A Modest Proposal was a satirical pamphlet published in 1729 (Moore). During this time in Ireland the country was extremely divided between rich and poor because of the British rein. Swift brings up a great idea that would solve all of the problems that they were having economically during the time. He proposed that the poor families that could not feed their own children should sell them to the rich for food. By looking at the text that Swift uses we can see that the pamphlet is a satire, he wrote this as a joke. By looking at the language that Swift uses in the text, we can see that it is written in satirical form; this is important because without understanding the purpose of the text it is impossible to see how the economic failures in 18th century Ireland effected how it was written. 

The context clues in the pamphlet show us that the piece was not written to be taken seriously but to be taken as a joke. “I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, 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 ragout” (Swift). People may have originally thought that Swift was serious but this line takes it over the top. He is telling people how they should start preparing and cooking their children; This is insane. “Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable 7 gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen” (Swift). As the text goes further it gets more and more ridiculous. Now Swift is suggesting that the children should not only be eaten but their skin will be used to make delicates and clothing. If the reader did not understand that the author is using satire at the beginning they should get it now. It doesn’t matter how bad the economic state of a country is I don’t believe that desperation would ever push people past the moral dilemmas of selling and eating children.  

Every great writer crafts their work with the audience in mind; Swift was no different. The piece was written during a time where the people had no hope of a brighter day, they were completely hopeless and out of ideas. Throughout history entertainment has been used by the public to escape from their reality. Literature was the first form of entertainment that society used. Before the present day, the main form of entertainment was the radio. People would gather and go dancing and listen to music to take their mind anywhere besides the everyday struggles of day to day life. Today people use the internet and television to escape from reality. People are so desperate for an escape from reality that they would rather pay for that than the things that they need. Therefore, sales of radios during the Great Depression went up. “While movie houses closed, night clubs languished, and theatrical stock companies disappeared, radio boomed. Thousands of families who had purchased much of their household equipment on credit gave up their vacuum cleaners, their cars, and their furniture, but kept up payments on their radios” (McDonald).  The situation today is no different. People who are in crippling debt will pay for Netflix ever month but will struggle to keep up on their mortgage or car payments. 

The need for an entertainment escape was no different in 1729 than it is today. Swift knew what audience he was writing for when he crafted “A Modest Proposal”. He knew that the public needed a piece that would take their minds off the terrible situation that they were in and the only way to do that was through satire. He had a difficult task at hand, how could he possibly make jokes while people are watching their family members starve to death? The only way that he could pull this off would be to make the text as absurd as possible which is exactly what he did. “…therefore 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” (Swift). He leads the readers in by making them believe that he is about to provide an actual solution to the issue that is at hand but as the text goes on the solution gets further and further from reality. The text was written this way because it allows the reader to slowly slip into that escape that they have been yearning for. By starting in reality then slowly moving further and further away from it the reader can enjoy seamlessly transition into entertainment. 

Another thing that literature can do is spark change amongst a population of people. A Modest Proposal was not written by Swift for his audience to use a form of escape but for them to realize what was going on politically at the time. “Swift’s A Modest Proposal is politically motivated, and undermined the British Empire’s colonization and treatment of the Irish. The proposal is presented in fine logical sequence and is seemingly well calculated. The ‘shock value’ behind the suggestions and hidden accusations served as a testament to the moral inadequacies and limitless political behavior of the British (Szwec).” The use of the text as a form of escape was merely a way to lure in his audience. When his audience reads the pamphlet, they start talking about what is going on behind the scenes of the text, and that’s how social change is sparked. People begin to realize how poorly they have been treaded by the British rule and want to see some compensation. It is understood that this is the reason why the text was written because it was published anonymously. Swift didn’t want the British government to find the source of the spark if he managed to cause one (Szwec). 

It is easy to see that the time period and the culture effected the way that A Modest Proposal was written. By analyzing the language that is used by Swift in A Modest Proposal we can see that the text is written in satirical form but it’s the elements that go into why the text is written that way that are important.  The text was written this way to lure his audience in as a form of escape from the terrible reality that they face in their day to day lives but the underlying reason was to plant the seed for political change. 
