I will start out by saying the following: If anyone has not read the 18th century piece,  A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, do so! Swift does a brilliant job in this short piece of getting his point across.

     As we discussed thoroughly not only in class but through an assignment as well, this piece was written with Satire. Satire, as defined, is “the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues”. This is exactly what Swift does so brilliantly in order to get his point across. Here is his point:

     As swift says, what society needs is a, “Fair, Cheap and easy method of making these children sound and useful members of the commonwealth” (315). So with statistical reasoning and economic analysis, Swift comes up with the following proposal: To fatten up the undernourished children and feed them to Ireland’s rich land-owners. In his mind this will help with diminishing the population by removing extra children, giving a source of income to the poor and by making the wealthy happy.

     The funny thing is that his proposal does seem to be backed up by his numbers, which makes his unrealistic idea even more satirical. He even mentions the taste, by saying, “I have been assured by a very well knowing American of mu acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourished, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted baked or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout” (316). This is just one example of the satire we are shown.

     The point is once again we see a piece of literature speak to societies flaws. Swift clearly just wanted to make a point; that this Irish society is flawed by money. He believed the rich landowners were just living the life, all while watching the pour suffer to a point where they couldn’t even feed their overpopulated class. The only way Swift knew how to get this point across is Satire, which he did in a brilliant way.