A Modest Proposal

A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift's, 'A Modest Proposal' is otherwise known as, 'A Modest Proposal for preventing the children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country and for Making them Beneficial to the Public.'
Swift wrote the proposal in 1729, during the potato famine in Ireland. There were problems with overpopulation, poverty, crime, and on top of everything, Ireland was under the bloody rule of Great Britain.
Swift decided to write this proposal in a satirical way, making subtle stabs at the British government and policies. Not only did he mock the British rule, he sarcastically poked fun of the views on the heartless attitudes towards the poor population in Ireland. All of Ireland's problems were being blames on the poor, including the entire famine of the country.
Swift's 'idea' to make everything better was to have parents fatten up their babies by age one, making them incredibly delectable meats that could either be stewed, roasted, baked, or broiled. Swift even made economic projections that had the parents selling their babies to the landlords and owners of Ireland, selling them for money so that they wouldnt grow up to be an upsetting member of the commonwealth. Swift even included a few recipes for the meats to be sold.

While he was absolutely being satirical in his ideas, some had a hard time believing swift was kidding. The soul purpose of the proposal was to make light of the situation, including mocking the ways of the British Rule.
"For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, and flesh being of too tender a consistence, to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I could name a country, which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it." Swift included this in his proposal to do just that.


While I would have a hard time understanding this proposal if it were not for having previous knowledge of the background of it all, I still enjoy reading it. I think that it has a lot of influence on modern day including acts from Saturday night live.