A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

Although it is a short essay and not a book, I am still including a review of "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

The full title of Swift's satirical essay is "A Modest Proposal For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to their Parents or Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Public." He writes this in response to the poverty that was becoming more rampant in the wake of a surging population in Ireland in the 1720s.

In the essay, Swift begins by describing the plight of his country. He goes into detail about the conditions for the starving beggars and how they are negatively affecting the country as a whole. Once he has set all of this up, he shocks the reader by suggesting that, "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 fricassee, or a ragoust." He then goes on to detail the possibilities for rearing children for eating and the prices they might fetch on the market.

What is so fascinating about Swift's essay is the sustained irony. He never once blinks in the essay to suggest that he might be joking. He is so straightforward in his economic calculations that it is easy to forget that the subject of his transactions were to be human children. This essay is a great way to teach students about irony and satire.