Customer Reviews

A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

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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.

"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 satire takes a sarcastic approach to reveal a serious point. This story condemns England for mistreatment of the Irish.

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.

Swifts "A Modest Proposal" was a well written glimpse of what the future would be like. It was written in the 1700s and presents disturbing views of what to do about homeless individuals and people in general. It is surprising that a lot of what the book predicted, as a means to prevent those horrific circumstances came true. In the "Modest Proposal" It presented a terrible vision of what may happen in the future if humans in general would not refrain from treating each other like animals. A lot of it's predicitons came true.

It presents disturbing views because it's sole purpose is to disturb us, so we do not repeat these terrible acts of torture in real life. It is hard to acknowlege the fact that a lot of these acts of human torture are practiced in the world today. I recommend this book be read in order to understand and prevent future torture in society today.

I didn't read it yet. But I want read it bad in Korean including the introductory pages. I couldn't understand it in English. Can anybody help me?

I think this book was quite interesting but very weird
HI everyone in kingston jamaica