Customer Reviews

A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works (Dover Thrift Editions)

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"A Modest Proposal", by Jonathan Swift, is a biting satire about life in 18th Century Ireland, in which the author seeks to find "a fair, cheap, and easy method" to transform the sick and starving children of Ireland into productive members of society. Swift's proposal, hardly modest, is to fatten up undernourished poor children and then sell them to more well-to-do families as food. By presenting this outrageous concept as an interrelated string of seemingly logical arguments, Swift leads the reader to understand that his proposal could simultaneously solve overpopulation and unemployment, save the poor from having to spend their meager resources on raising children, provide the poor with desperately needed extra income, and also give the wealthy access to a yet untapped high-protein delight. Of course, Swift is writing tongue-in-cheek, to shock the reader into rejecting his outrageous negative proposal and instead formulate a more sensible positive one. Although written in 1729, Swift's essay is still relevant in the 21st Century. For a really good and very quick read that repulses, amuses, and challenges you to think, I highly recommend this classic work.

This read is pretty congested with 18th century European political and religious references, however it is a beautifully witty and priceless satire on the inconsistencies of human compassion.

Perhaps Swift was trying to evoke shock and heart wrenching disgust in readers in the hopes that the reader would see that England's economic exploitation of Dublin at the time was essentially just as damaging to society as something like government ordained cannibalism. Why is it that a reader would be so horrifically devastated by the idea of turning children into food in order to survive, yet remain callous and unconcerned with the fact that all people, adults and children alike, were in reality victims of a government which not only economically exploited the population to the point of utter poverty, but did not care even slightly that human beings were being turned into rotting corpses as a result?

Swfit was perhaps the first major writer to introduce cannibalism into Western political thought, and incorporate it successfully into practical economics. I'm disturbed that Swfit's visionary solution to Thomas Malthus' omen about the dangers of overpopulation hasn't yet been seriously considered by world policymakers. That's just like politicians though, they do anything to get elected - hence another reason why extending the franchise to the lower rungs of the social hierarchy was a terrible mistake and should be revoked.

Anyone who thought they understood the "Troubles" in Ireland should read this essay. One of the best examples of satire to be had in any dialect, Swift writes his "proposal" in language that is clear even to todays jaded audience. Every English professor/instructor should make this required reading.

Satire is sadly lacking in today's society. Satire holds human vices and folly up for ridicule. Swift is not advocating the economy of eating babies, but maybe the fact that they are currently eating the body parts of aborted fetuses in China seems to steal something from Swift's modestly porposed satire-or maybe it is too outrageous seeming to be true.

Nevertheless, this is a brilliant work by a brilliant writer. It should be required reading. It is a pristine example of satire. Should we stop choking deaths by improvising starvation-- seek a new president by electing children? Satire is a genius' way of entertaining social change-literally. Although, sometimes though, even what once seemed impossibly satiric does not remain-which is proof of human folly.

The Irishman Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) is justly praised for his famous Gulliver's Travels; however, most people know nothing about his other writings. The titled satire is the most widely known of the five short works in this volume. It suggests that the Irish could solve their hunger problem by eating their children. This proposal, he writes, will have many social benefits, including the following: First, it will reduce the number of Roman Catholics who are "the principal breeders of the nation as well as our most dangerous enemies." Second the "poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own." Third, new money will be introduced into the economy that will be beneficial to everyone. Fourth, those having children will not need to maintain them after raising them for a year. Fifth, taverns will have more food at their disposal and "fine gentlemen" will enjoy visiting them. Sixth, doing away with children would be a great inducement to marriage.

Swift truly is the father of modern satire, unfortunately true satire is a dying art form. "A Modest Proposal" is one of the most brilliant papers ever written. A biting idea proposed on handling the issues of poverty and overpopulation in Ireland.

The infamous proposal is the fattening, and eating of the children of the poor. Swift goes into great detail proving that his theory would work. Is he truly proposing that the English dine on "yearlings" as he calls them? Of course not... but he is showing that just because an option is available and COULD solve an issue, doesn't mean that people can stomach the ethics involved.

This should be MANDATORY reading in all schools... if nothing else perhaps the next generation will realize the importance and the power of satire.

Mr Swift is enormously accurate, a pundit of exalted talent. Wish he were here to justly give a critique of our political nightmare.

I can't believe it's not butter, but I was gullible enough to write the review!! The moistest internet service I've ever had!! Cheaper than firearms!!

Most of us, including myself, read "A Modest Proposal" in high school. I decided to purchase a copy of the book, so I could read it again. It's quite an interesting and funny book. I can't even imagine how people of that era took the writing after it was published.