ELA 10 H - “AMP”

[Ms. Miller, MAED & MA]

In “A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift uses a rational and calculated tone to present an absurd and shocking solution to Ireland’s economic problems. How does this ironic tone amplify the satire, particularly in its critique of British policies and the attitudes of the wealthy towards the poor?Analyze specific examples from the text where the tone contrasts sharply with the proposal’s intent , and explain how this contrast enhances the satirical message.

Word Count: 250 for first response. Respond to 1-2 classmates in a minimum of 75 words [/font]

[Xavier McDonald]

An example where Jonathan Swift’s objective tone amplifies the satire in A Modest Proposal is when he first showcases how he feels about his proposal to resolve Ireland’s economical problems. The author, “humbly proposes [his] own thoughts, which [he] hope will not be liable to the least objection,’ (Swift 7). This solution, as revealed earlier in the text, is to cannibalize infants for meat and use their skin as clothing. The juxtaposition of an unethical act by many being presented as a reasonable solution serves to showcase the consequences of the economic crisis in an absurd manner. Another example of the tone strengthening the satire is how the author discussed the viewpoints of others and challenged them. The author uses an argument between one of his friends, a fellow aristocrat who Swift admires for his strong sense of nationalism, to highlight a point in the author’s plan some readers might gloss over. The author’s friend suggests using children of ages between 12 and 14 as there are plenty of kids in that range, to which the author firmly rejects that plan. Despite still believing his friend a true patriot, the author argues that the culling of teenage children is too cruel of a practice for him. This hypocritical statement enhances the satire of the text as it now calls into question what the author’s standards of cruelty are if he is still okay with the massacre of infants. This questioning is a way to elevate the absurdity of Jonathan’s proposal as he imposes arbitrary standards to his madness.

[Natalie and Josephine]

In "A modest Proposal," Swift proposes that eating babies and fattening them up to sell for profit would improve the economic conditions of the country. This is obviously satirical due to the absurd nature of the proposal, however all throughout the text Swift does not break his serious and calculated tone. He goes on to say how it would help with hunger as you could make multiple dishes from one fattened up child. This is so absurd because he calculated how many meals you could get out of one child, adding to the satire of it all. This constantly mocks the economic conditions of the country and brings up the problem of poverty and hunger. On the second page, he even goes to calculate how many children are needed for the next generation to make more babies to eat. The numbers add to the absurdity and the exaggeration adds to the satire. He even goes to dehumanize the babies by saying when they are in season, which is all throughout the year. This supposedly makes them a better option for economic gain, furthering the mockery of the economic state. His serious tone implies sarcasm, however it makes it more humorous because of the seriousness of the whole situation. He makes it sound like an actual solution that is well thought out that the rich would consider because of how bad things were. He also made calculations to how much these babies would cost and he even said that doing this would create new jobs for the people who birth the babies. This use of satire exaggerates the lack of current jobs at the moment, further mocking the economy.

[Hayden Legere]

In “A Modest Proposal” swift says that they should fatten babies up and sell them for good money because of the economic state. This is obviously not a serious idea it is satire because of ridiculous it is. Swift adds to his satire by going to detail how you can make many meals with just one child. He keeps his sarcastic and serious tone throughout the time he is talking about all these ridiculous ideas. This is bringing up the countries problem with hunger and poverty.

[khushidesai]

In "A modest Proposal," Swift suggests that the nation's economic situation might be improved by eating infants and fattening them up for sale. The ridiculous nature of the idea makes this satirical, but Swift maintains his sad and deliberate tone throughout the entire passage. He continues by saying that it would reduce hunger because one obese youngster could be used to prepare several dishes. He determined how many meals you could get out of a single child, which makes the whole thing have even more satire, which makes it so ridiculous. This continuously makes fun of the nation's economic circumstances and raises issues with hunger and poverty.He even calculates the number of children required for the following generation to produce more infants for food on the second page. The exaggeration and the numbers both increase the absurdity and satire. By stating that the babies are in season, which is all year round, he even goes so far as to dehumanize them. This further decreases the status of the economy by making them a superior option for financial gain. Although his sad tone suggests sarcasm, the seriousness of the circumstance itself heightens the humor. He presents it as a well-thought-out, practical solution that the wealthy would take into consideration given how horrible things were.

[Avery Gass]

In “A Modest Proposal” the author, Jonathan Swift, uses an ironic tone to further push the satire of the essay. “It is true, a child just dropped from its dam may be supported by her milk for a solar year, with little other nourishment; at most not above the value of two shillings, which the mother may certainly get, or the value in scraps, by her lawful occupation of begging; and it is exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them in such a manner as instead of being a charge upon their parents or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall on the contrary contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands.” (par. 4). Swift is proposing that the poor of Ireland sell their babies so others could eat them. This thought is overly exaggerated, I don’t think anyone would sell their child let alone buy and eat another human being. Swift continues his ideas with “...to be about two shillings per annum, rags included; and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child, which, as I have said, will make four dishes of excellent nutritive meat.”(par.14) By saying this Swift shows his opinion on the poor. Swift does not like the poor nor does he pity them. Throughout the essay he calls them swine, cattle, and other harsh dehumanizing names. “Thirdly, whereas the maintenance of an hundred thousand children, from two years old and upwards, cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a piece per annum, the nation’s stock will be thereby increased fifty thousand pounds per annum, besides the profit of a new dish introduced to the tables of all gentlemen of fortune in the kingdom who have any refinement in taste.” (par. 20). Swift explains that having infants would cost the poor more. His solution is to propose to the poor to sell their children. This writing shows critique against British policies by saying they are too harsh that selling and eating infants is the solution to Ireland’s poverty.

[Leah Galvez]

In “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift's tone amplifies the satire, particularly in its critique of British policies and the attitudes of the wealthy towards the poor because he is trying to get them to understand his solution and how it could help with the overpopulation. In the text Swift had stated, “Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed* will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen” (Swift 8). This sentence from the text clearly represents satire due to the fact that making boots and gloves out of the carcasses of babies is deeply disturbing to everyone. If Jonathan Swift thinks this is a good solution for overpopulation then he should get some serious help.

[Alyssa Diep]

In the story “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift’s ironic tone amplifies the satire by how he thinks eating babies and roasting them will solve Ireland’s economic problems. His attitude of the wealthy towards the poor is very ridiculous because it shows that he’d want to kill babies and sell them for money. An example is when he says “For instance, the addition of some thousand carcasses in our exportation of barreled beef, the propagation of swine’s flesh, and improvement in the art of making good bacon, so much wanted among us by the great destruction of pigs, too frequent at our tables, which are no way comparable in taste or magnificence to a well-grown, fat, yearling child, which roasted whole will make a considerable figure at a lord mayor’s feast or any other public entertainment” (par. 27). This is very much exaggerated because it’s wrong to roast a whole child to eat. The author is saying that a child tastes much better than an actual pig which is disgusting. No one in their right mind would have the idea to roast their child and eat them whole.

[jet]

    In "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, an ironic tone amplifies the satire due to the sharp contrast in the crazy idea and serious presentation. This discrepancy highlights the insane nature of the idea and also indirectly criticizes the British government for their lack of action. To exemplify, we can look at Swift's formal, calm, and authoritative tone to gain trust and persuasiveness. "I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional grievance." (Swift 5). Adding on, Swift talks about the many benefits in using the children as food, such as feeding the population all year round. "I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom

a very great additional grievance." (Swift 7) However, he never highlights the immense pain and suffering that the children and parents have to experience. His calm tone a pure logic blinds us from the fact that infants are going to suffer as a result of his plans. Finally, we can analyze Swift's use of "fake" sincerity. Swift presents himself as altruistic and looking for a genuine situation. As a reader, I feel more persuaded by his plan with his manner. "I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional grievance."(Swift 12) On top of this, Swift in a sense makes his opposition side look cruel, which would be the British government. To summarize, Swift heavily emphasizes the benefits (eg food supply and economy boost) and relies on heavy logic in order to persuade the readers. This calm and formal nature adds credibility and hides the cruelty of cannibalism. His ironic tone emphasizes the satire Swift uses by contrasting the grotesque concept with his serious manner.

[Nathan Versteeg]

In the story "a Modest Proposal," Jonathan Swift uses an ironic tone to amplify the satire of the problem of Ireland's economic problems by making jokes. For one of his solutions of these problems were to fatten up babies and sell and feed them to stop overpopulation. This was an obvious piece of satire because it was super ridiculous. Jonathan adds to this by saying "my American acquaintances assured me from frequent experience that their flesh was generally tough and lean, like that of our schoolboys, by continual exercise, and their taste disagreeable; and to fatten them would not answer the charge," (8). This goes with the proposals intent because you could use it to feed the homeless and sell them to get money for the economics of Irland.

[Tony Jiang]

The

[Tony Jiang]

In the 1980s, Ireland had suffered a great famine which took the lives of 270,000 people and 4 million goats. During this famine, famous English scholar Taylor Swift published a satirical research paper intended to make a mockery of politicians which know nothing of the common folks, and those who follow the politicians blindly.
In the research paper, Swift states that “...although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife as we do roasting pigs” ( page 8 ) The author makes a shocking proposal of roasting the children alive and cut them in pieces with the same knife which was used to butcher pigs. This disturbing proposal was created in Swift’s research paper to project an absurd image of the politicians who propose ridiculous ideas much like the one mentioned above, showing the humorous example of Satire by Swift while also mocking those who thought this idea was to be considered.
Another example of Swift's satire was in page 7, in which the author states that “2 Infant’s flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after.” In this disgustingly detailed description, Swift explains the process of which infants are gonna be prepared for consumption by the public. This creates an absurd scenery of the common folks ritualistically preparing human infants for consumption following a specific agenda. This creates a disturbing and somewhat humorous example of satire, once again making mockery of the politicians and those who blindly follow them.
In conclusion, the Author, Sir Swift uses multiple cases of satire such as slaughtering children and preparing infants for consumption by the public following a ritualistic agenda. This humorous satire was aimed at creating a ludicrous scenery of the unintelligent politicians suggesting a barbaric crowd to eat human infants and children on a specific agenda while treating them like basic livestocks.

[Tony Jiang]

Aug 17, 2024 19:56:11 GMT -8 Tony Jiang said:

The

I completely agree with your wonderful opinion, this prompt response was both reasonable and well constructed. Very creative with the choices of words and a marble of high school level writing. Harvard will find you themselves in order to acquire such a well respected and talented individual. I have absolutely no criticism whatsoever for this response from the sheer awe of such a shocking statement. Please don't ever give up on this amazing talent of writing.

[Terry]

"A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick" is the full title of Swift's pamphlet. Conceived humorously, the tract seeks to "discover a just, inexpensive, and simple Method" for transforming the starving children of Ireland into "reliable and valuable Commonwealth members." Families too poor to provide for their children's food and clothing are the reason why impoverished children, primarily Catholics, live in filth throughout the nation.

[Eslie Mackin]

In the essay, “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift uses humor, irony and satire to address real problems in Ireland at the time that he wrote it. The satire is mainly aimed toward overpopulation. He suggests things like eating children, making boots and gloves out of the flesh of the children, and many other absurd things. The first example of the tone contrasting the proposals intent is on page 7, “Infant’s flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after.”(Swift 7). The next example is on page 8, ““Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed* will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen.”(Swift 8). Both of these quotes show the author making fun of the problems of overpopulation in Ireland and how he, jokingly, would fix it.