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The Eighteenth Century was an extremely difficult time for the country of Ireland. Not only were the English lords ruling the nation, but they were also taxing the Irish out of all of their income. Due to these harsh taxes and other laws passed from distant England, Ireland was quickly becoming a land of the starving (). By 1729, something had to be done, regardless of how drastic it was. Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay that disregards all humanity and morality for the sake of economic gain. In A Modest Proposal, Swift proposes that eating the children of the poor is the answer to Ireland’s economic problems. Throughout the essay Swift says that he has thoroughly researched this idea. He even goes so far as to give calculations about how many children Ireland could support a year. In this essay we will observe three passages where Swift uses satire to point out the problems facing Ireland and how to resolve these problems.
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