n Jonathan Swift’s satire A Modest Proposal the reader can see rather quickly that it does not follow the regular guidelines of a satire. Swift’s use of sarcasm and humor is not easily recognized when initially reading the text. For example, when he suggests eating small children in attempts to solve the world’s issue of overpopulation, he is being sarcastic. However, if one did not know that the story was a satire, he or she may have thought Swift was being serious. Swift criticizes many groups of people throughout the text such as the government and wealthier individuals in society. He claims that these groups realize there is a problem but do nothing to fix it. When speaking in regards to the wealthy and government, Swift hides behind his words and becomes rather passive aggressive. An example of this is when he says “After all, I am not so violently bent upon my own opinion, as to reject any offer, proposed by wise men, which shall be found innocent, cheap, easy, and effectual” (The Carolina Reader). Swift seemingly targets these words at those groups specifically, referring to them as too stubborn or narrow minded to take advice from members of a lower class.  He rants in this section about how the upper class knows of the problem of overpopulation and poverty yet does nothing to solve it. Swift’s passive aggressive nature and criticism of the government is one characteristic of the satire genre. However, the way in which he delivers this message is not blatantly obvious upon first glance, like many other satire genre literature is. His unique play on words is what makes Swift’s literature unique compared to other satires. His idea of eating young children seems simply ludicrous to the normal public. However, he portrays the message that his character is at least attempting to create a solution to the problem of poverty and overpopulation. This serves as a mockery to the government and wealthy, as they are doing nothing presently in the story to stop the problem.

Typically, in a satire, the author emphasizes points of corruption that he or she deems wrong and addresses them with a sense of comedic sarcasm (Characteristics of a Satire). This makes those who hold opinions similar to that feel incompetent and feel as if they should change their opinion. Also, satires usually display examples of extreme exaggeration to convey the point that author is trying to make (Characterstics of a Satire). In Wendy Molyneux’s work I Am Sorry I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece the elements of a satire are immediately made prevalent. An example of this is in the very first paragraph when she mockingly says “So I put down my giant chocolate bar, stopped crying, and thought, yes, that is what I’ll do” (The Carolina Reader). This immediately addresses the point she is trying to make regarding gender stereotypes.  Opposed to Swift’s work, Molyneux’s word play is much easier to comprehend and read because of the different time periods in which they were written. Molyneux’s work was composed in the last 10 years while Swifts’ was in roughly 1728. The use of modern language makes a noticeable difference, as Molyneux’s mockery and sarcasm is much easier to recognize. Her mockery of man’s conceptions of gender stereotypes is consistent with the satire type of literature, as her description is very sarcastic and passive aggressive. This is made evident in the fifth paragraph when she states “So I went back to the window opened my pink computer again and looked at pictures of cute baby ducks for a while until I felt like writing” (The Carolina Reader). In order to spice up his writing, Swift also uses examples of apophasis. An example of this is when he states “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” (The Carolina Reader). On the opposite end of the spectrum, Molyneux expresses forms of caricature. She uses examples of caricature when exaggerating men’s ignorance and when addressing stereotypes regarding women. One of many possible examples of this is when she expresses “But I guess my humor deficiency is one of those womanly crosses I have to bear, along with P.M.S., making seventy cents on the dollar, and paying for my own rape kit” (The Carolina Reader). This use of caricature is typical of the satire genre as it emphasizes the stupidity of the targeted group, which in this case is men. Molyneux clearly illustrates her uses of sarcasm in the satire genre, while Swift can be interpreted as more serious and less characteristic of this genre.
