1. Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal" under a pseudonym, so who is the speaker here?

a. The speaker of this piece is a protestant as well as a member of the Irish upper-
class.
2. Discuss the tone of the piece. Pull examples from the text to support your discussion.
a. Swift's tone of the piece is a sense of disgust towards those who would rather
beg and submit than take the initiative to take care of themselves. As he states
in his piece, "These mothers instead of being able to work for their honest
livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for
their helpless infants who, as they grow up, either turn thieves for want of
work, or leave their dear native country, to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or
sell themselves to the Barbadoes."
3. As you know, effective argumentation appeals to logic (logos), ethics (ethos), and
emotions (pathos). Please discuss how Swift uses all three appeals and how these
tools impact his purpose.
a. In his piece, Swift's argument appeals to logos, the logic of the audience by
questioning why the public must take responsibilities for the poor families
who had children despite knowing they couldn't support them in the first place.
He then uses Ethos and Pathos by suggesting a solution so absurd and out of
proportion, it triggers the audience's emotions and morals related to the topic,
influencing them to consider more heavily on the topic.
4. Explain the irony in Swift's title, "A Modest Proposal."
a. The irony behind this title is the fact that Swift's proposal is the furthest from
'Modest' as the title suggests with his idea of 'fattening up' undernourished
children and feed them to Ireland's rich land-owners, and how children of the
poor could be sold into a meat market at the age of one to combat
overpopulation and unemployment, even going as far as suggesting a couple of
recipes to use for this new type of meat.
5. Where does this essay fit on the continuum (Horatian to Juvenalian)? Explain and
support your position.
a. I believe this piece appeals more on the Juvenalian satire position, as
throughout his essay, he uses sarcasm to not only criticizes the Irish population
for not taking any action about their situation but also sheds some more light
on the tyrannical ways of the English.
6. Why is "A Modest Proposal" an effective satire? What techniques does Swift use
effectively? Support your answers with examples from the text.
a. 'A Modest Proposal' is effective due to how Swift utilizes satire and irony to
make his point clear to his audience. Starting with its title, the speech sets up a
a sense of irony already due to his proposal being nothing close to 'modest.'
Doing so appeals to the audience's ethos and pathos, allowing themselves to
 question their morals and ethical choices. Then, he uses imagery to elaborate
more on the benefits of his proposal with sentences such as "... a young
healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and
wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no
doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust." Finally, he adds
statistics as a tool with sentences such as "I have reckoned upon a medium,
that a child just born will weigh 12 pounds, and in a solar year, if tolerably
nursed, increaseth to 28 pounds." Doing so adds to the satire and irony of his
piece as it further supports the realism possibility of his cannibalistic proposal.
7. Swift enumerates six reasons why his proposal will work. Discuss how these
paragraphs impact his purpose.
a. Because as with every proposal, Swift provided proper logical reasoning. This
truly emphasizes his proposals, when put logically, is completely possible,
allowing it to be perceived by the audience as a 'realistic solution.' The only
issue with it is the methods being rather unethical and immoral.
8. Toward the end of the essay, locate the paragraph that begins "I can think of no one
objection that will possibly be raised..." How is this paragraph different from the rest
of Swift's essay?
a. In this paragraph, Swift reels the essay back to reality after his many absurd
and immoral proposals as he begins to express some more ethical solutions as
he suggests, "...Of quitting our animosities and factions, nor acting any longer
like the Jews, who were murdering one another at the very moment their city
was taken: Of being a little cautious not to sell our country and consciences for
nothing: Of teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy towards
their tenants. Lastly, of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our
shop-keepers, who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only our native
goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact upon us in the price, the
measure, and the goodness, nor could ever yet be brought to make one fair
proposal of just dealing, though often and earnestly invited to it."
9. Re-read the final paragraph. How does this paragraph contribute to Swift's purpose?
a. Because in this paragraph, he establishes that he has no other ulterior motive to
gain from making this proposal, nothing but the desire to help his country. He
states, "I have no children, by which I can propose to get a single penny; the
youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing." Meaning that
either way, his proposal will not provide any personal benefits to himself.
10. When "A Modest Proposal" was originally published, some readers were outraged by
Swift's proposal. At what point is it clear to you that "A Modest Proposal" is a satire?
a. Beginning this assignment, I had already known that this essay would be
related to satire in one way or another. However, even without the prior
knowledge to reading, I could guess that 'A Modest Proposal' is a satire based
on the sentence "... a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most
delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or
boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a
ragoust." The description of cooking a young child brought so much
discomfort and disgust to me that it convinced me that the author being
sarcastic. As the only other explanation in this situation was that he was
delusional and insane, which is an alternative I am well aware could be
possible, but for my peace of mind, I'd rather not imagine.