A Modest Proposal E-Book

Jonathan Swift

• Herausgeber: CLXBX
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 17

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2026

Beschreibung

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is one of the most famous and biting works of satire in English literature. First published in 1729, this short but powerful essay uses sharp irony and shocking humor to criticize social injustice, political indifference, and the harsh economic conditions faced by the poor in Ireland. Swift adopts the voice of a seemingly rational and concerned observer who claims to have discovered a "practical solution" to the widespread poverty and hunger afflicting Irish families. In a tone that mimics the detached logic of political economists, the narrator proposes a disturbing and outrageous plan intended to solve the problems of overpopulation, unemployment, and famine. Through this deliberately shocking suggestion, Swift exposes the cruelty and moral blindness of those in power who treated human suffering as little more than an economic inconvenience. The essay satirizes the attitudes of wealthy landowners, politicians, and policymakers who ignored the desperate circumstances of the poor while benefiting from the existing system. What makes A Modest Proposal so powerful is Swift's masterful use of irony. By presenting an obviously inhumane solution in calm, logical language, he forces readers to confront the harsh realities of exploitation and inequality. The essay highlights the dangers of viewing social problems purely through cold economic calculations without compassion or humanity. Though brief, the work delivers a profound critique of political irresponsibility, class inequality, and colonial exploitation. Swift's fearless satire shocked readers of his time and continues to provoke thought centuries later. Bold, darkly humorous, and intellectually striking, A Modest Proposal remains a timeless example of satire at its most powerful—a work that uses wit and irony to challenge injustice and awaken moral awareness.

Leseprobe

A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift

Copyright © 2026 by Jonathan Swift

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Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter1

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 an alms. These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants; who, as they grow up, either turn thieves, for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes.

I think it is agreed by all parties, that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is, in the present deplorable state of the kingdom, a very great additional grievance; and 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 publick, as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.

But my intention is very far from being confined to provide only for the children of professed beggars: it is of a much greater extent, and shall take in the whole number of infants at a certain age, who are born of parents in effect as little able to support them, as those who demand our charity in the streets.