![]() ![]() ![]() Apart from literature students, A Modest Proposal cannot be ignored when it comes to the topic of poverty and inequality. He claims he has already convinced many to adopt this measure, and “a man of three thousand pounds a year would be as well provided for, with eight children, as is now the person who has twice that estate without any.”Ī Modest Proposal is important, especially for literature students, because it is one of the first modern examples of satire. In A Modest Proposal, Swift does not actually suggest eating children but instead using them as workers in the family home. ![]() The basic premise of the essay is that Ireland’s poverty could be alleviated by selling their children as food for rich gentlemen and ladies, noting “it would provide some small relief to your excellency’s treasury, and enable you to make a suitable provision for the support of your Majesty’s ancient and faithful subjects.” Swift suggests that this would be a cost-effective method to reduce poverty without any need for more Irish to emigrate. A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift. ![]()
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