1. What is the problem Swift identifies in his society? What does he want to do about it?
Swift begins by discussing the problem of poverty in Ireland, especially that in relation to the children of the country. He discusses how the parents of Ireland are constantly worried about what and how they are going to feed their children. He talks about how this issue has been weighing heavily on his mind for some time, but that he thinks that he has found a suitable solution. The solution that he has come up with is to simply kill the children and sell them to rich land owners to eat. He has thought of a detailed plan that he believes is the perfect solution to help Ireland recover from poverty.
2. Is his suggestion serious? If not, what is the purpose? What is he making fun of?
Luckily, his solution is not serious, he is being highly ironic. He does not really want to kill innocent children and sell them as food. He uses this approach to shock the reader and grab their attention. He also wants his audience to realize the severity of the situation; poverty in Ireland. He wants them to realize that while his suggestion is absurd and horrifying, there does need to be a real solution. He is making fun of the wealthy in Ireland who do nothing to help those in need. This is also his target audience, as the rich are more likely to actually read the piece than the uneducated poverty stricken members of society.
3. Is his solution logical? What kind of evidence does he give to support his position?
No, his solution is not logical as no sane parent would actually sell their own child as food. In fact, these parents struggle daily in order to provide their children with some kind of sustenance; no way would they willingly sell their children in such a terrible manner. He has a well thought out plan when it comes to how this will logistically work. He says that only one hundred thousand children will need to be sacrificed in order to make a dent in the issue. No more, no less. He discusses specific recipes and methods in which the children can be cooked. He also describes the perfect weight the child so be in order to be desirable as food.
Here is a picture of Jonathan swift. Link of the picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_swift.jpg
I agree that Swift is not serious, however, he has quite a few idea's in his proposal. Swift came up with suggestions of what to do and how to go about doing them. When writing a proposal in my Eng 101 class this would have come in handy as to how to write a proposal that would have been persuasive in getting your point across to people and get them to listen to what you have to say. Good post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you have said except that his solution is not logical - sane or insane his planning of the solution is logical. Just not logical to a sane person - and therein lies the beginning of the satirical irony of his whole plan.
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