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A Modest Proposal To The Publick By Jonathan Swift

716 Words3 Pages

Jonathan Swift. An Irishman born in Dublin, is most notable for being a Nobel Peace Prize awardee. In this proposal, Swift tackles multiple social issues along with his proposed solution. His support for various causes concerning the betterment of his country, Ireland, made him a well-known figure in modern day Ireland. His proposal deals with economic degeneration, over population and famine. He wrote it as a joke and as a mockery of what Ireland has become while showing his disdain towards the higher-class during this period. Swifts proposal to these social issues, as stated, is for the parents of a marginalized family to be allowed to sell their children for a certain amount of money to be consumed by the rich, thereby solving the predicaments. He [Swift] is a very nationalistic man that vies for Ireland to be a better country even by criticizing his fellow Irishmen.
Swift begins the proposal, “A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children Of Poor People In Ireland, From Being A Burden To Their Parents Or Country, And For Making Them Beneficial To The Publick”, or most commonly referred to as “A Modest Proposal”, by giving a brief background of the current state of Ireland, specifically Dublin. The background not only shows the different problems Ireland is facing, but as well as how it affects the common folk. The background begins by giving the reader a visual of what the streets of Dublin are like. From parents who cannot support their four or six children, to those

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