-
Introduction
..
.......Jonathan
Swift
wrote
“
A
Modest
Proposal
”
in
1720
to
call
attention to abuses
inflicted on Irish Catholics by well-to-do English
Protestants.
Swift
himself
was
a
Protestant,
but
he
was
also
a
native of Ireland, having
been born in Dublin of English parents. He
believed England was exploiting
Ireland.
.......Many
Irishmen
worked
farms
owned
by
Englishmen
who
charged high
rents
–
so high that the Irish
were frequently unable to
pay
them.
Consequently,
many
Irish
farming
families
lived
on
the
edge of starvation.
.......In
“
A
Modest
Proposal,
”
Swift
satirizes
the
English
landlords
with outrageous
humor, proposing that Irish infants be sold as
food
at
age
one,
when
they
are
plump and
healthy,
to
give
the
Irish
a
new
source
of
income
and
the
English
a
new
food
product
to
bolster their economy and eliminate a
social problem. He says his
proposal,
if adopted, would also result in a reduction in
the number
of Catholics in Ireland,
since most Irish
infants
–
almost all of whom
were
baptized
Catholic
–
would
end
up
in
stews
and
other
dishes
instead
of
growing
up
to
go
to
Catholic
churches.
Here,
he
is
satirizing
the
rivalry
and
prejudice
characterizing
Catholic-Protestant relations in
Britain.
.......Swift
also
satirizes
the
Irish
themselves
in
his
essay,
for
too
many
of
them
had
accepted
abuse
stoically
rather
than
taking
action on their own
behalf.
.......The main
literary device Swift uses in
“
A Modest
Proposal
verbal
irony
–
that
is,
he
proposes
the
opposite
of
what
he
really
believes.
Historical Background
.......Over
the
centuries,
England
gradually
gained
a
foothold
in
Ireland.
In
1541,
the
parliament
in
Dublin
recognized
England
’
s
Henry
VIII,
a
Protestant,
as
King
of
Ireland.
In
spite
of
repeated
uprisings by Irish
Catholics, English Protestants acquired more and
more estates in Ireland. By 1703, they
owned all but 10 percent of
the land.
Meanwhile, legislation was enacted that severely
limited
the
rights
of
the
Irish
to
hold
government
office,
purchase
real
estate, get an education, and advance
themselves in other ways.
As
a
result,
many
Irish
fled
to
foreign
lands,
including
America.
Most
of
those
who
remained
in
Ireland
lived
in
poverty,
facing
disease, starvation, and prejudice. It
was this Ireland
–
an Ireland
of
the tyrannized and the
downtrodden
–
that Jonathan
Swift attempted
to focus attention on
in
“
A Modest
Proposal
”
in 1720.
Summary
.......Editor's
Note:
In
Modest
Proposal,
Swift
assumes
the
persona of a daft statistician. The
following summary of the essay
greatly
condenses the original wording. However, the words
in blue
type are direct quotations from
the essay.
.......Because
so
many
Irish
parents
cannot
find
decent
jobs
to
support their children,
they spend all their time walking the streets
to
beg
alms
of
passersby.
Meanwhile,
the
children
grow
up
to
become thieves or
emigrants.
.......This
situation presents a serious problem for Britain,
especially
since there are so many
Irish children. Each year, several hundred
thousand babies are born to Irish
parents. If you subtract those who
are
born to well-to-do parents, those who are
stillborn, and those
who die after
birth as a result of disease or accident, you are
still left
with
about
120,000
babies
who
have
to
be
supported
by
poor
parents.
.......Of course, a mother can feed her
child for one year with breast
milk.
But after that, she must beg food for the child.
However, I [the
writer of the essay]
have a modest proposal to solve this problem.
Here it is:
.......I
have
been
told
by
a
knowledgeable
American
that
a
year-old-infant
is
a
“
most
delicious
nourishing
and
wholesome
food, whether stewed, roasted, baked,
or boiled. . . .
”
Therefore,
I
suggest that of the 120,000 new
infants of poor parents, 20,000 be
reserved for breeding and the rest be
sold to people of quality.
.......
“
A child
will make two dishes at an entertainment for
friends,
and when the family dines
alone, the fore or hind quarter will make
a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a
little pepper or salt, will be
very
good boiled on the fourth day, especially in
winter . . . .
”
.......Not
only
will
my
plan
provide
excellent
food
and
relieve
the
burden
on
Irish
parents
and
Great
Britain
as
a
whole,
it
will
also
reduce
the
number
of
Roman
Catholics,
since
it
is
the
Roman
Catholics who have the most children.
In addition, my plan will have
the
following advantages:
.......Inkeepers who serve fat children
at their tables will be popular
with
their customers.
.......A
mother of a sold child will pocket a handsome
profit and be
free to work until she
has another baby.
.......The skin from babies can be used
to make gloves for women
and boots for
men.
.......Women will take
excellent care of their newly born infants, for
they will want their babies to be plump
and healthy when it comes