In Jonathan Swift's outlandish essay, A Modest Proposal, Swift proposes an arbitrary solution to aid the impoverished Irish in the 1700s. Swift suggests the 'modest' idea of simply eating and making clothes out of children, aka cannibalism. Yummy! By mixing ¼ cup of irony, adding a dash of sarcasm, folding in ¾ cup of logic, and topping it off 1 tablespoon of hyperbole, Swift created a delicious satirical essay. As harsh and vile as this proposal sounds, this is what Juvenalian satire is supposed to do, and Swift sure did a hell of a job. Like all satires, Swift was trying to make a point and get through to something, and that something is quite obvious. In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift satirizes the bleak ways of politicians handling major issues. Throughout the essay, Swift swiftly (see what I did there) defends the benefits of slaughtering infants at the ripe age of one, the perfect age when instead of mooching off of their parents for the basic necessities, their parents can do the same to them. It's quite literally, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out". While it is an extremely bizarre proposal, Swift applies this method to mock how the British politicians at the time handled situations by enforcing mundane logic to fix substantial issues. We can see the same thing happen today too. Politicians of today use their logic and their way of thinking to fix issues they've created. Instead of doing the morally correct thing, they implement what they think is correct without involving emotions. Yet, funnily enough, when Swift did the same exact thing and even went as far as calculating that "one male will be sufficient to serve four females" (Swift 625), a line has been crossed. Despite the endless amount of befits he details-children will taste good, population goes down, families can profit, childbearing will no longer be a burden-it makes total, but it isn't fathomable. It seems crazy, but can't the same thing be said today? Glaring at today's American politicians, there are a plethora of instances where logic has outweighed morals. Trapping children in cages because it 'makes sense but not thinking about the trauma they may face; opening the country so quickly despite the thousands dying every day; saying empty phrases like black lives matter but not discussing the black lives that don't die in the hands of police. All these things make sense to politicians logically but lack morale. Though they're not as extreme what Swift's proposal, they follow the exact same guideline of lacking a moral compass. I adore Swift's proposal. Not because I partake in cannibalism and agree with slaughtering any living being, but because it shifts the focus on the higher-ups and demonstrates how monotone and heartless their policies sound. So next time you hear a proposal from a politician think to yourself: "I wonder if this proposal would taste as good as it sounds?".
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AuthorHi! I'm La'Kennya Huggins and I'm currently a senior in high school. This blog is primarily for my college course. Archives
November 2021
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