Sunday, February 9, 2014
Swift Modest Proposal
Swift's modest proposal is a piece about Ireland during a particular time, but it also has a timeless quality to it. By reading "A Modest Proposal" we can gain insight to many other situations where race and class is involved. I think it's important to point out that the Irish were once considered a separate and inferior race, The English looked down upon them and they resented it, religious differences didn't help the situation. The situation in Guatemala also has a racial/ethnic component because most of the poor are indigenous where as the wealthy are non-indigenous. The way I read a modest proposal is Swift is trying to poke fun at the social engineering that was popular among a certain intellectual elite in England. Swift the Irish-Catholic clergyman is urging the reader to have compassion for the Irish people rather than to simply look for quick fix solutions as if Irish are in themselves a problem.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I would agree with your point of view. The way Swift talks of eating babies with such ease must be symbolic of the ethical decline of that area and time. Not that I think he was serious. Some of the Irish were probably viewed by the English as property and people much like American slaves. And I assume once you take the people part out of a person you would have little qualms about eating them.
ReplyDeleteWell said, Aaron. I think that the racial connections you make with Guatemala are relevant also.
ReplyDeleteI think the word "timeless" fits this reading perfectly. I was not aware at first that the proposal was a satire and I kind of flipped out! Now, after knowing the historical context, I can see that it truly does still relate to our modern times - still not a viable solution - but the overall message is constant.
ReplyDelete