A Modest Proposal By Johnathan Swift

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Johnathan Swift, a clergyman and a political writer for the Whig Party, wrote the problem/ solution essay, “A Modest Proposal.” Swift has been called the greatest satirist in the English language. “A Modest Proposal” is a prime example of satire because satire is using cutting humor or irony to ridicule or make fun of the vices or mistakes of a person or country. Swift decided to use satire because if he made his proposal legitimate, people would not take it seriously. At the time this essay was written, people were indifferent, so Swift took their indifference and wrote “A Modest Proposal.” The purpose of Swift writing this essay was to bring social justice for the Irish. “A Modest Proposal” begins by deploring the sad fate of the poverty-stricken