A Modest Proposal

"A Modest Proposal," by Dr. Jonathan Swift, has a wicked sense of humor to it. By 'wicked' I mean the Boston wicked. Exerting powerful irony and sarcasm, in "A Modest Proposal," Dr. Swift is trying to make a point, a very strong point. He uses this story to reveal the abuse and mistreatment of the Irish, by the English.  The impoverish conditions the Irish lived in prevented them from properly providing adequate care to themselves and their children. Swift calls out the English by merely suggesting, in "A Modest Proposal," to kill off the young Irish children. Allowing their mother to feed them until they are around a year old then selling the infant to be butchered. The infant would be sold as a nourishing meal to a wealthy or higher end family. Shift suggest this would help the poor and the rich, as well as the over population problem the Irish have. The needy and begging mothers would no longer have to worry about all her starving, poor kids, plus she would have money. Less mouths to feed and more money would allow these impoverished Irishmen and women to be bale to pay their "High Rents" to the Englishmen (Swift). This Proposal is killing(literally) many birds with one single stone. Dr. Swift was just bringing attention to the way the English treated the Irish. Treating the Irishmen and women like animals: "although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs(Swift)." Dr. Swift was just reflecting, with "A Modest Proposal," how the English truly felt about the Irish. It is a brutally honest way of bringing humor to such a distorted situation. Back-handing the English, while slapping the reality into the Irish. 

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