"A Modest Proposal"

What is the author's purpose in using language that is normally associated with the business of farming?

As readers, we begin to realize that the narrator is proposing a solution that might be associated with farm animals, but not human babies. It becomes evident that this is satire.

Swift is saying in "I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children" that the English landlords already eat their adult Irish tenants, so why not eat the children as well.

False. What Swift means in this line is that the landlord system is so unjust that it has already consumed, or eaten away, the lives of the Irish. He is not saying that anyone is literally eating other people.

What does Swift hope his entire essay will be an inducement to?

He hopes it will lead to reforms that will improve the lives of the Irish poor.

How does Swift use irony to satirize anti-Catholic (popish... Papists) feelings in lines 97-105?

He suggests that infant flesh will be more plentiful in march.

Which of the following statement summarizes the satire analyzed in the CloseRead Screencast?

People talk about the rich exploiting the poor, but here Swift has the rich actually living off the poor, eating them.

Which of the following best explains the exaggeration in the lines above and its purpose in the passage?

The idea of erecting a statue to the person who solves this problem of children in poverty exaggerates how important that person would be; at the same time, it stresses how great the problem is.

"They can very seldom pick up a livelihood by stealing till they arrive at six years old..."

The narrator generalizes that all Irish become thieves by the age six.

"For we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture..."

The narrator is generalizing that the Irish do not make good employees.

"I confess they learn the rudiments much earlier..."

The narrator is suggesting that some Irish children are quick enough to learn stealing at an earlier age.

What about the use of the word scrupulous in this context makes it verbal irony?

The word itself means principled or morally right, but here the narrator is describing a practice that is clearly evil and immoral.

What picture is created by the details in the above paragraph on page 199?

There is widespread poverty, shown by the many "beggars of the female sex" who lack the money to feed their children - children who are "all in rags" and have hopeless futures.

What effect on the reader does Swift intend the sensible approach and tone of the narrator to have?

When the readers think about the fact that infants are being discussed as sources of food, they are repelled.

satire

a literary technique in which institutions, practices, or behaviors are ridiculed for the purpose of bringing about reform

Identify the sentences below as active or passive voice: -The passers-by avoided the beggar. -The politician proposed the tax.

active voice

Why does the narrator refuse to consider young boys as a replacement for venison?

their meat is too tough

______ would benefit because it would have fewer poor children and more money in the economy

the nation

Jonathan Swift is suggesting that children be sold for food to solve the problem of poverty in Ireland.

False. Jonathan Swift is the author, not the narrator. He created a fictional narrator to make this outrageous proposal of selling Irish children as food to make a satirical point - The English give the Irish no more regard than farm animals.

Anglo-Irish

British born parents living in Ireland

Protestant Ascendance

British landowners

At the time Swift was writing, Catholics in Ireland were banned from voting, holding public office, buying land or receiving an education under the rule of the French.

False

Based on what you know about the conditions in Ireland, why would the writer argue that a large number of young children is "a very great additional grievance"?

Ireland has suffered crop failures and the people are suffering the effects of a famine. Population growth will only create more hardship and suffering.

Catholics

Irish born with no position, no land and no rights under the British law

Based on the biographical information you read, which of the following statements best describes Jonathan Swift's position in Irish society in the 1720s?

Swift was an Anglo-Irish: he was born of English parents in Ireland and had some status in society.

This narrator is saying that the Irish stay home and have children to build an army of enemies to the king of England. He goes on to say that they are taking advantage of the good Englishmen who live in England but own land in Ireland. How is this ironic?

The irony is that the Irish have no choice but to stay at home, since they have no money or resources to move. It is also absurd to think that the Irish poor have the resources to support a "Pretender" king when they are desperate to simply feed themselves and their families.

The narrator sounds reasonable but his indifference to the human suffering reveals that he cannot be trusted.

True

This sketch might represent the English, who have exploited the Irish but still want more. (page 204)

True

Swift has the narrator reject proposals that Swift himself actually believes are right and reasonable solutions.

True. Swift has his narrator denounce perfectly reasonable and moral proposals - tax the absentee landowners to help pay for upkeep of Ireland, buy local to support workers in the country, love one another and show mercy. By denouncing these reasonable proposals within this context of satire, he actually makes them sound more legitimate.

______ would benefit because they would have something to give to landlords for rent and no longer have the burden of taking care of children

the poor

What does Swift say is the occupation of many Irish mothers?

begging

Swift supports his proposition that the Irish will benefit from his plan by

calculating the average rate of profit to mother from child

In support of his proposal, Swift says, "For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, the flesh being of too tender a consistence to admit a long continuance in salt" (lines 262-264). These lines add metaphorical meaning to the satire by comparing

children of poor Irish and beggars to commodities for trade

understatement

occurs when the writer says less than is expected or appropriate

verbal irony

occurs when the writer says the opposite of what is meant

Swift's refusal to listen to other, rational proposals to address Irish poverty shows that

other rational ideas have been ignored and a solution is now of vital importance

Identify the sentences below as active or passive voice: -The beggar was avoided by most passers-by. -The tax was proposed by the politician.

passive voice

______ would benefit because there would be fewer Catholics

protestants

How does Swift explain that his plan will help landlords?

tenants will now have something valuable

According to Swift in the final paragraph, the main motive for his plan is

the good of the country

would benefit because having children would become a profitable business — women would seek stable partners to yield more children, and men would treat their pregnant wives fondly to protect the profit the baby would bring

the institution of marriage