Mockery And Babies

So I decided to read “A Modest Proposal” first because I read it in high school and I wanted to refresh my memory. Wow. I forgot how creepy it was. He just casually proposes the idea of using the infants of beggars to provide the richer people with food and clothing.

He refers to the women as breeders and it makes me think that he does not respect them. It also seems that he is mocking the women in a way. He says that they cannot afford to take care of their babies yet they keep having babies and that seems ironic to me. He states on page 487 in the next to last paragraph that mothers will show even more love to their infants to ensure that they get top price. He makes the women seem shallow and selfish. I like how he uses the words fair and easy on page 283 and 284. He is saying that raising beggars’ children for slaughter is a good method. It just shows how inconsiderate man can be when they see murdering little babies for food and clothing as beneficial for people.

I love reading Swift! He still amazes me today. He succeeds in showing us just how selfish and ignorant humans can be. He sees the children as a burden and calmly suggests that we slaughter them like cows or pigs. He’s mocking how people can just simply result to murdering infants to help benefit their own daily lives. I also like how he added at the end that he would not be able to make any money because his child was too old and his wife can no longer have children. He includes that last little bit of mockery which was really interesting to me. He does not stop at people who can contribute. No! He ends on the final note of how people who could not contribute are just as selfish simply because they will not be able to benefit from his new idea.

I hope I painted a decent picture of what I thought of Swift. I like how he uses satire to prove a point and he executes it very well.


P.S. I commented on Jamie’s.