What is the main point of a modest proposal?
Presented in the guise of an economic treatise, the essay proposes that the country ameliorate poverty in Ireland by butchering the children of the Irish poor and selling them as food to wealthy English landlords. Swift’s proposal is a savage comment on England’s legal and economic exploitation of Ireland.
What is Swift’s overall message in a modest proposal?
The purpose of Swift’s satirical essay is to call attention to the problems that were being experienced by the people of Ireland. He wanted the English (who ruled Ireland) to realize what they were doing and to put in place reforms that would solve the problems they had helped to cause.
How would you describe a modest proposal?
What is “A Modest Proposal”? “A Modest Proposal” is the shortened title of a 1729 essay by satirist Jonathan Swift in which he ironically proposes that the people of Ireland sell their children as food. The phrase a modest proposal is now often used ironically to introduce an idea that is radical or outrageous.
What is the main point of a modest proposal quizlet?
In this satire, Swift first identifies a problem: Ireland’s poor are leading wretched lives. He then offers a proposal for relieving this burden, decreasing the population, finding a new source of food, and curbing begging.
What is ironic about the conclusion of a modest proposal?
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.
What is ironic about the conclusion of A Modest Proposal?
What is the thesis statement in a modest proposal?
His solution: to sell excess children to rich aristocrats as “delicious nourishing and wholesome food.” This thesis highlights the real claim of the essay, which comes from the satire of the speaker’s hyperbolic thesis: Ireland suffers because England treats them like a commodity rather than a population and the Irish …
Why did Jonathan Swift call his proposal modest?
Swift calls it a modest proposal because he wants to draw attention to its supposed reasonableness. One of the ways that Jonathan Swift, the author, develops his position is through the use of irony, and, in the title, it is dramatic irony that helps us to understand what the narrator does not.
What is the thesis in A Modest Proposal?
The implied thesis of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is that 18th century Ireland would be in a better situation if the Irish society and monarchy actually treated problems such as overpopulation and poverty, While the overt thesis is that Irish people should consider eating their children and selling them to rich …
What does the last paragraph of A Modest Proposal mean?
The last paragraph of A Modest Proposal is the cherry on top of the satire. Swift’s final satiric jab is that the narrator really does believe that his plan will benefit the nation. He can’t even sell his own kids, since they’re too old to get much money (35).