In literature, compositions and texts often follow the conventions of a specific genre. To meet the specifications of a genre, a literary work must constrain to predetermined guidelines. One example of a literacy genre used in texts is satire. According to Jack Winner, satire is defined as a technique in which humor or irony are used to expose and highlight the flaws and vices of a specific aspect of society. For a piece of literature to be considered satire, it must follow various conventions. In satire, humor and irony are utilized to provoke some form of ethical reform against an individual or group. Often times, the targeted area of reform is a controversial topic, and therefore uses the conventions of satire to address the issue in with an implicit and lighthearted approach. Thus, the reader must have background knowledge of the current topical issue to understand the satire (Winner, 2). Within the short story, A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift, he addresses the issue of overpopulation and famine that struck Ireland in 1728 (Modest Proposal, 514). As a proposed solution, Swift writes that the children of poor families should be eaten as food, thus becoming beneficial to society as the famine would end and population numbers would decrease. At the time, Ireland was under the rule of the powerful British Crown, who paid little attention to the current events happening in Ireland. Anyone who spoke against the Crown would most definitely be killed, so Swift was forced to use satire to address his point (Modest Proposal, 517). His exaggerated and irrational solution, of which is another convention of satire, helped to bring this issue to the eyes of the public (Winner, 4). By writing about such an absurd topic, many people became very concerned and aware of the problems in Ireland. Despite what his writing may appear to be stating, Swift does not actually wish for children to be eaten. Rather, his exaggerations caused society to ponder about what actually could be a reasonable solution, as no one wanted to eat children. For any reader who fails to recognize this satire, Swift’s solution is rather sickening. Instead of presenting a disturbing solution to a problem, this story was simply an attack at the government for failing to help its own people. When addressing the issue of the famine in Ireland, Jonathan Swift does not actually recommend eating babies, but rather uses the idea to raise awareness of the problem. Given the fact that no sane person would want to eat a baby, society looks for other solutions, thus helping to create change within society. Essentially, A Modest Proposal is a call out to the government to do something to help its starving people. Through the use of exaggerated satire, Swift is able to grab the heartless attention of the government, and address the need for a change. 

In the same way Jonathan Swift uses the satire genre in his short story, A Modest Proposal, Wendy Molyneux incorporates satire in her short story, I Am Sorry That I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece. In this story, Molyneux uses satire to address the gender stereotypes against women. With a humorous and lighthearted approach, she jokes about various cliché things and activities that women are stereotyped with, such as Grey’s Anatomy and cooking, and how they are said to define all women (Molyneux, 522). Most notably, she discusses how all women are said to be not funny, all while writing a humorous story about gender stereotypes. The irony utilized in her short story is one of the main conventions of satire. Molyneux’s goal, through her writing, addresses a need for the end of gender stereotypes. Her humorous writing is intended to make the reader second guess the stereotype that all women are not funny, given the fact that she is indeed writing a comedy. Just as Swift had done in his story, Molyneux asks people to collectively end stereotypes on women, resulting in a social change for the better of society. Despite the fact that both short stories utilize satire, each piece of literature addresses their respective issues in different manners. Swift addresses his solution to Ireland’s famine in a professional and reserved way. Even though his solution is an exaggerated and very disturbing idea, he hides his deeper meaning with his serious tone. By appearing to be very professional and exact in his reasons for eating children, the readers are forced to look onto the issue at hand with a serious and concerned mindset. The resulting reaction by society pushes for solutions to famine and overpopulation that are acceptable to society. Ultimately, Swift’s undesirable solution forces society to react in an honest and genuine manner due to his serious tone. As for Molyneux, she chooses to incorporate her satire with a light-hearted and modernized approach. When comparing the two different examples of satirical uses, Molyneux, who addresses stereotypes, challenges a far less serious social issue with a less serious tone than Swift, who addresses famine and overpopulation. In the 21st century, famine and overpopulation are not the greatest of issues currently faced by society. On the contrary, the usage of stereotypes towards women is of increasing importance to address in society today, but does not have the same gravity of famine and overpopulation. Given that her topic of choice is less serious, it allows Molyneux to have a playful approach within her writing. In her text, she uses modern humor, allowing the readers to relate to her viewpoints on a more casual level. The jokes she makes about stereotypes incorporating pop culture and things common in the media, that most of society has previous knowledge of, helps to show that women can actually be funny. Thus, her humor effectively pressures people to address and end the stereotypes that plague our society. Altogether, Molyneux’s humorous approach towards satire differs greatly from Swift’s approach, but still allows her to achieve the same goal of addressing a reform. Despite the fact that each text utilizes a different approach towards satire, both Swift and Molyneux are able to constrain to the proper conventions of satire and achieve their desired goal of exposing a current, topical issue.
