In his lengthy literary career, Jonathan Swift wrote many stories that used a
broad range of voices that were used to make some compelling personal
statements. For example, Swifts, A Modest Proposal, is often heralded as his
best use of both sarcasm and irony. Yet taking into account the persona of
Swift, as well as the period in which it was written, one can prove that through
that same use of sarcasm and irony, this proposal is actually written to
entertain the upper-class. Therefore the true irony in this story lies not in
the analyzation of minute details in the story, but rather in the context of the
story as it is written. One of the voices that is present throughout the story
is that of irony. The story itself is ironic since no one can take Swifts
proposal seriously. This irony is clearly demonstrated at the end of the story;
Swift makes it clear that this proposal would not affect him since his children
were grown and his wife unable to have any more children. It would be rather
absurd to think that a rational man would want to both propose this and partake
in the eating of another human being. Therefore, before an analyzation can
continue, one has to make the assumption that this is strictly a fictional work
and Swift had no intention of pursuing his proposal any further. One of the
other voices that is present throughout the entire story is that of sarcasm. In
order to understand this further, a reader has to comprehend that Swift,
becoming infamous after Gullivers Travels, was a member of the upper-class.
Right from the first paragraph Swift attempts to fool his readers by the sarcasm
of the dreary scene that Swift presents. For example, he mentions that it is a
melancholy sight to see beggars and their children on the street. The sarcastic
paradox in this statement is whether it is a melancholy object for him, having
to see homeless people every day, or for the beggars lifestyle? Upon first
reading this one may be led to believe that Swift is a compassionate writer
attempting to feel the pain of the beggars. But as the story continues, a reader
can look back and note that he is using a sarcastic tone and the only sad sight
that he sees is the fact that people of his status have to deal with commoners.
It is a good combination that makes the reader think twice about any other
statements, and the voice used, after the first paragraph. This leads to the
underlying statements that appear throughout the story. It is quite clear that
Swift has strong feelings of resentment, bordering on hate, for the poor people
that wonder the street. For example, he tries to qualify his proposal by saying,
"it is very well known that they are dying, and rotting , by cold and
famine, and filth, and vermin . . . they cannot get work and consequently pine
away for want of nourish.". Once a reader understands this, they can see
the true purpose of his proposal. He wants to lower the population of beggars in
his country, so what better way to do it than by putting an end to the younger
generation of beggars? This is also proven since throughout the story he only
mentions that the upper-class of society would be able to purchase the
sacrificial children. The upper-class would also take the carcasses and use them
to, "make admirable gloves for ladies summer boots for fine
gentlemen.". Also, when he makes his calculations as to how many children
would be available for sale, he never takes into account the children from the
rich families. In short, Swifts message is that rich children serve a purpose,
the advancement of Ireland, while poor children are nothing but a burden to the
republic. One other clear indication that Swift was motivated by his hatred for
the poor is the list of six reasons that he write to qualify his proposal. In
the third statement, Swift explains how by buying the children and then selling
them to their friends, the upper-class can keep on thriving. This was a plan to
get themselves even more rich, as Swift states, "the money will circulate
among ourselves, the goods being entirely of our own growth and
manufacture.". Secondly, he also compares this type of meal to that of
eating a pig. He elaborates by naming a variety of ways that you can cook the
child, use if for bacon, or to make clothing.He never once mentions what the
poor people can gain after they have been paid the purchasing price. He only
mentions the benefits of the rich. Yet,Swift wants the writer to believe that he
wasnt attempting to bring harm to the people of his country, on the contrary, he
was only trying to make his friends rich. This is another demonstration of the
sarcasm and irony that Swift uses to both persuade and deceive the reader.
Opponents to this analyzation of A Modest Proposal would agree that there is
irony present in the story, but it was intended to demonstrate the irony that a
writer can use to persuade readers in a different sense. In this case this
proposal was intended to make the upper-class examine the conditions under which
the lower class lived. In fact it was intended to help the lower-class to gain
more recognition from the upper class. If a reader does take his proposal
seriously, then the use irony and sarcasm in Swifts writing is exemplified. But,
if a reader takes note of the irony they will notice the true point of the
story; the assistance that the lower-class needs. Either way, the irony is
present and Swift gets his message across. In response, one could argue that the
whole context of the story must be taken into account. First of all, one must
take into account the environment in which the story was written. During this
time period, the beggars that Swift describes could not read, much less afford
to buy one of Swifts works. Swift was well aware that his audience was the
well-to-do upper class. He could write proposal like this knowing that there
would be no repercussions since the upper-class would treat this as a comedy.
Actually, the lower class could have revolted fearing that their children were
in danger if they knew of the story. In effect, it is a combination of both
propaganda and humor aimed for the educated audience. Secondly, if Swift did
want to help the lower-class, he wouldnt have created an exemption for himself
in the last paragraph. If he wanted to initiate this plan to help the
lower-class, then he should have been the one to start it all. Also, why would
he propose such a heinous plan that involves both the sacrifice of another human
as well as cannibalism and expect to be taken seriously? Very few authors have
had their works analyzed and critiqued as thoroughly as Swift has. Many of these
essays have dealt with the question of the true purpose of A Modest Proposal.
One reason that this is so difficult to understand is because in actuality there
is a dual irony in this story. Referring back to the example of the first
paragraph, a melancholy object can work two ways. Again the question arises; who
is it sad for? Even in todays world, there are some people that give money to
the homeless, because the homeless are in a sad situation, and there are people
that vehemently refuse to give money to panhandlers and they get sad because
they have to be bothered by the homeless every time that they walk by. It is
difficult to distinguish which one of these dissenting views of irony is
correct, that is assuming that one of them is valid. This is a difficult task
because we do not fully understand the environment in which it was written, we
can only analyze the voice in which it is written. A personal opinion would be
that he wrote this story purely for the amusement of the upper class. This is
qualified because, as stated before, during the time that this was written the
beggars could not read and could not afford one of Swifts works. Also,
demonstrating his well executed use of irony and sarcasm could have gained him
advancement among his peers. A reader has to conclude that a work of this
nature, from such a dynamic author, must be read with both some literary awe and
criticism. One can spend many hours trying to analyze the words, the sentences
and even entire paragraphs to find a deeper hidden meaning in this story. Yet,
this story should be viewed as a fictional work and as one of the best
demonstrations of dual sarcasm and irony combined. Anything beyond that would be
purely hypothetical and would distract from the purity of this story.