Satirical and ironical novel Swifts Modest Proposal - Essay Example

Introduction In a satirical novel, the sometimes goes to great lengths to prove their point by using extreme ironies. The use of extreme ironies in a fiction often distorts and reverses the realities and laws of the conventional world. Therefore, these ironies sometimes stretch the limits to the extent of causing confusion or misunderstanding (Darnton, papa. 5). One of the literary masterpieces in human history, in which the authors went to the extreme to represent distorted realities, is Jonathan Swift’s Modest Proposal. Swift, a famous satirist, wrote this piece of article during the great drought and subsequent feminine in Ireland. During that time, the commoners were suffering from economic depression in rural countryside as well as in the urban areas. In the rural area of Ireland, the poor Irish peasant farmers were the great sufferers who usually gathered in the urban streets in quest of foods and jobs. Regardless of the natural disaster, the English landlords still insisted on the Irish tenants, who could not earn even a marginal amount of livelihood, to pay their land rents. Such decisions on the part of the political authorities caused even further sufferings. It is during this time that Swift wrote this famous article. In the article, Swift goes to great detail to propose that small babies can be used as food and nourishment. In this paper, he is seen supporting and endorsing infanticide as well as cannibalism. He meticulously describes how a baby can be prepared as a delicacy and eaten. Swift’s Modest Proposal was a satirical piece of literature that used extreme irony to critic the actions of the English landlords. Yet, through this satirical piece, he never takes time to renounce this view and leaves the reader to be the moral judge, a very dangerous thing because there is a high chance that the reader may take the ideas literally. Risks of Using Extreme irony Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a famous satire which has effectively made the use of extreme iron. In general, satire is a literary genre that uses irony, humor, sarcasm, derision, etc to criticize any social, political and moral vices in a humorous way for a didactic purpose or for the perfection of humanity. Indeed a satire attacks foolishness, follies, vices, wrongs, etc by making fun of them wittily. Its sole goal is to stir up human conscience to make changes for the better. The main constituents of satire are humour, criticism and moral tone. The subject of a satire can be any obnoxious concept and practice in either an individual or a group. A satire mainly uses both sarcastic and extreme ironies, hyperbole, understatement, exaggeration, etc. In this regard, Gordon says, irony can be very useful when presenting serious ideas because it provokes the readers to look deep into the seriousness of the subject (59). But some authors use sarcastic and extreme ironies which often depend on bitter admonition and denunciation to such an extent which tends to harm the intellectual brilliance of a satire and creates confusion and misunderstanding regarding the author’s true intention. In his article, Swift, an Anglo-Irish priest, uses extreme irony without taking caution to make sure that there are no misunderstanding (Biograpohy.com, para 2). What Swift does in this article is to write in an ironical way that does not explicitly point to the irony, thus making it harder for the reader to be able to detect the irony. Throughout the paper, Swift uses the authoritative persona to put forward the crazy idea of eating a baby. He even goes to great lengths to describe the logic behind eating a baby, as he says, ”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 ...(Swift pars. 4) He describes that since babies don’t eat much until they are about one year old, and only depend on their mother’s milk during this age, they should be kept until this age and be used as food to feed the rest of the population. He also points that because babies are used as a delicacy, they can also be sold in the market thus contributing positively to the well being of the rest to the family. All this he says without the slightest hint that he is using irony to describe the issues that were eminent at the time. In fact, at first reading, anyone who is not familiar with Swift’s satirical works is likely to believe this was meant to be taken literally. Swift’s Target audience in the Article Swift was the kind of priest who was always in trouble with the authorities. The Modest Proposal for instance was a great criticism to the English landlords who were overexploiting the Irish land tenants in a time of great crisis. The idea of the article was that if the English landlords are so heartless to the Irish tenants, they might as well eat their babies. In other words, this article was equating the English landlords to cannibals who were willing to devour babies in order to fatten themselves. This was a big leap for the author as the English landlords and those who were powerful would not be very happy with being equated to cannibals or baby eaters. In this regard, by writing the Modest Proposal, Swift was going to the extreme and was definitely inviting trouble. It is not the first time that Swift was getting in trouble with the authorities though. Prior to the incidents which led to him writing the modest proposal, he had gotten in trouble with the various authorities in England, leading to him being virtually exiled to Dublin. It is not only the rich English landlords who would have misunderstood the irony in the article. The people he was pleading for would have misunderstood the irony in the article and could have probably thought that Swift was actually suggesting that the English landlords should eat their young ones. However, most of these were illiterate people and there was little chance of them ever reading the piece. Regardless of this, there was still a risk because these people could have gotten the information through those among them who could read. In fact, there was a bigger risk because those who could read among them were most likely only educated enough to read but not to decipher political satire and therefore would have taken the article at its face value. Possible Ways of Managing the Risk of Confusion and Misunderstanding Swift must have understood very well the fact that the tool he had chosen to present the plea was quite risky and dangerous. Indeed, his work is meant for superior intellects. If a man of superior brain reads his article, he will be invited to delve deep into trouble which Swift has presented in it. He will attempt to examine the persona which proposes to eat the babies of the poor Irish people. Though, in the first place, the readers of superior intellect will be troubled by Swift’s proposal, and question whether Swift is sane or not, they further will analyze the point of view from which the article has been written. In fact, here the readers will be confronted with the question whether the proposer in the article and Swift are the same person (Johnson 564). In other words, they will ask whether the proposal of eating the Irish babies is Swift’s own. In fact, this confusion about the authorship of the proposal evolves from Swift’s use of ‘I’ in the article. That is, Swift has written the article from a first person point of view. This use of the first person point of view necessarily confuses about the authorship of the proposal. In order to avoid such misunderstanding and confusion about the authorship the proposal and its true intension, Swift could have chosen two options. First, he could avoid the first person point view. By avoiding the use of ‘I’, he could convince the readers that he and the speaker in the article is not the same person. But the problem of writing the article from a different point of view would make Swift’s article so palatable and enjoyable as it is now. The use of first person would not allow Swift to assume an authoritative persona like that of political adviser or a parliament member. For example, he uses the tone which is often used by a man of high authority. At some point in the article, he starts a new passage with the following: “I think it is agreed by all parties that….” (Swift pars.2) In the same passage, he argued that he intends for the betterment of the “public” and the “Commonwealth”. In the article, he talks as if he were a parliament member. Indeed, the most attractive part of Swift’s article is his assertive and authoritative tone with which he makes such a weird suggestion. Again he says, “I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London…” (Swift Pars. 3) But the question which arises here is: who is he to be assured? In fact, he assumes the persona as if he were such an influential person who could be consulted with for the betterment of the country. This weird proposal expressed with an assertive tone surprises the readers the most. But if he did not use the first person in the article, it would not be so enjoyable and surprising. Secondly, he could retain the same first person voice in the article; but in the very beginning of the paper, he artistically could detach himself by telling the readers that he had received an article, from an unknown mentally sick man, suggesting a weird solution to the country’s current crisis. This makes him to seen to be outside the whole idea and making this crazy idea to be of another person other than himself. By separating himself from the persona of the article, he manages the risk to some degree because he no longer is the culprit. Effectiveness of Swift’s writing Style Swift’s article was directed towards the educated English landlords who probably would have read the piece. The Modest Proposal was written at a time when literally materials were not as abundant as they are today and this meant that any material from such an influential person as Jonathan Swift would have reached everyone who nattered. His ridiculous presentation of the English landlord as a cruel and inhumane person was effective as a way to remind these people that they were going to the extreme and that they needed to be better than they were doing. There may be a number of reasons why Swift chose to take this risk in presenting this idea. For instance, in a time when people were not very flexible in presenting the serious issues as the one he is presenting, an average scholar would have chosen to use normal logic in trying to explain the issues and how they were affecting the people, and in general, humanity. The problem with presenting the issue in this kind of manner would have been that many people would have read the piece and forgotten it the following day. However, by taking the matter to the extreme ends, Swift was able to present the issues in a way that would strike the reader so hard that it would be hard to discard it without giving critical thought. In fact, there is a high chance that many other well-meaning people had written pieces of literature about the issue, which were however read and dismissed. Swift’s risk taking therefore can be seen as having been fruitful and the article still remains very useful even in a modern context. Readers of better intellects will exempt Swift from the charge of suggesting the practice of Cannibalism in order to reduce the poverty on the ground that, Swift or the person who suggests cannibalism in the article are so much agonized by the perpetual poverty of his people and the subsequent tyrannical response to their poverty. Therefore, such sarcastic and weird proposal from him is not surprising. But most other common readers, who cannot delve beneath the surface meaning unless they are provoked to do so with laughter, will misunderstand him, thinking that Swift himself is insane enough to make such a weird proposal. But any clever reader will be able to able to understand the underlying irony of Swift’s article. For example, in the very beginning of his article, he quite effectively depicts the melancholic condition of the poor Irish, as he says, “It is a melancholy object to those…when they see the streets…crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms” (Swift pars. 1). Here, Swift cleverly depicts the poor Irish people’s miserable condition from the perspective of a traveler, who is supposedly rich (it is not possible for a poor to take a tour to the countryside). He further portrays the fate of these people in the vicious circle of poverty: These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants: who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work... (Swift pars. 1) Here, Swift describes the poor Irish’s fate with a scholarly tone. But the readers become surprised when they see that this considerate scholar, in his article, is suggesting his readers to practise cannibalism as a solution to the crisis of the country. At this point of suggestion, they become aware of the fact that Swift is severely satirizing those landlords and political authorities who do not pay much attention to such condition of the poor (Johnson 562). Conclusion Extreme irony in Swift’s article serves two opposing purposes. While it is the very element style of writing to be dangerous and risky, it is also the very same that makes it safe for the author. Using extreme irony in this article can be seen as a way to make sure that the author can protect himself by making any one who attacks the article look ridiculous. The extent to the irony used in the article, while leaving room for the less critical mind to take things at face value, also means that any critical thinker, such as a judge in a court of law, would easily detect the irony in the article and get the underlying message. In this regard, Swift’s article can be considered as a satirical masterpiece in which he has successfully used extreme ironies at the risk of confusing the common readers. Works Cited Biograpohy.com. Jonathan Swift biography. 20 January 2013. 06 October 2013 . Darnton, Nina. Taking Risks: The Writer as Effective Teacher . 13 April 1986. 16 October 2013 . Gordon, Jill. Turning Toward Philosophy: Literary Device and Dramatic Structure in Platos Dialogues. Pennsylvania: Penn State Press, 1999. Print Johnson, James William. “Tertullian and A Modest Proposal”, Modern Language and Notes. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1958. 73 (8): 561–563 Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick. Dublin: NA, 1729. Read More