Question

What was the purpose of Swift's publication 'A Modest Proposal'?

1) To prevent the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden on their parents or country
2) To make the children of poor people in Ireland beneficial to the public
3) To criticize the impoverishment of Ireland by England
4) To propose a solution for the poverty in Ireland

Answer 1

Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' is aimed at criticizing the economic and political policies that led to the poverty in Ireland, using satirical and shocking suggestions to make his readers reflect on real solutions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The purpose of Jonathan Swift's satirical essay, 'A Modest Proposal', is primarily to criticize the impoverishment of Ireland by England and the indifference of the Irish rich to the plight of the poor. While Swift ostensibly suggests that the children of poor people be sold as food to the wealthy, offering a satirical solution to the problem of poverty in Ireland, his real intention is to shock his readers with this outlandish proposal and thereby force them to consider the real and serious changes needed to improve the situation. Swift uses this proposal ironically, emphasizing the inhumanity of treating people as mere commodities and criticizing contemporary economic and political policies.