Use Of Satire In A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

1834 Words8 Pages
Every single person on this Earth has his or her own view of the world. One man could analyze the racial unrest in America and determine that civilization is on a short road to nowhere, while another could be inspired by those working towards a common goal through non-violent protest and have hope for the future. But the few - the proud of themselves - will make a caustic comment mocking the fact that instead of looking for equality, many have resorted to looting for it. These taunting, uncensored men and women are satirists, and they are the ones running a blatant commentary on society. They are an integral and often overlooked facet of literature and media - both in current times and in history. A satirist’s societal analysis is not limited…show more content…
An analysis of the three separate works created by these people will show that satirists impact society by bringing attention to both the conscious and unconscious perceptions, biases, and differences in the world through the use of humor, whether it is lighthearted, morbid, or mocking. Satire has been around as long as there has been sarcasm, so when Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal was published in 1729 satire was not a new concept. Though satire was not unheard of and Swift was already well known for his caustic writing, neither of these things prevented people from across Ireland and the rest of Europe from being shocked and horrified upon reading this unique essay. The essay begins with the author lamenting the fate of all of the poverty-stricken citizens of Ireland. During this time period, Ireland was suffering while much of the rest of Europe prospered. Ireland received no assistance from the other countries as was floundering to stay afloat. The author…show more content…
This is a classic work of satire that openly mocks how the poverty level in Ireland was being treated by all concerned. The members of the Irish population were doing little to better their circumstances and their European neighbors were choosing to look the other way instead of assisting. When Swift penned this caustic essay, he was ridiculing how people - both the Irish population and the Europeans - were so ridiculously determined to remain where they were in life and not find a solution to their growing problem, that they might as well start eating babies while they were at it. Europeans were left wondering if the situation in Ireland was so dire that they were seriously considering consuming children and the Irish portion of the audience felt vindicated because finally someone was attempting to bring attention to their unfortunate circumstances. Though it took many years, and more support from both Ireland and abroad, eventually relations between the Irish and the rest of Europe grew into a strong bond, but that is not to say that international relations are without

More about Use Of Satire In A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

Open Document