Similarities Between A Modest Proposal And Frankenstein

“A Modest Proposal” and Frankenstein are two works of literature that can be compared, but can also be different in many ways. While “A Modest Proposal” was written in the Restoration Era (17th Century) by Jonathan Swift, Frankenstein was written in the Romantic Era (18th Century) by Mary Shelley. Jonathan Swift likes to use humor and long sentences in his writing, and this is seen throughout “A Modest Proposal”.

Jonathan Swift, the author of “A Modest Proposal”, is an Irish author and satirist. He was born on November 30, 1667. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Trinity College in 1686. Swift was the dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. When he was little, he suffered from Meniere’s disease which caused his mother to hand

During the time, Ireland was a poor country, overpopulated, had many beggars, and was highly taxed. England was mistreating Ireland and Ireland was too weak to fight back. Ireland was dependant on England politically, economically, and militarily. The Irish people were very passive, and this angered Swift. An article reads: “In the middle of this mess, some lucky sons of guns managed to claw their way to the top of Irish society. Some of them were merchants, some of them were landlords, and all of them had their ancestors to thank for winning wars and generally rocking at life” (Shmoop 1). Swift wrote this piece because of his anger and frustration towards the higher class, the ones that did nothing to help the beggars and the needy. Irish landlords were very greedy. The poor citizens would get paid next to nothing. On top of that, the landlords would randomly increase rent. Although he was angry with the higher class of Ireland, Swift was also frustrated with England and the wrongdoings of the English. Another article reads: “...and his personal sense of the wrongs he had received at the hands of the English only intensified the anger he felt at the way England mistreated Ireland” (The Victorian Web 1). During this time period, Ireland was also suffering from famine. A famine occurs when food becomes scarce. Additionally, Ireland was a freezing country at the

Although the novel is very different from “A Modest Proposal”, it can also be compared to the story. A comparison between the two works of literature is that both include many allusions. While some allusions from “A Modest Proposal” are listed above, a few allusions from Frankenstein include: Theophrastus Bombastus Hohenheim (swiss alchemist and physician), “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, and The Thousand and One Nights. Also, both pieces of literature have something to do with poverty. While the point of “A Modest Proposal” was to fix the poverty in Ireland, Frankenstein also included something to do with poverty. A line in the novel reads: “ ‘...I found a fire which had been left by some wandering beggars, and was overcome with delight at the warmth I experienced from it’” (Shelley 72). Frankenstein is explaining how he learned from the real world and how basic things worked. He learned how to do simple things like eating and having emotions by observing the people he encountered. The people he observed happened to be the ones living in poverty. A difference between “A Modest Proposal” and Frankenstein is that while Frankenstein was from the Romantic Era, “A Modest Proposal” was from the Restoration Era. Also, “A Modest Proposal” is an essay while Frankenstein is a novel. Frankenstein is able to be more complex and can involve more ideas since it is much