sarcasm: witty language used to convey insults or scorn
"A Modest Proposal" by Dr. Jonathan Swfit was written in 1729 and is a sarcastic essay in which he believes he is promoting for the good of Dublin, Ireland. As the solution to poverty and starvation within Dublin, Dr. Swfit suggests eating babies; or to put it simply, cannibalism. He states " I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children . . . is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance." Later on, he states "I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection." Dr. Swfit is being especially sarcastic right here, for if one proposes for a city to eat children, he or she MUST expect opposition.
When he first introduces his proposal, Dr. Swfit compares children to animals. He continues to say how a number of children will be reserved for the specific purpose of breeding, and how "these children are seldom the fruit of marriage . . . therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females." This part is completely dehumanizing! All I could think was, " is this guy really suggesting that the human race is equal to the those of the animal kingdom!?" Next, he casually describes the plumping process and sales of children. He says after about a year, the children should be fat enough, and at the last month the mother may allow them to "suck plentifully," of course, before being sold. After that he goes on to say that seasoning the carcasses of the children correctly would lead to quite a good meal.
He then continues to talk about the proposed cannibalism, then writes to justify the reasons for doing so. He states reasons such as: lessesning the number of Paptists, giving the poor something of value, economic growth, etc. He also goes on to say that even if one thousand families were constant consumers of child carcasses, there would still be plenty of people left to populate the rest of Dublin.
I have to admit that I didn't catch on to Dr. Swift's satire the first time I read this. I was disgusted at the thought that some, especially a doctor, who I figured had to have a great amount of intelligence, would ever propose such a thing as cannibalism. Then, as I reread this essay, I realized that Dr. Swift actually felt sympathy towards the people of Dublin.
Dr. Swfit loves Dublin, and several times throughout the essay, emphasizes the fact that his proposal is for Dublin's greater good in mind. I also noticed that Dr. Swfit referred to Dublin as the "kingdom." This shows that he he feels great pride for Dublin, Ireland, and puts it above other countries, and even above himself. In the end, he genuinely hurts for the Irish who face poverty and/or starvation. I can read that he really wants to be involved and help Dublin during its time of need.
I also noticed that Dr. Swfit used a good amount of statistics throughout his essay, proving that he thoroughly reviewed this proposal. If it were not for me finally realizing that Dr. Swift used satire throughout the essay, I actually would have believed that his position was in favor of cannibalism. The fact that Swift is a doctor, and therefore is a credible source of the included statistics, makes it harder for, or at least drags out the process for, readers to understand his true thoughts.
When I first read this essay, I thought the title, "A Modest Proposal," was completely contradictory to Dr. Swfit's writing. Proposing an idea such as cannibalism is far from, or actually, is the complete opposite of modesty. If anything, I thought, it is bold, daring, radical. But now, I would have to say that it truly is a modest proposal. It is modest because Dr. Swfit's feelings are not, at any point, completely or simply put out there on the table. He uses satire to express his views and feelings on poverty in Dublin, but at the same time, stays away from that vulnerability that comes from telling the honest truth.
I enjoyed "A Modest Proposal." I am definitely one who appreciates the art of sarcasm (my mother can agree with that!). I like the fact that Dr. Swift decided to be creative, instead of doing the average essay that is to the point with a list of reasons as to why something should or should not be done.
