I am not to sure which specific parts of this excellent
essay you are referring to. Do you mean the third and fourth paragraphs? Perhaps your
copy of this essay is broken down to structure your
reading.
However, to give you a general summary that will
hopefully guide you through this masterful satire, it is vital to realise the verbal
irony. Swift is not actually seriously suggesting the slaughter and cooking of Irish
babies to solve the famine problem! He is merely suggesting it in jest because by
shocking his readers with such a suggestion he is trying to force them to do something
about the situation in Ireland and their own attitudes towards the
Irish.
In this pamphlet, then, Swift makes an outrageous
proposal that he ironically calls "modest." He suggests that Irish babies be slaughtered
and sold to the gentry as food as a way of relieving their parents of a financial burden
while adding variety to the diet of the nobility.
Swift
offers six reasons for making the proposal:
1. It would
greatly reduce the number of Roman Catholics.
2. Landlords
could seize the Irish children instead of rent.
3. The
nation would save the money that would have been spent on upkeep of the
children.
4. Parents would not have to support their
children.
5. Taverns would enjoy a growth in their business
with the added attraction of a new dish.
6. The plan would
create an incentive to marry and for wives to get pregnant. Wives would be treated
better whilst pregnant, just as livestock is.
Hopefully
this outline will help you to gain an understanding of this excellent essay and follow
Swift's arguments. Good luck and enjoy!
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