I must be proud to see, Men not afraid of God afraid of me, Safe from the bar, the pulpit and the throne, Yet touched and shamed by ridicule alone. O sacred weapon left for truths defence, Sole dread of Folly Vice and Innocence Alexander Pope What is ridiculed in a modest proposal, and how is it ridiculed This Pamphlet ridicules the government by using satire and irony to show just how immoral they really are. Swift ridicules their way of problem solving and thinking. He takes, as an example, the situation in Ireland and he exaggerates it until it is so immoral that the government realises what they are doing.
The way he does this is that he stretches it but still describes it the way the government do. He shows them how easy it is to turn what they say into complete immorality. When the reader reads it they presume that he is ridiculing the situation in Ireland, when he is actually ridiculing the whole way that the government works. Swift also mocks the way that the English treat the Irish. He infers that they are treated as if they are inhuman and that the English try to rule them without even visiting them. He also shows up how the British government are chauvinist and think they are better than everyone else.
The reader can receive this information not by reading one quotation but by reading the whole pamphlet and taking in all the hints aimed at this conclusion. Swift also takes the opportunity to show what the British government think of the Americans. They think the Americans are uncivilised immoral pigs. I quote I have been assured by a very knowing American my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food Swift also shows a racist view towards the papists (Catholics); he says it would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly overrun.
The Essay on United States Government Power Americans
A new age of thought and reason emerged from Europe and America in the 18 th century. This new age would be known as the Enlightenment, where people believed they were entering an age of reason, science, and a respect for humanity. During the Enlightenment, thinkers thought that the Roman Catholic Church had caused the human mind to be closed from reason. Instead of strictly following Christian ...
This said however Swift does not mind the Catholics, but his fellow Protestant piers (including the British government) have view towards them that Swift does not share. During this whole pamphlet Swift continues to use government language. For example; he uses enumerated instead of counted and he uses collateral instead of secondary. He also attempts to be serious and genuine with his ridiculous idea. This he does very well. While he is writing seriously, the reader knows that this idea is too ludicrous to be true and that it is not to be taken seriously and that it is just a satirical proposal to show what the government are doing to the public and unto themselves.
One could say Swift is holding a mirror in front of the government and saying look at you are.’ What Swift does instead of making jokes is to use immoral terms as metaphors for what is actually happening in Ireland. For example, he shows that the English landlords are devouring the Irish tenants by saying that the land lords will happily eat the babies. Swift ironically concludes the pamphlet with the statement that he cannot possibly benefit from his suggestion because he has no children and his wife is past child-bearing age. This is ironic because he simulates another’s point of view for use of ridicule.
I conclude that Swifts pamphlet uses ridicule in a way to attract attention to the Irish situation by ridiculing the way they have tried to solve the situation. In doing this the reader can see how weak the government is at fixing issues similar to this. This forces the government to either lose the publics trust or to rectify the situation quickly and effectively.
