SATIRE

"Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist,
essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet and cleric who
became Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin."

" A Modest Proposal was written by Jonathan Swift, who is well-known as the author
of the satirical political fantasy, Gulliver's Travels. Swift published the Modest Proposal in
1729 as a pamphlet (a kind of essay in an unbound booklet). At this time, and for many years
afterward, Ireland (not an independent country) was far poorer than England. Most people
born there were Roman Catholics and employed as agricultural labourers or tenant farmers.
The landlords (landowners) were paid from the produce of the land, at rates which the
workers could rarely afford. This ruling class were usually Protestants. Many of them were
not born in Ireland, nor did they live there permanently. If the labourers lost their work, there
would always be other poor people to take it up. There was no social security system and
starvation was as common as in the Third World today. Swift knows, in writing the Proposal,
that in living memory, Irish people had been driven to cannibalism."

"Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre or form, although in practice it can
be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies,
abuses, or shortcomings are censured by ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods,
ideally with the intent of improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its
purpose is often not so much humour for its own sake as an attack on something strongly
disapproved by the satirist, using the weapon of wit.

A common feature of satire is strong irony or sarcasm - "in satire, irony is militant" -
but parody, burlesque, exaggeration, juxtaposition, comparison, analogy, and double entendre
are all frequently used in satirical speech and writing. This "militant" irony or sarcasm often
professes to approve (or at least accept as natural) the very things the satirist actually wishes
to attack."

In my own vision satire is a concept, an aesthetic category which criticized the moral
flaws of humans, humans behavior, but the real issues of society; through satire is aimed a
correction of these defects. Satire offers a broad vision about this type of social aspect... in
fact is a moralistic concept. It permanently follows to obtain a comic effect, but also ironic
and sarcastic one. Satire is meants to reflect, it shortcomings of people and in this case, the
government is at fault.

The title of this satire at first sight seems to be very suggestive. The writer tries to
prevent poor children in Ireland from being an ordeal, a burden for their parents. He wants to
warn the world population about the critical situation in which Ireland is. He tries help them
to overcome their condition, to start a new life and to maintain a good social life. Even the
title is satirical. The title is not so modest as it first seems to be; writer tries to mislead readers.
The word "modest" becomes a key element and we will frequently find throughout the text.
The writer uses in the title a stylistic process called alliteration, as in: "prventing", "poor",
"people", "parents" and "public". Since the beginning of text Jonathan Swift is trying to
inform the readers about the real situation from Ireland, about the social life from this country,
he also deals at length about the precarious conditions in which poor people live there. He
uses a form of libel through out its own language and technology. Swift’s first paragraph
expressing pity and melancholy towards this poor children and the author seems to understand
them. Through all these efforts the writer wants gain the readers confidence, to persuade
them, to achieve his purpose. He proposes at solution the reducing population of Ireland, it is
therefore a positive aspect to be considered, the writer offers this proposal seriously showing
an increased interest in solving the existing problems. Jonathan Swift subsequently made an
inventory of women who miscarry, which are the total of fifty thousand. "There only remain
an hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born."

The writer made a gradual transition from severe and serious things othat previously
underlines on that which evoke the humor. He talks about a famous American who
maintained that a healthy baby is at a year old very delicious and can be a good nourishment
served in a stew of meat. Swift shocks through this form of cannibalism in which he
reasonably believes and proposes an improved social life. All these ideas that are exposed by
the American acquainted have been provided by the famous Psalmanazar, a known grifter -
yet another proof that all submissions must warn the public opinion. Thus is created a contrast
that helps to observe the essence, make the difference, however with a persuasive and ironic
role. In fact he wants to highlight a serious problem: that the Irish people were in a
horrendous state , with poverty, overpopulation, and a corrupt system there was almost no
other way of getting out of this whole other than selling the Catholic's surplus infants.

The exaggeration continue, Jonathan Swift proposes another "clever" solution, namely
that it would be preferable and desirable for people to buy the children alive, to put them on
something hot so be prepared them as we do roasting pigs. He also suggests that children's
skin would be ideal for manufacturing gloves for women and summer boots for men. This
method would be a modern and useful one. Swift does not suggests in the true sense of word
that we should eat infants, he suggested the Irish population decay, the terrible and
humiliating order transformation of things and he desperately trying to generate a solution that
is beneficial - it felt a strong note of sarcasm here.

Next is a real problem that exists and should be solved urgently. Afterwards it is used
the irony, in a very good manner, to expose that there is a large number of poor people who
are crippled after disease, decay, dying because of famine, misery and parasites that exist in
Ireland. According to the young laborers, they can not work, they can not advance, to perform
in a certain area and this demonstrates the low level of culture, of education. These
disadvantages send you think of the old hostile environment and at the primitivism of this
nation. In closing this discourse Swift highlights the major importance that it has exposed
problems and seeks to justify his choice by making calls on their benefits in generating
solutions to these proposals. He argued his statement sets out, bringing in six premises clear
examples.

In the second statement in question it can be possible a barter between tenants and
landlords, so that tenants can pay legally their rent sharing their goods (stuffs) confiscated,
namely corn and cattle, money become in this context a complete stranger, a tool for handling
unknown. In the third situation, Swift explains how, by buying children and then sell them to
their friends, top-class can keep thriving. This was a plan to get even richer as Swift said:
"money will circulate among ourselves, the goods being entirely of our own growth and
manufacture.". Last proposed and reasoned hypothesis contain the idea of foster marriages,
such marriages should be encouraged by certain rewards, to persuade people to resort on this
important step. This would increase the sensitivity and the good care of mothers turned to
their children and thus would produce major security and stability in the lives of these poor
children. They would feel the warmth of a family, a safety home. We should look in a
different manner women who decide to marry, is a good incentive and an example worth
following for other women. Even men are starting to be more careful with them, more loving,
more attentive when they give birth children and will not resort to extreme measures, such as
the beating... these does it cause an abortion. This method would reduce violence among the
human species, so would create a much better family life, and might fit in among these poor
people in normal society.

Jonathan Swift are revealed at the end of this satirical speech, saying with all honesty
that he has no particular personal interest to promote this work. He seeks only the good of his
country, through its commercial and cultural progress by exposing the reality of the poor
watching through these depicted realities a radical and beneficial change, transformation.

"Best known for Gulliver's Travels, an account of Lemuel Gulliver's fanciful

voyages, Jonathan Swift also published numerous political pamphlets. The most
sensational of these short works, "A Modest Proposal," is generally considered to be
the most famous satirical essay in the English language.

As you read Swift's proposal, consider why it has been characterized as "a
masterpiece of ironic logic." When you are done, you may want to try our Reading
Quiz on "A Modest Proposal.""
 BIBLIOGRAPHY:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Swift

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satire

http://grammar.about.com/od/60essays/a/modpropoessay.htm

http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/prose/modestproposal.htm

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