinous portrait to bring
an air of humor over the terror ongoing in Ireland through the respect of
cannibalism. Very few authors of the time would venture into such shady
territory; to poke fun at a dismal time such as the one Swift has seen. How can
cannibalism, the eating of human flesh, be take so lightly by someone who would
never revert to cannibalism himself? Actually, cannibalism is really not seen so
lightly by Swift. It is clear that a famine is not a time to joke about the
scarcity of food. Although to place blame on the rich through a sarcastic joke
is very affective. Swift is humorous, yet at the same time a bit brutal for his
justifications. Because of the indifferent tone which Swift imposes, he was very
often thoroughly analyzed, as well as judged, for his motives for writing. “A
Modest Proposal” proves noteworthy of being neither modest nor even proposable
to any audience, no matter how rough the times may be. This indifferent tone
towards the selling of children of which Swift writes has more of an impact than
that of one in which the writer might actually be profoundly troubled over such
a famine. The affect that is risen by Swift’s employment of a mixture of
sarcasm, irony, and cynicism into his tone is one of clearity. It is his lack of
expectations towards a good outcome that exalts the tone of Swift’s paper to a
higher level. Swift knows that the depression and bleakness of the period will
take time in getting better. To the poor it will seem like an eternity; thus,
giving Swift a reason to write the way in which he does. Throughout his
writings, Jonathon Swift has used many different voices to explicate his views
on the melancholy time period in which he lived. He uses a totally inverse route
in writing his works. Swift brings to light many aspects of his culture such as
greed, poverty, and ignorance. Other writers of the period would probably not
even touch such aspects. “A Modest Proposal” is a prime example of every
interesting degree of Swift’s writing abilities. Ingeniously, the essay is a
collection of these abilities. In conclusion to the story, the reader can
scrutinize each sentence to find a different meaning or interpretation. Clearly,
this essay is and should be treated as a work of fiction and nothing more.
Though it is nothing more than a fictional work it should be taken into account
that the essay carries a deeper meaning to which every reader can find
difference.