Modest Proposal 2

A Modest Proposal is more than the satire that is used in it. It is also a form of Irony in that the man that wrote it was not raised as a true Irish nationality. Irony can be defined as "a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words that carry the opposite meaning"(A Handbook to Literature, 282). But is also can be the situation or circumstances in which as person is raised and what they do with their lives that can be called Ironic. Swift was born in Ireland to English parents, raised in the Anglican church, which puts him at odds with the Catholic church and the majority of Irish. Yet he writes A Modest Proposal to shame the English government an people into better treatment for the Irish. By using the logical, though improbable, idea that selling little Irish Catholic babies to be eaten by the upper class English, Swift is defending the Irish and attemting to shame the English into treating the Irish better and give them a better chance at life. How terrible is the English government if the idea of selling innocent children to be canabalized is the last option for the poor Irish woman. Swift is harsh, witty, and at times cooly caluse in ordr to get his point accross. This ironic tone is what makes A Modest Proposal such a ironic and touching peice. Even three hundred plus years later Swift still causes his readers to think about the way that they treat other human beings when the social mirror is held up.