Read "A Modest Proposal." Answer the questions you received in class. Swift's essay is one of the most skilled pieces of persuasive writing used for satire. Satire is a type of writing in which the author uses humor to point out the flaws in society, government etc.Chaucer used this device when he wrote The Canterbury Tales. Then write your opinion about the article by posting a comment in the space below. This is not optional; all students are to give some reaction to the piece, or comment on something somebody else has said. I am looking forward to your opinions.
Close Reading Questions
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
1. What format does Swift appear to be using for his satire on the treatment of the Irish by the British, who at this time ruled over them?
2. What causes distress for the people who walk the streets of Dublin?
3. Who does he feel should have a statue erected to his honor?
4. What is Swift insinuating is the cause of the “present deplorable state of the Kingdom?
5. How do we know that Swift has tried to find an answer to this problem before this?
6. How old are the children that Swift intends to provide for?
7. What does he achieve when he refers to the “horrid practice” of abortion and the “sacrificing of the poor innocent babes”?
8. What advantage does he say his proposal will have?
9. Why dos the narrator think the food he proposes is “very proper for the landlords”?
10. What is the connotation of referring to the wives as breeders?
11. Why does he say it would be impossible to provide for the number of children that are born? What do you think he achieves by saying this?
12. What methods of satire are used in the passage about the market value of children?
13. What is his “modest proposal”? What effect is achieved by calling the proposal modest? What is he doing here?
14. Why does he plan to allow one-fourth of the males top grow to adulthood?
15. To whom will the babies be sold?
16. How have the landlords “devoured” the present parents of children? Why do you think he uses the word devoured? What is the connotation of this word?
17. How is Swift satirizing Catholics in general?
18. In discussing the economics of his proposal, what kind of appeal is the writer making? How is he hoping to persuade his readers?
19. When the narrator suggests “dressing” children “hot from the knife” what does he mean? What effect does he expect his word choice to have?
20. Why does Swift disagree with the suggestion of his friend?
21. What effect does the narrator’s reference to his objection to cruelty have on you?
22. Why does the narrator reject the idea of selling and eating the twelve to fourteen year olds?
23. Why does the narrator say they do not have to worry about the sick and elderly?
24. What are the six advantages he says can be gained form his proposal?
25. In the paragraph beginning “Supposing that one thousand families. . .” what is he using in order to push his proposal?
26. What is the difference between the proposals in italics and Swift’s ‘modest proposal”?
27. What insight do we get into Swift’s real feelings about the situation in Ireland from the paragraph which begins “But as to myself,. . .”?
28. What are the problems that must be solved in Ireland at this time according to the narrator?
29. With what kind of appeals does Swift close his essay?
30. What is the true purpose of Swift’s essay?
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HEYYYY Sister Teresa,
ReplyDeleteOkay this was the weirdest thing i have ever read in my life. It was a little confusing but i think i got the main idea. In the beginning, when Swift was talking about how he did not like the state of Ireland and he believed that children should not be thought of as burdens, i thought it was going in the right direction. I thought he was truly concerned about the well being of the children and wanted everyone to be equal and have enough food and off the streets. But then he started talking about fattening up the kids and selling them in a meat market? okay weird. I know its satire but that is just really strange. I do believe that no one should go hungry and i think it might be a little too broad to say that everyone in Ireland was poor and starving except for the royalty and lords. I understand the message that he was trying to make: he is making a humorous story about the social, economical, and financial state of Ireland. I just think that people will read this with humor and not get the right idea from this.
I agree with Katie. I thought he was sincerely concerened with trying to help the poverty found throughout Ireland but then he suggest killing babies and serving them as delicies. The pieve was really weird and a little confusing. Satire is supposedly funny but I just found it strange. It was an extremely wierd way to prove a point about the necessity of helping others throughout Ireland.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the passage was very strange and slightly creepy. Although I understand that this was satire and meant to get the government to think about the poor, I felt like this man was just cynical. When he began to list numbers of children in Ireland statistically, it began to be creepy that he thought so much about it. It did catch my attention though, but not in a good way. If I had not known that this was supposed to be comical, I would have thought that the author was just a sick and disturbed man.
ReplyDeleteI also thought the passage was a bit strange, but when I first read the part about the poor people, I felt bad for them...but I guess that's the point. Then, I read the part about them selling kid for food and then people eating them and I was shocked and a bit frightened, poor kids. Then I remembered that this passage is a satire and realized that it probably didn't mean what it said, so I felt better.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that it was strange and creepy while reading it. At first I was feeling sad for the poor people then when he said that we should start killing babies I was a bit frightened out. To me, it seemed somewhat weird. I know it's supposed to be a satire but it just seemed a little disturbing. I think when people read this, they won't take it seriously, they'll just see it as a humorous disturbing proposal.
ReplyDeleteTAbughaaleh said...
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else. The article was obscure especially when I noticed how much she said she had enjoyed reading such literature. And the certian things that were said especially about the babies were just odd.
I thought this was a bit odd. I have certainly never read anything like it. I thought it was interesting in the end when he says he has no children that would be eaten because they are all too old. Others can solve Ireland's problems, but it's too late for him.
ReplyDeleteI thought his proposal was humorous how he computed all the math and number of babies that could be used for food. It made you take his proposal more seriously at first until you realized what he was really talking about. Very clever how he compared lower class citizens to livestock because they're pretty much just walking pieces of meat if they're not working and contributing to the economy somehow.
ReplyDeleteI thought Swift's proposal was clear in its purpose. I could feel, especially at the end, the exhaustion and frustration that Swift felt over trying to help the poor in Dublin and not having any sort of help from the government. Although it always takes me a few beats to catch on to the satire, I believe his message was conveyed quite clear. It was evident that he needed dire help and was willing to go to extremes to get it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone else. Like Rebecca, it took me awhile to catch on but I understand the point he was trying to convey. Personally, I did not like the passage at all. I was expecting a funny satire and this to me was more disturbing than humorous.
ReplyDeleteSwift's use of irony and sarcasm is a creative way to get his point across. He knows that Ireland is in poverty, but instead of preaching like everybody else, he is trying to get people to truly see the poverty. When he suggests eating the children, because they will not have to be cared for and their parents can earn money, he is pointing how human lives are being taken for granted. He also berates the rich landlords and tries to get people to see the corrupt social ranking. His overall message is to make people aware.
ReplyDeleteI thought "Modern Proposal" was weird. Some parts were really disturbing and although it is supposed to be a satire, I did not find this funny at all. Whether readers find this essay humorous or strange,his point was clearly made through his clever use of verbal irony.
ReplyDeleteI thought the whole thing was interesting in a disturbing, twisted way. Though its a message to the government, i wonder why he would take this approach. Does he really think the government would listen to him if he posed what's happening to the people if he wrote it that way? I think they might just write him off as sick just like various people in my class did. But I think he does make a good point and if his satirical essay worked, then its brilliant. If it didn't and failed, not so much.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMaddy Conroy
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this even because the idea caught my attention and made me want to keep reading. I agree that it was difficult to understand sometimes, but the his message did get off across clearly. The piece was sacastic and I though his proposal was an interesting one even though it was morbid.
I found this reading rather difficult to understand and I have many questions for class. I found the whole thing rather twisted, though I do agree he makes his point to the government very clear even through his witty and sarcastic manner. I always had the presumption that satires were suppose to me funny, but I found no humor in the passage.
ReplyDeleteAMonteagudo said...
ReplyDeleteA Modern Proposal was quite difficult to read. i somehwhat understood the message that Swift was trying to get across. i personally did not enjoy it, i foound it rather disgusting and very cruel.
I also agree with Meghan and practically everyone else. The article was a bit ambiguous and certain parts of it were difficult to understand. However, I did manage to find some humor while reading this Satire since I am a fan of sarcasm.
ReplyDeletei personally thought the story was confusing and difficult to understand. I definitely expected more from this reading, i thought maybe it would be somewhat humorous but it ended up being extremely disturbing.
ReplyDeletemreyes^
ReplyDeletewow when i got to the eating children i found it funny. one male for every female. ha.i found parts that were funny. i get most of what he is saying. sometimes it got to be a little much.
ReplyDeletestacy: Personally I found this all kind of intriguing. Sure it was slightly disturbing, but in all honestly, that approach tends to capture the attention of people which is kind of what he wanted. He needed to get his point across and i think he did a wonderful job. I also found it funny but that's my opinion =D
ReplyDeleteCourtney Kazan
ReplyDeleteI thought that "A Modest Proposal" in all it entirety got the point across. Although it was quite obscure it kept the reader interested. I felt as if I wanted to keep reading to see what other ridiculous things Jonathan Swift had to say. I found it funny yet hard to understand but I personally think that he did an excellent job!
Ebonenfant
ReplyDeleteThis story was a little weird for my tatse. I understand that it was mainly about the hunger of Ireland, and how children were starving and very few people actually had food to eat. However, in my opinion, the issue seems lesss erious when the author talks about plumping up the children and selling them as sources of food. This statement makes the whole issue seem sort of unimportant and not important.It was somewhat difficult to understand, but I think I got the main point.
I completely agree with Emily. I understand that he's trying to get his point across about the severity of the state of Ireland but when he talks about eating the children, in my opinion, it seemed as though he was joking rather than genuinely concerned. Overall, I also agree with basically everyone who has commented in that this was one of the weirdest things I have ever read, and I particularly love satire.
ReplyDeleteNicole Terheggen said....
ReplyDeleteI think this is the weirdest thing i have EVER READ!!!!! EATING CHILDREN and selling them as a source of food is weird. Although it did grasp everyones attention and wasnt boring and did get the point across! Its weird but it did get my attention!
I think essay is used to expose the problems that were occuring in Ireland at the time with the use of satire and irony through the main character they poked fun of the inhumanities of rationalizing social problems like poverty and over population.
ReplyDelete-CTOBIN
Overall I thought this essay was very disturbing and strange, however it did get the point across. Instead of just stating his complaints about Ireland, he used "humor" to captivate people's attention. This satire was confusing but still very interesting.
ReplyDelete---VDEAN
In my opinion, this satire was interesting yet disturbing. The details Swift added were cruel and disgusting. He did make many good points in a very roundabout way, although I think he could've done so in a much less graphic way.
ReplyDeleteNicole Crumpacker
ReplyDeleteI think his proposal is utterly cruel and unjust. Like others have said, it did catch my attention. His satire is very critical of the British nobles and the Irish women. It was kind of degrading how he called women "breeders." It makes me believe that Swift was sexist. Does he think that bearing children is the only thing women are good for or what? Anways I thought that Swift had a negative perspective on Ireland.
I think that Swift's pamphlet was ironic because his biography stated that he grew up living poor. Despite being poor, he did not sympathize for the poor in his pamphlet. The idea of eating children was disturbing and unexpected.
ReplyDelete-Catherine Frederick
I agree with everyone about how “A Modest Proposal” is very bizarre, out of the ordinary, weird, strange, creepy etc... But Swift’s ability to develop his argument in the way he did proves how much thought he has put in to this piece. Swift proposes that in order to solve the problem of poverty and starvation in Ireland, the Irish must eat their own children to avoid hunger. Once I got over the shock of the proposal I was able to understand and appreciate the satire Swift used, it was the clearest and most purposeful use of satire I have ever read.
ReplyDelete