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“A Modest Proposal”

For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being a Burden To

Their Parents or Country, and Making Them Beneficial to the Public

By Jonathon Swift

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The Problem (question 2)

• “It is a melancholy object to those who walk through…the streets…crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms.“o Too many children who are hungry and pooro Too many parents who can’t support their own

children and have to bego Children turn to thieves or sell themselves into

slavery or fight for the Pretender king

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Purpose (Thesis): question #3

• “But my intention is very far from being confined…”o Provide for children of beggarso Take care of infantsoContribute to feeding and clothing of

thousandso Fewer abortions

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Question #6: Statistics and Facts

By the numbers Why a plan is needed• 1.5 million national population•  • 200,000 women of

childbearing age•  • -30,000 able to support

children•  • 170,000 left to be “breeders”•  • -50,000 will miscarry or lose

children•  • 120,000 children born of poor

parents

Kids can’t Work in handicraft Work in Agriculture Steal until they are

older Be sold for the amount

of money it takes to feed and clothe them.

(Those damn kids!!!!)

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Speaker’s Modest Proposal: Question 10-11

EAT BABIES!

2 shillings to raise first year

10 shillings sale price

8 shillings profit! Cha-ching!

• 120,000 babies born to poor parents

• 20,000 reserved for breeding (1:4 male to female ration)

• 100,000 sold at a year old once they are plump and fat.

• (1 baby=2 dishes at a party or 1 baby=4 meals for one family) Yum!

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Speaker’s Modest Proposal: Question 15

Other ideas with this proposalFlay the baby’s skin and create: women’s gloves summer boots for the men

Waste not, want not!

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Question 16-17: Other proposals and

why these won’t work1. Venison from young teenage (12-14) boys and

girls Boys are too tough and lean for good venison. Boo! Girls would not be able to become breeders and well, it’s just

plain cruel

2. What about the aged, diseased, or maimed? What about young laborers?

No worries, they are dying as quickly as possible because of starvation , filth and vermin.

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Question 18: Advantages to Eating

Babies!1. Fewer Papists2. Poor tenants will know have something of value: a

baby they can sell for profit!3. GNP of Ireland will increase since they are literally

sell Irish made goods; economy will grow!4. 8 shilling profit for breeders and no more baby to

take care of.5. Restaurants will flourish: Iron Chef anyone?6. Poor people will want to get married and husbands

will not beat on their wives since she is now carry a commodity.

7. Countless others, but will keep it brief!

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Other Expedients : Question 19

1. Taxing absentee landlords2. Buying goods made in our country3. Rejecting foreign made goods4. Curing our women of their vanity and pride5. Being frugal and thrifty 6. Learning to love our country and each other7. Don’t sell out our fellow countrymen for a quick buck8. Teaching landlords to be fair towards their tenants

Spit on these ideas! Seriously, no one wants to use common sense and hard work to solve the problem. Eating babies makes WAY more sense! These are way too hard to try!!! Booo!!!

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Question 21: Final considerations

Don’t like the baby eating idea? Then go ahead and come up with your OWN IDEA, but you need to have a solution that takes two things into consideration:

1. Your solution needs to feed 100,000 starving children.

2. Your solution needs also care for 1 million poor parents who are so poor and hungry that selling their children for food might be a better life than the one they have.

Slam!

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Final thoughts: Question 22

• Just want to help the country of Ireland by helping the poor and entertaining the rich (a win-win for sure).

• No personal interest in it for speaker. Why? Kids are too old and wife can’t have any more babies. Darn. (What!!!???)

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“A Modest Proposal”What group of people is the author trying to criticize in this satire?

Describe who the speaker is?

What is the speaker’s message in this satire? Remember that the speaker is part of the group of people the author is trying to criticize. Explain the speaker’s message in a paragraph.

What is the author’s message in this satire? What flaws or problems in our society is the author trying to criticize? Why is this a problem? Explain the author’s message in a paragraph

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Tone: Attitude towards subject

 Subject

Proposer's/Speaker’s Attitude

Swift's/Author’s attitude

Irish people 

   

Children 

   

The proposal itself 

   

Other solutions 

   

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Your Turn• You will now come up with your own “Modest

Proposal.”• You will need to come up with a problem you

want to solve and a crazy solution to solve it. • You will fill out your proposal sheet and turn this

into me for approval. The quicker you get this done, the faster you can move onto step 2 and 3.

• This is a required assignment.