Concerning A Modest Proposal

"A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift is a biting satire that both pokes fun at and reinforces the idea that the English do not value the lives of the Irish. According to the biography at the beginning, Swift was born in Ireland to English parents, which implies that he has deep roots both in English and Irish culture. Also, culturally, the English to this day do not get along with the Irish. This is reflected in Swift's essay, which suggests that in order to do population control as well as feed the English's growing population, they should eat the children of impoverished Irish folk. The whole thing is pretty hilarious, my favorite part being when he mentions an "American friend" who says that infants provide "nourishment" and are "tasty." As an American it's funnier on a different level since, though I know that Americans never did this, the English may not have known what life in the colonies was like and might have believed it. The whole thing really pokes fun at how cruelly the English do not value the lives of the Irish or care that they are suffering and that they too are people. Definitely one of my favorite readings so far.