An Analysis of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"

Jonathan Swift's legendary satirical work, A Modest Proposal, has long been recognized as the beginning of a long tradition of writing for the purpose of mocking the establishment. Swift treats the devastating state of affairs in his homeland, Ireland, with contempt and sarcasm, expressing the unfavorable economic and political conditions of the Emerald Isle in the eighteenth century-problems which he, in later works, would attribute to the British empire's mercantilist domineering. Swift criticizes the ruling class of Ireland by proposing an even more shocking and unethical means of handling the country's affairs. Through his word usage and subtle use of irony, Swift's tactful challenge is a well designed argument lacking only in morality. This, the thrust of the satire goes, is parallel to the absence of morality and general expedience of how Ireland's affairs are managed.

The lack of power held by the Irish masses springs from the considerable amount of authority the English Protestants had over the Irish, most notably the penal laws enforced upon the Irish Catholics. Swift uses this verity in order to exploit his renowned satire and to ultimately propose the consumption of the infants of poverty-stricken Irish mothers. One of the most evident uses of satire Swift uses is when he is discussing the possible English response to his proposal and he claims, "Perhaps I could name a country, which would be glad to eat up our whole nation." Here Swift is reflecting the extent to which the English controlled the Irish. That the basis of Swift's proposal lies in the concept of consuming, as food, the newborn Irish is no accident. This idea seems to have been chosen in order to represent the downfall of Ireland through the 'consuming' authority of the English over the Irish, who may as well have been as helpless as infants. Although more initially shocking an idea than merited by the actual conditions of Ireland at the time, the key parallel between both situations is their shared consequence: a country doomed to failure.

At one point in the course of the proposal Swift directly assures the "politicians who dislike [his] overture" that the poor people of Ireland, if given the option, would rather give up their life than experience the "perpetual scene of misfortunes as they have since gone through." While Swift is making this point to the ruling class, he sarcastically represents the misfortunes as being the sole fault of the poor. Swift is addressing the politicians who have cheated the Irish Catholics from some of their rights, yet he claims that the Irish are oppressing their landlords by not paying rent on time. The irony, of course, was the massive economic oppression levied on the Irish by the English, via agricultural protectionism, among other things. Swift's use of satire here serves to expose the English rulers to the reality of the conditions to which they are subjecting the citizens of Ireland. Nonetheless, despite Swift's noticeable contempt for the English, he at no moment ceases to also partially blame the Irish for the circumstances being confronted.

Specifically, the inaction on the part of the Irish is what seems to irk Swift the most. While one might imagine that Irish Catholics, making up a significant majority of the population, should have rallied against the English, they instead fell victim to land seizures and forfeited certain liberties. Swift asserts that his proposal will "greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom [they] are yearly overrun, being the principle breeders of the nation as well as [their] most dangerous enemies; and who stay at home on purpose with a design to deliver the kingdom to the Pretender." It is evident that Swift does not actually believe that the papists are overrunning the Protestants; instead, he is attacking the Irish Catholics for their lack of effort to take back their country from them. Swift believes that the Irish have willingly handed their country over to the English, making them the most dangerous enemies to Ireland. Throughout the proposal, Swift, when describing the Irish newborns he recommends be consumed, uses terminology as if he were applying the description to farm animals. Words and phrases such as "stock," "pigs," "cattle," "flesh," "carcass," "fatten them up," and "tough and lean flesh" all allude to Swift's analogy between people and livestock. This is not only implies that the Irish stand around idly and submit to the authority of some higher power, but also that the English treat the Irish as worthless workers. In turn, this implies that the Irish are only valuable through their function as laborers to make the English money, similar to livestock whose only purpose is the financial well-being of their owners. Swift also often criticizes the lifestyle of the Irish and their intentions when it comes to addressing the issues of family life and religion. He makes it clear that he disapproves of both the Irish view and the English view of the Irish. In one passage, Swift states that the most births occur nine months after Lent and therefore his proposal will "lessen the number of papists among us." This statement not only implies that some Irish cheat in the period of self-denial and take pleasure in sex, but also that the English would favor a lesser amount of Irish Catholics in the population.

As the proposal progresses, Swift's intentions seem to surface. He increasingly makes an effort to shock the readers by coming up with numerous controversial suggestions which can do nothing but rouse the audience. His ironic portrayals are not meant only to simply to criticize the social composition of Ireland, but also to mobilize the readers to take action in repairing the damage that Ireland has endured. Swift places the blame on all parties involved in the decline of Ireland, although he does have sympathy for the misfortune of the Irish. Indeed, his proposal of the consumption of infants is his last resort in trying to gain the attention of a disheartened group of people. Consequently, what seems like an immoral and preposterous request becomes a means of attempting to achieve positive changes amid discouraging circumstances in Ireland. Exploiting the attention he draws with his satirical antics, Swift in fact does suggest serious solutions to Ireland's ills toward the end of A Modest Proposal. The power of this infamous piece lies, of course, not in the particular solutions he offers, but in the satirical method he used to get there.