A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift 's A Modest Proposal ' was a satirical look at the problems of overpopulation , lack of work and the perceived moral decay of Ireland and his tongue-in-cheek solution to them . In short , Swift proposed that Irish Catholics turn infant flesh into a delicacy and annually sell three-quarters of the infants born as food . No one was safe from Swift 's acidic writings with potshots taken at Protestant landlords , pub owners , Catholics , and unwed mothers to name a few . His Proposal ' was designed to shock and force his countrymen to look at

the serious troubles facing the nation and Dublin in particular

In the first section of his essay , Swift outlines the problem in a purely numerical sense . He estimates that 200 ,000 children are born each year and that one quarter of them should be reserved as breeding stock This is his first shot at the morality of the underclass in Dublin . He suggests that of the breeding stock , only one-quarter would need to be male as the breeders were generally not wed anyway . A male breeder then could service ' up to four women with no appreciable decline in the number of stock ' available the following year . This first section of the essay seems particular cutting of the Irish Catholic population questioning their morality in their lack of marriage and in a much more subtle way , the role of the fathers in the lives of the children of the underclass . While he first addresses the issues of the children of beggars , he quickly expands his essay to include all children from families unable to support their children without the charity of others all of the working or non-working poor

Those children , after their first birthday , often cost their parents and society more than it can reasonably afford to feed and clothe the , so Swift offers his solution . And it is exactly at one year old that I propose to provide for them in such a manner as instead of being a charge upon their parents or the parish , or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives , they shall on the contrary contribute to the feeding , and partly to the clothing , of many thousands ' he writes Indeed , instead of suckling at society 's teat , infants would then become a part of the food chain , providing the wealthy and indulgent with a new delicacy to take to their tables . Swift estimates that a 28-pound infant could feed the average family four meals and derives a base cost for the slaughtered infants using this observation

He also uses the opportunity to imply the savageness ' of the Americans , saying that I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London , that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious , nourishing , and wholesome food , whether stewed , roasted , baked , or boiled ' The implied savagery of the American is apparent . Only a savage would be able to testify to the nutritional value and...