Satire is a technique employed by writers to expose and criticize foolishness and corruption of an individual or a society by using humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule. Jonathan’s Swift’s “A modest proposal.” and Wendy Molyneux’s “I am sorry I didn’t write a comedy piece” both utilize elements of a satire to make a point about an issues that exist in their societies.  

In “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, he writes using satire to draw people’s attention to the issues that are plaguing Ireland during his time. Throughout this piece of literature, Swift presents a solution for the overpopulation of the poor people in Ireland to the audience. His proposition is for the poor parents to sell their children once they reach one years old to the wealthy for them to eat. Swift says this will help the poor make money, and help control their overpopulation. He is definitely using irony here, having the presenter speak about cannibalism like it is perfectly normal. This is irony because cannibalism is so morally wrong by every standard. An example of irony occurs in the very first line of “A Modest Proposal” when Swift says “It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for a palms” (The Carolina Reader 514) . The irony here is that he seems to be concerned about the poor, but he actually doesn’t view them as humans or care about their struggles. 

Swift also uses exaggeration and humor by saying the poor are so hungry that they might sell their children to the rich for them to eat. He says “Those who are more thrifty may flay the carcass, the skin of which, artificially dressed, will make admirable gloves for ladies and gentleman.” (The Carolina Reader 516).  audience can sense that the speaker is not mentally stable at this point because he is discussing recipes to cook the children with, and also using their skin for gloves and handbags. By presenting such a preposterous idea to solve the poverty problem in Ireland, he is encouraging the members of society to think of a sensible way to fix the issue. Another example of irony exists in the title of the satire. The proposition of selling children to be eaten is anything but modest. It is savage and ludicrous. “A Modest Proposal” is very similar to a normal satire. A normal satire “involves critique, but usually not in a direct way” (Fife 3). Swift is criticizing the government and their refusal to assist the poor and their hunger, but in an indirect way. He does it by mocking them and utilizing irony. In a normal satire, the author will “Frequently, use irony, having an implicit meaning that is different (often opposite) from the literal one” (Fife 3). Swift does this when he uses numbers discussing how many children should be killed for food. The opposite meaning that he’s trying to get people to realize is that if the government treats the people like numbers, it is that much easier to murder them. “A Modest Proposal” definitely fits the genre of satire because he exposes the corruption of the Irish government and the English government. One of the only differences in “A Modest Proposal” from a normal satire is that Swift starts the piece of literature off in a very serious tone, also about a serious issue, Irish poverty and hunger. A normal satire “can elicit thought about a divisive topic that avoids the resentment that can accompany tragic framing” (Fife 4). This was Swift’s main goal: to get people to realize this social problem that was plaguing Ireland and the Government’s ineffectiveness in trying to solve the problem. 

Wendy Molyneux’s “I am Sorry That I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” is another example of satire. It is very similar to a “Modest Proposal” in that it uses irony and exaggeration to get a point across. In response to a sexist article entitled “Why Women aren’t funny”, Molyneux uses stereotypes against woman to create irony. Her goal is to erase sexism against women by proving that a person shouldn’t be judged by their gender to measure how funny they are. In the first paragraph of her satire, she mentions how she was eating a chocolate bar and crying.  Right away, the audience can see that Molyneux is going to be using irony by exposing stereotypes of women. A common stereotype of woman is that they are very emotional, eat chocolate when they are sad, knit, love clothes, wish to have romances with celebrities, and have to have culinary skills. Some of the examples she used was wearing a “Mrs. Stamos” t-shirt, trying on clothes, watching Grey’s Anatomy, and cooking meals (The Carolina Reader 522). It becomes apparent that Molyneux is using exaggeration too, because obviously not all woman exhibits every one of these stereotypes.  She is conveying to the audience that it is ridiculous to continue to label woman with these stereotypes. Wendy Molyneux uses sarcasm to create a false image that women are too busy attracting husbands, cooking, and knitting, to be funny.

 Towards the end of the satire, Wendy Molyneux insults Hitchens in a very hilarious way (The Carolina Reader 523). At this point in the satire, people can see that woman are funny and not just useful for household needs. Molyneux’s uses humor and ridicule to expose the foolish idea that women aren’t funny. “Humor in satire is an effective way for readers to remember details.” (Fife 9) This trait of normal satire is likely a goal Molyneux had, to try to get her readers to laugh at these stereotypes. She did this for two reasons. One of them is to show the audience that we have grown as a society to the point where these stereotypes does not represent many women. Another reason, is that the next time the audience see these stereotypes happening, they can find the humor in previously thinking all woman do these things. “I am Sorry That I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” aligns with the definition of satire because of Molyneux’s excellent use of irony to discredit stereotypes and also uses humor and ridicule to expose the idea that women aren’t funny. 

Both the “Modest Proposal” and “I am Sorry That I Didn’t Write a Comedy Piece” use several examples of irony to get their point across about issues in their respective societies. The traditional standards of satire are to use criticism combined with humor to create a change in society. In “The Modest Proposal”, Swift does this by attempting to motivate the members of society to think of a logical plan to fix the poverty problem in Ireland that is plaguing such a large percentage of the population. In Wendy Molyneux’s “I am sorry I didn’t write a comedy piece” she is trying to change the minds of people who think woman cannot be funnier than men. Molyneux is following the genre of normal satire because she knows how effective it can be in invoking change in society. This literary device has been used since Jonathan Swift’s time, and it is also a great way to be humorous, helping break the stereotype that women aren’t funny. Another trait of satire is to correct a wrong that exists in society. Both authors do an effective job in attempting to do this as Swift aims to fix the poverty and hunger problem in Ireland, and Molynuex sets out to erase sexism in today’s society. “A Modest Proposal” and “I’m sorry I didn’t write a comedy piece” stay true to their genre of satires, and use many of the characteristics of a normal satire, effectively using irony to send a strong message.
