A Modest Proposal - Jonathan Swift pg. 315-320
When First reading, I was interested with what the proposal would be, having no back story on it other than it being fiction. I noticed right away the words used to lead into the proposal were a bit sinister. He calls it a "scheme" early on (315). He calls women "Breeders" many times, but I just assumed that was the language of men at the time. And he is insistent on the children being one year old. I thought that maybe this was to adopt them out to good families after the no longer needed a wet nurse. Well I was right about them being sent to well off families, but wrong about everything else.
In hind sight, I should not have read this in a public space. I gasped and yelled at my friend "He wants to eat babies!". So dignified. Obviously this is literary satire.
At one year the children would be "Plump and fat for a good table." (316).
This tale was horrifying but served a purpose I think. When people complain about things and no one can agree some times it is best to shock everyone with an outrageous situation to bring them back to reality. Such as the case with people on the issues of homelessness and poverty and thieving children who live on the streets. Or disagreeing with a religious faction that is growing in power (317). No one wants these things. But what could be done? So instead of arguing and not accomplishing anything, you say "Well lets just round them up and kill them. Who would miss them?" Then everyone has common ground that this could not happen. Well the same is true with EATING BABIES. Everyone can agree (I pray to god) that eating babies of poor mothers is just as bad if not worse as his own condemning of abortions (315). Yes have the baby and then sell it for meat. No. So rather than complaining about the surplus of poverty stricken families with babies, maybe do something to help them.
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