Cummins Letter Analysis

The passage above demonstrates Cummins appealing to the Duke’s sympathy by emphasizing that this situation is going on in his native city, and implores him to ignore the official etiquette and to honour the British name through his actions.

In order to understand the importance of Cummins’ letter, and its significance towards making a change, it is important to first establish a chronological timeline of the events that took place. Since the end of the 18th century, most of the Irish rural population relied on potato growth. Although famines were not uncommon in Ireland during the 19th century, the one in 1846-1847, which Cummins spoke of, was the most devastating because of the number of deaths and the number of people who migrated to America as a result. Deaths were so common and so numerous that coffins had to be re-used because there weren’t enough.

Similarly, Ireland had suffered a potato crop failure in 1816, which only worsened in 1817 as a result of the spread of typhus, a disease unfamiliar to scientists during that time. At around the same time, between 1812 and 1818, Sir Robert Peel had become the Chief Secretary of Ireland. He believed that the anguish expressed by the Irish was being exaggerated; therefore he paid

The poem, “Modest Proposal” was written as an ironic piece to demonstrate the misfortune that Ireland experienced. The poem was a mockery of the way the situation was handled in Ireland, as it suggested that people should have children in order to cook them a year later or to sell them to others so they may be able to feed themselves, thus avoiding abortions. The poem even included recipes and jokes that one year olds can be stewed baked, roasted or boiled. It suggested that since parents were unable to feed their children, the children may be useful in feeding the parents; his ironic words were as