Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal

Jonathan Swift use satire to expose a different ill of society. Normally satire is used to make a joke of a certain group of people or something at the same time showing how society should change. Satire is a very strong form of opinion and when used properly can really make an impact on society, or at least change one or more peoples opinions on a topic. In all societies there are flaws, Swift once said, "Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own" (Battle of the Books- Jonathan Swift). There will always be someone with a different opinion or multiple people trying to fight for the right to call themselves a leader in a society. Satire is a very strong emotional tool and will always force people to view things differently.

In Jonathan Swift's (A Modest Proposal) he wanted to find a way in which poor people and children became more valuable to society. His solution demanded attention and made people more aware of their own greed and guilt. Sometimes satire needs to be unpredictable or shocking in order to make an impact on everyday people not willing to change their habits. Swift's proposal is definitely shocking, and it exposes a very big gap in English society. His proposal sated that in order to make the poor more valuable to society, after a woman's child has passed the time of sustainability from their mothers milk, they can be sold to the English elites to be eaten. He proposes that this will become a sign of wealth for the Irish aristocrats. This idea benefits both the poor and the wealthy. The poor gain money from the sale of their child and the wealthy gain the social status that came with eating a child. Because it really didn't cost anything for the poor to raise a child off of the mothers breast milk for the first year of life, this proposal doesn't burden the poor at all. Swift also mentions that no one has yet to figure out a way to properly raise the poor children without them turning out to be beggars, and dependant on their mothers and fathers to pull their weight. In a way the children are giving back to society. Swift makes the argument that "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."(Swift 2). There will be poor people in every society and Swift argues that they should be able to give back to society with food instead of being burdened by an infant, and forced into begging and stealing.

Satire is used in this proposal to show a certain ill in society which is in this case the fact that people will pretty much do anything for a status symbol if what they are told to do is socially accepted. Originally Swift got the idea of selling babies for meat from an American, who says that ..."a young healthy child well nourished is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food"(Swift 3). This shows that people will do anything if they hear about other communities doing the same thing. This satire is used to show how peer pressure, from America in this case made the idea of eating babies seam acceptable. This idea of peer pressure also relates to the satire example of the iPhone 5 parody where everyone wants the newest iPhone not because it is practical only because it is what society said is acceptable.(YouTube, Satire Videos). Gender roles are also highlighted with the use of satire. Swift compares women to cattle or breeders and says that four women will be assigned to one man to breed and produce more infants for selling. Swift argues ..."whereof only one-forth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle or swine; and my reason is, that these children are seldom to fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females" (Swift 3).This was also a hit to the domestic values of Irish Christian families who regard marriage will little respect. As for the guilt that may come along with eating a child, the wealthy will not have a problem eating the young because they have already destroyed the parents of the babies economically leaving them with virtually no money. In this section satire is used to expose the little conscious that the Irish people have, that they can take money, and even eat the younger generation for a social status without feeling the least bit of guilt.Irish people can abuse their social status to acquire more money and wealth without the guilt that comes along with it, that is the idea that Swift is portraying with the use of satire.

The idea of wealth circulates all about society because of the longing for wealth that comes from the majority of society. The new value of the babies will benefit the whole society. Swift mentions, "Secondly, the poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, which by law may be made liable to distress and help to pay their landlord's rent, their corn and cattle being already seized, and money a thing unknown" (Swift 6). This gives the poor a taste of wealth and money. Much of society is hooked on the utter allure of being prosperous in society. This in turn, will make the poor more prized members of society because they now have a purpose in society. Due to the new value of newborns Swift argues that "Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their mares in fool"(Swift 7). Men in society would appreciate their wives much more during this time, abuse rates might fall and the overall value of women will increase in society. The women are now valuable because the newborn is such a wanted commodity. Women will finally have a predominate roll in society, opposed to being continuously abused, and treated like nothing. These examples all expose the satirical irony in Swifts argument. It shows how ignorant people are when it comes to society pressure. They will pretty much do anything to be accepted, or to have that social status that they want. At the end of the proposal he uses verbal irony to state that he wouldn't participate in this act though he would elect others to. He says ..."that I have not the least personal interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, reliving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich." (Swift,9). This act relates to modern day politicians who propose a bill that wouldn't effect them but they want to push it onto the people anyway.

Jonathan Swift was very successful in exposing a gap in society, where wealthy people will go to great extents to build up their social status. This relates to everyday practices where people are so ignorant of their own actions and don't think of how they might effect others. Jonathan Swift never left his character and made the proposal a long satirical explanation. This is a work of art by Swift and really exposes many different levels of ill in society. Modern day society can learn from Swifts proposal maybe on a slightly less drastic level, by not conforming to others molds of what is seams right.

Satire Video Reflection.

One of my favorite satire videos was the parody of the new iPhone that is about 2 feet long. This video was very successful in depicting the average American's dependence on technology. In the video it shows how the average person can be so indulged in the newest technology even if it isn't productive or usable. This video used wit and sarcasm to expose the average persons needless dependence on technology.
The other video that I thought was a good example of satire was the Facebook parody video. In the video a Facebook CIA project was portrayed, where the CIA was tapping into the American peoples Facebook postings to solve terrorist threats and monitor the activities of everyday people. In this video American people were the main target. The video used wit to expose the fact that people publish pretty much everything on the Internet and that anyone can access that information. It showed that people really don't monitor what they are posting on the Internet, they are not aware of their safety on the Internet.

Satire Video

My video depicting satire shows a man, acting as President Obama giving a speech about the new Obama Care bill, and how it will affect peoples lives in America. President Obama brings in Jennifer Osborne to elaborate on the bill and how it will affect her personally. Osborne responds with the fact that she is extremely excited for Obama Care because she can now receive any health care services that she wants. She explains how she is planing on abusing the system in order to reap all of the benefits of the new health care system. This shows the average Americans stupidity, and general miss information on various federal bills and acts. 

Satire is the use of humour, sarcasm, and other demeaning devises that overall points out something wrong about society. In this clip the fact that people think they can abuse their rights in society is highlighted. Obama Care makes health care mandatory for all American's, or if you choose not to purchase the health care plan you are required to pay an additional amount of money along with your taxes. In this clip the average American (Jennifer Osborne) says that "now that I have free health care, I can get sick all the time.". This shows how far the average person will go when they are given a 'free' service. 

Jonathan Swift

Jonathan Swift was born in 1667 and lived until 1745. He was a satirist and essayist, he was a political figure for the Whigs and later for the Tories. He was a dean for the St. Patrick's cathedral. He is best known for his work of Gulliver's travels in 1728. When he was young he lived a life of poverty supported by his single mother, though a lot changed when Swift began schooling at private schools. 

Quotes: (from others)
"This satire works on so many levels that a paper such as this allows me to deal with only three elements, and in a necessarily superficial way: the ways in which the structure and choice of metaphor serve Swift's purpose, a discussion of some of his most salient attacks on politics, religion, and other elements of society, and his critique on the essence and flaws of human nature. Swift's purpose was to stir his readers to view themselves as he viewed humankind, as creatures who were not fulfilling their potential to be truly great but were simply flaunting the trappings of greatness." - Shirley Galloway 

" Consequently, as readers follow the instructions given in the text, they create meaning for themselves by constantly producing, modifying, and correcting their understanding of the signified as they move from book to book. This dialectical relationship between text and reader depends upon the tension between the role offered by the text and the real reader's own attitudes, what Wolfgang Iser calls "re-creative dialectics" (ix-x)." - Sue Bennett 

 Quotes: (from Swift)

"When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him." -Swift 

"We have enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another." -Swift 

"Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody's face but their own."- Swift