Essays on Modest Proposal

Surprise ending

A modest proposal is a widely read essay by Jonathan Swift that was written with an aim of providing the solution to the aggravating hunger problem in Ireland. From the beginning of the proposal, Swift adopts a satirical approach which ensures into a surprise ending. The ending comes as a surprise to me because, at the start of the essay, Swift takes the persona of a concerned economist proposing that to alleviate the poverty and overpopulation better in Ireland, the children of the poor should be sold as food to the wealthy. This, he argues, will significantly increase the ...

I think that “A modest proposal” is really outstanding pamphlet of the later works of famous Irish writer Jonathan Swift. It shows us that Swift was not only a writer but an outspoken defender of Irish people and their welfare. At first sight this essay is about women-beggars who beg for money to feed and dress their numerous children. Their kids had no good life because their parents were poor, and the British government didn’t care for them at all. In addition at that time the harvest was poor so the most possible way to get food was ...

The vast majority of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” reads like a scientific treatise, packed with facts and figures as it seems that Swift has assembled a persuasive case for actually raising the children of Irish poor families in the same philosophical manner that farmers raised sheep, cattle and pigs for slaughter, even going into the various cuts of meat that would be available. However, as the reader nears the end of this treatise, he descends into a chiding tone that asks the reader to conduct some internal self-questioning to determine his position on the issue. Swift, writing ...

1. Clearly state in your own words the “surprise ending” in the reading you selected. Clearly identify the point in the reading when you realized that there were elements in the reading that surprised you. Not all of the surprises come at the end. The “surprise ending” of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” became evident when the work made it apparent that the argument it was making was satire. This became obvious due to the increasingly radical views that were being proposed within the text. As the author continued to monetize and commoditize human life and began discussing trading ...

Illegal immigrants entering the USA especially from Mexico are in the long run a huge burden and a disadvantage to the American society. Theses illegal immigrants bring in harmful drugs like cocaine and among them are also hardened criminals who end up carrying out uncountable robberies, rapes, murders and even thefts. As a result, the illegal immigrants are a threat to the community they choose to sneak in. Regardless, of the huge inconveniences, the taxpayers money is used to regulate and even support these immigrants regarding offering healthcare, education and even necessities. Moreover, illegal immigrants may be mediums through ...

It is depressing for the people who walk through the city and town streets every day seeing beggars in huge numbers. This research paper is discussing a proposal by Jonathan Swift on how children born of poor mothers will receive care and their mothers as well will get good money and be able to pay rent to their proprietors. Female beggars with young infants are the most common all over the world. The female beggars spend their entire day in the streets to get something to feed their children instead of going to workplaces to earn a living for ...

Contained within Johnathan Swift’s Modest Proposal, is his twisted and often backwards comedy relief that explains how the inability for Ireland to maintain its economy, balance the wealthy bad attitudes, and the poor living situations of the common folk and less fortunate are surviving . He then offers a satirical solution in the form of a preposterous idea to consume, sell, or get rid of the children of the poorest community members. He offers this solution in an effort to relieve Ireland of its largest problems. Swift complains that Ireland is subjected to England’s whims and exploitations. He ...

Contained within the satire essay ‘A Modest Proposal, Johnathan Swift not only entertains with a backhanded and witty criticism of the privileged and hypocritical wealthy, the ridiculous uselessness of the politicians in Ireland, and the dreadful conditions that the poor in Ireland must endure. Swift ridicules those who have the financial means to help, but refuse to help the situation in a positive way, as well as the horrid cruelty of the English that makes the whole thing absurdly incompetent on the part of those who refuse to help themselves. (Swift & Fabricant, 2011) When Swift wrote this piece, in ...

The Fool has played an important role throughout much of the course of literature and the arts. Whether it is Falstaff serving as a foil for the more serious side of the young prince Henry, who has his own partying to do before he has to take on the more serious role of governing England (Shakespeare), or whether it is Al Czervik, the outrageous jester who somehow has found his way onto the golf course of Bushwood Country Club in the film Caddyshack, the Fool points out many of the elements of human nature that otherwise might remain safely ...

There are many manners in which to be a hero; not all of them include donning a cape and fighting evildoers. Some heroes are more intellectual in nature, and all they need to change society’s wrongs is words, be it through pen and paper or by talking. The latter kind is usually not as well-known as the former, yet they have also influenced history in very important ways. One way of bringing society’s ills to light is through satire, of which there have been many master’s throughout the years. This genre ridicules the subject, using irony, ...

Throughout time, the definition of heroism has undergone a very great change. Where once heroes were seen as brave and fearless warriors who plunged into the danger of battle with swords and spears, now heroes are defined in many different ways and in much broader terms. However, even with the passage of time and societal advances, the basic underlying traits of a hero remain essentially the same. Heroes are those who have the courage to face dangerous situations and risk of harm; put the needs and wants of others above their own; and either defend or attack in order ...

A Modest Proposal is a satirical work by Jonathan Swift aimed at skewering English reactions to the then-contemporary issues of poverty and famine in Ireland. It revolves around a detailed argument that the problems of poverty, famine, overpopulation and many other social ills could be solved by selling one year old Irish children to be cooked and eaten dressed “hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs” at English dinner tables (Swift, 1729, p.9). It was written in the early 18th century when Ireland was effectively an English colony and had been ruled as such for centuries. Colonialism ...