Name: _______________________________________ Block:______________ Date: _________

Circle the best answer for each question.

1. Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is an example of what type of writing?

a. Irony
b. Parody
c. Satire
d. Macabre
2. Jonathan Swift says “A Modest Proposal” is a proposal for the prevention of what?
a. Preventing the Children of the Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden on their
Parents or County
b. Preventing the Children of the Rich People in England from Starvation
3. Jonathan Swift was best known for the book _________________.
a. A Tale of a Tub
b. Gulliver’s Travels
4. Swift writes “…when we see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of
the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every
passenger for an alms” to contribute to the description of the melancholic situation in Ireland.
a. True
b. False
5. What is an “alms?”
a. money or food given to poor people; charity
b. an uneasy feeling of doubt, worry, or fear, especially about one's own conduct; a
misgiving
6. Who is the “Pretender?”
a. James III of England
b. Henry VIII
7. Jonathan Swift proposes the ideas in ”A Modest Proposal” are intended to take in not only the
children of beggars, but the children of any parent who cannot afford to take care of their child.
a. True
b. False
8. What does a “child just dropped from the dam” mean.
a. A child who is recently deceased from drowning.
b. A child who was recently born.
9. At what age can a child become a good their?
a. Age 6
b. Age 12
10. What does Jonathan Swift propose a well-nursed one year old is?
a. A most delicious, nourishing, wholesome food.
b. Too tough and lean to taste good.
11. In Jonathan Swift’s opinion, how many children should be reserved for breeding?
a. 20,000
b. 120,000
12. What is the ratio of boys to girls that should be reserved for breeders?
a. 1 boy for every 3 girls
b. 3 boys for every 1 girl
13. What nationality is the friend that suggests babies are a delicacy?
a. Anglo-Irish
b. American
14. What does the word “popish” mean?
a. It is a derogatory term for a Roman Catholic.
b. It is a derogatory term for a pot-bellied child.
15. What is the market value of a fattened baby?
a. 5 shillings
b. 10 shillings
16. What should be done with the “skin” of the child?
a. Make shoes
b. Make gloves
17. How much should a “plump” 15-year-old girl be sold for?
a. 400 crowns
b. 10 shillings
18. What does the word “digress” mean?
a. To wander off the subject
b. To get dressed in a dressing room
19. What does the word “procure” mean?
a. To obtain
b. To smoke meat
20. What does “brevity” mean?
a. To be brief
b. The ability to move things with your mind.
21. What does word “animosities” mean?
a. Hostility and resentment
b. an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way
22. How many “benefits” does Jonathan Swift list.
a. 10
b. 6
c. 4
d. 5
23. What stereotypes about the Irish does Swift discuss?
a. Promiscuity and tendency toward domestic violence
b. That they are very smart, but cannot ride horses
24. Swift wrote this satirical piece to _____________.
a. Make people laugh; create a spectacle
b. Expose the utter inhumanity of the English against the Irish.
25. Long Answer: What evidence does Swift offer as proof that he has no personal interest?