The Satirical Devouring of the Little Irish: Exploring the Themes of Poverty, Evils of
the Society, and Economic Hardships of Ireland in the Light of Satire in Jonathan
Swift’s A Modest Proposal
ANALYSIS
Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay that delves into the dark side of
the poverty in Ireland specifically, and its outcomes. As a solution to this problem, he proposes
an idea supporting cannibalism in an ironical utterance. In A Modest Proposal, to highlight the
vulnerability of the impoverished people in 18th- century Ireland, and the failures of the English
government, Swift uses satire in which he puts an emphasis on the theme of poverty especially
regarded from an unrealistic perspective for the real situations faced in that period. Swift’s
ironical, and paradoxical descriptions of the wicked conditions of the society are recognized
easily through the essay. The aim of Swift’s writing such an essay full of metaphors, and
allegories is to enhance the inconvenient conditions of the poor by convincing the Irish
Parliament, and making them believe that the Irish are under the exploitation of England, both
legally, and economically. By making a harsh criticism, he implies the extended degree of
savagery, and brutality of the English people. It was an attempt to encourage a drastic change,
or maybe a reform to erase the extreme poverty in Ireland, and the main purpose was not
shaming the poor parents, or humiliating them, but to reveal the heaviness of the reality hidden
in his sentences. When the title is read, no one can predict that so shocking a suggestion was
coming because it was proposed as a modest one. At the beginning of the essay, even if it was
not quite obvious to the readers for now, a reasonable solution is declared: “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”(5). By taking into account the quotation above, the
message seems pretty innocent as the Irish children will not be a burden to their families, or to
the country anymore, and they will be beneficial if the proposal is accepted. As they are the
poor, and needy ones, they have to be prevented from the society. Well, how this will be
possible? Surely, they will be eaten by the landlords, and landowners in Ireland who were seen
as a treat for the Irish. Rather than causing a starving, it is much better to not allow this situation,
and consume them. Before consuming the children, they need to be fed, and fatten up as they
are worth to be eaten. The children of the poor parents will be sold to the rich ladies, and
gentlemen in order to be survived. As they are the wealthy ones, they are the most righteous
people in the country, and having a right to continue to their lives in the most prosperous way.
Related to the issue of devouring the children, Swift continues his speech as “[...]therefore
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whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful
members of the commonwealth would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up
for a preserver of the nation”(5). This excerpt taken directly from the essay puts an emphasis
on restraining children from being a burden, and how to make them advantageous for the sanity
of the country. The children are described as commodities rather than human beings. According
to Swift, whoever ignites the flame of this issue, will be the saviour of the nation, and will be
worth having his statue made as he provided the order to the public. The usage of the word
deserve in the text, shows Swift’s mocking of the situation because someone cannot be praised
for encouraging something like cannibalism. Furthermore, the idea of the statue also carries a
hyperbolic meaning, because erecting a statue of one is a kind of gift in return for an honourable
behaviour. So, here Swift criticizes the indifference of human beings who see children as a
commodity, and who may be happy about this cruel act of devouring the offspring.
By putting forward such an irrational idea, Swift criticizes the attitude of the Irish people,
and people continue to overlook the suffering. As a result of this criticism, he compels readers
to think about what the consequences of this act will be if it comes true that the way it was
proposed. There was not just one reason for, but many reasons for writing this proposal such as
the number of the Irish Catholics would be decreased, the poor could maintain their lives by
paying their debts, the poor parents would be relieved as they could not take care of their
children due to famine, and lack of economic conditions, the menus in taverns, and restaurants
would be flourished, and the hunger problems would be solved both for the poor, and the
wealthy. When these outcomes are considered, the proposal suggested by Swift may be seen as
quite a rational choice, but as the readers, we are all aware of the real perspective behind the
author’s words, and that was nothing more than expressing himself by using the strength of
satire, irony, and paradox in his masterpiece. And he asserts, “As to my own part, having turned
my thoughts for many years upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several
schemes of other projectors, I have always found them grossly mistaken in their
computation”(6). From his personal point of view, he addresses to advocates of the cannibalism
referring to them, and he thinks that they are wrong in their thoughts. The usage of the word
grossly indicates that it was a harsh criticism by the writer, and highlights that the mistakes
made by the others are not minor faults, but they are significant. Also, the term computation is
suggesting a logical, and rational meaning as it is expected. But here, Swift uses this term in
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order to create a contrast as their logic was not capable of deciding whether the proposal was a
true decision or a flawed one.
Through the use of exaggerated narration, Swift addresses to distorted society in the
context of evils within it. It deals with the illness of the Irish people stemming from political,
economic, and systematic failures, and the British government’s treatment as a solution. For
instance, in the quotation below, Swift indicates a calculation of the approximate number of
pregnant women in the kingdom, with the thought of helping the government to improve the
economy.
The number of souls in this kingdom* being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I
calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders; from which
number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children, although I
apprehend there cannot be so many under th present distress of the kingdom; but this being granted,
thre will remain an hundred seventy thousand breeders. (6)1
Here, Swift respectively calculates the potential number of women who tend to be pregnant,
and he refers to these women as breeders, after that, he calculates the potential number of
children in the future, which will make huge contributions to the economic welfare of the
country. He assumes that there are one million, and a half people living in Ireland, and predicts
two hundred thousand of them are couples, which makes four hundred thousand people, then
he removes the thirty thousand couples because they can handle taking care of their children by
nurturing them. So, it equals one hundred seventy thousand couples, or in other words, three
hundred forty thousand people which brings the potential number of children for sale. This
numeration can be seen as an absurd point, but the use of numbers helps to highlight the
dehumanization of poor ones. People are measured by (especially women as breeders) their
breeding capacity, their lives are nothing beyond the numbers, and children are just accepted as
commodities rather than lively beings. It is a description of how wealthy landlords, wealthy
ladies, and gentlemen see impoverished people in Ireland. For them, the poor are a kind of
resource that needs to be exploited. Later on, Swift continues to his calculations about the
women who are solely as the figure of fertility, and children who are likely to be dead (this
could be natural dead, miscarriage, disease, accident, or abortion).
I again subtract fifty thousand for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by accident or
disease within the year. There only remain an hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents
annually born. The question therefore is, how this nubmer shall be reared and provided for, which,
as I have already said, under the present situation of affairs, is utterly impossible by all the methods
hitherto proposed. For we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture; we neither build
houses (I mean in the country) nor cultivate land. (6)
1*
Ireland
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In this excerpt above, Swift argues that there are no possible traditional methods to help, and
employ the poor in handicraft or agriculture. Or they cannot be employed in the cultivation
because they are not capable of handling these works. This points out that the poor have only
limited labours to work, unfortunately. And Swift uses this argument to emphasize the
vulnerability of the poor by using the phrase utterly impossible. Well, this situation also
emphasizes the sickness of wealthy landowners in the society that needs to be treated as soon
as possible. Here, the evil in the society concept refers to conflict between the elites (the upper
class), and the little people (the second-class, or middle-class individuals) in the Irish society.
For this reason, the real evil in the society does not arise from the poor people, but it has its
sources in the indifference of both the wealthy ones, and the systematic, economic, and political
failures of the British government concurrently. As they continued to oppress the citizens under
their high status, the pitiful little people had to sustain their lives in suffering, and agony no
matter what they had done in order to increase their financial conditions, (even selling their
babies as a source of meat) and to improve themselves for the benefit of the country.
As Swift’s proposal also serves as a tough judgment of the dehumanization of children,
he embraces the idea of how impoverished children are seen by the powerful ones. Because
they are something less than human, they are not viewed as individuals, but as a source of food
for the benefit of others (the elites). The proposal pretends that children are merely consumable
products for both the British, and Irish upper class. And this assumption shows us how people
have lost their human instincts toward their own race, and have forgotten what it means to be a
human. What if the rich parents put themselves in the poor’s shoes, would they accept this
treatment of their children? It is a riddle wrapped in an enigma.
In the 18th-century Ireland, many of the hardships were stemmed from the British
colonialism. Since most of the population consisted of the Irish Catholics, and English laws
were against them, their rights were restricted by these laws such as education, owner shipping
of the land, accessing many professions, and etc. As a result of this reduction, the majority of
the Irish population had been affected in regard to the economy especially. For instance, much
of the resources of Ireland were for the benefit of England, and they were exported there. For
this reason, it increased the Irish dependency to England marketing. Also, the British had
restricted Ireland’s trading systems in order to cut its connection with the other nations.
Furthermore, the rights of the Irish were restricted by laws in shipping, and exporting goods, so
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they could not develop their own trading system, and were dependent merely on the English.
As another issue, a huge scale of Ireland was owned by English Protestants, and most of them
were living outside the country. Since most of the farmers, and workers were Catholic, their
labor was not seen by the owners of the lands, and workers could not take what they had
deserved in return. Sometimes, in the period of harvesting, some negative events could happen,
and under adverse circumstances, farmers who have just a little control over the land have been
affected because of the famine, and starvation as a result of these events. One of the most
destructive cases in these periods was The Great Famine, (1740-1741) which hit Ireland, and
damaged both Ireland’s economy and, population deeply. It resulted in deaths stemming from
diseases, and starvation because of the extremely cold weather conditions, and lack of food
resources. In the first lines of his criticism, Swift paints such a sorrowful scene with his
narration.
“It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town, or travel in the country, to see
the streets, the roads, and cabin-doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three,
four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms. 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” (5).
Based on this quotation, as if Swift is commenting on a picture that he really saw full of grief
in the period of The Great Famine. With the use of the word melancholy, he indicates the
disparity of the Irish people. Specially puts an emphasis on the women, mothers whose role is
just taking care of their children even in harsh conditions, and infants to highlight their place in
the society as a burden rather than a human being. The number of children -three, four, or six
children- depicts an accustomed large family portrayal in the Irish society. While children
should be in their own homes with their parents, we see them all in rags in the streets as a result
of the failure of the Irish government which could not even provide the basic needs of a person
in order to survive. As they cannot make their living, they are expected to turn thieves for want
of work, or they will leave their dear native country if they want to sustain their lives. This
phrase suggests that, if they want to survive, they should adopt a strategy including criminal,
and illegal activities that force them to provide an opportunity to get rid of the poverty. So, the
passage serves as a symbol of the negligence of the British government, and through the theme
of poverty, Swift criticizes the exploitation of the pitiful Irish. This situation not only provoked
sympathy for the Irish people, but also a loathe to the government that dragged poor ones into
a gap as the government led to widespread hunger among the society, and created an irreversible
collapse for the needy. In the last pages of his essay, Swift utters his thoughts about the proposal
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that consuming the children will be the best option when thinking about the economic welfare
of the kingdom in the context of satire again. The example is given in the following quotation:
I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be
urged that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom. This I freely own,
and it was indeed one principal design in offering it to the world. I desire the reader will observe,
that I calculate my remedy for this one individual kingdom of Ireland and for no other that ever was,
is, or I think ever can be upon earth. (11)
In this passage, he is just addressing the Irish nation, as the proposal is directly concerned with
the economic failures of Ireland. He absurdly suggests that in order to sustain stability, and
good conditions in the country, the population of Irland must be diminished. Because the poor
ones are accepted as a burden in the society rather than precious citizens as much as the wealthy
ones living in the country, as they are large in number. The remedy is something that should
not taken seriously as it is stated in the excerpt because it suggests cannibalism by directing
offspring, but it is the only cure for Ireland if they want to get rid of the negative situations, and
gain economic achievements for the sake of the country. Moreover, this suggestion has such a
deep meaning that no one is even in a position to object to it. In fact, Swift makes an
exaggeration to make people realize how crucial the situation is. Through his satirical argument,
Swift not only criticizes the negligence of both the Irish elites, and British government, but also
the deficiency of humanistic instincts when the issue comes to the poor.
Even it is not obvious whether this work achieved its purpose as a harsh criticism of that
period, which was written as a response to how such inhumane savagery was seen as something
so simple by many in the society except the poor ones, but at least when this essay is evaluated
today, one can easily realize what was behind the ironies made by Swift, and how painful the
truth is. Regardless of whether they are poor or wealthy, all children must be loved, cared, and
protected equally at all costs. Let alone being devoured in its paradoxical meaning of course,
never should be harmed by anyone no matter what the situation, time, or place is. Because one
day after all, they will be the ones who will govern the country in the future, and the future must
be preserved.
CONCLUSION
This paper aims to explore the themes of poverty, evils of the society, and economic
failures of the Irish government, which affected especially the poor people living in Ireland, in
Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. The author employed a harsh tone while criticizing the
governmental negligence, and indifference of human beings to the impoverished in the society,
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as the poor ones were seen as commodities rather than human beings when compared to wealthy
ones. During the time period of The Great Famine, he successfully reflected the problems of
the country without distorting the real situations that the society had experienced while
maintaining a delicate balance between seriousness, and sarcasm to highlight the vulnerability
of the needy. With the paradoxical explanation of satire, and satirical elements embedded in the
societal context of Ireland, this paper serves a multidimensional perspective for the readers to
think about the conditions of 18th-century Ireland. Swift emphasizes the issue of the country
coping with the problems such as famine, economic disparity, and poverty, and the individuals
living there have no value as they are proposed to devour little offspring instead of fresh flesh.
As it was proposed in the essay selling, and eating babies, and small children as a source of
food is not just a satirical criticism full of ironical components of the human conditions, but it
is an invitation supporting cannibalism by devouring the little ones. Ultimately, Jonathan
Swift’s A Modest Proposal not only serves as a critique of poverty, and inequality in the society,
but also compels readers to interrogate the moral, and political injustices concurrently.
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WORKS CITED
Swift, Jonathan, et al. A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. [Link]-
[Link]/swift/947.
“A Modest Proposal.” Penn Stateís Classical Literature in Electronic Format Series, The
PennsylvaniaState University, 1997,
[Link]/uploads/1/8/4/1/18412039/a_modest_proposal_full_text.pdf.
O’Cinneide, Colm. “A Modest Proposal: Destitution, State Responsibility and the European
Convention on Human Rights.” SSRN Electronic Journal, Jan. 2008,
doi:10.2139/ssrn.1370241.