In 1729, Ireland had a major problem of overpopulation. In the proposal, Swift introduces the problem when he says, “...the streets, the roads, and cabin doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags…”. Swift expresses concerns about the issue and the reader can see this because he addresses the problem of overpopulation and poverty and shows understanding in the topic. Even though the proposal contains much satire, he is showing concern through his ideas of wanting the fix the problem. In the text we see the concern Swift shows when it says, “As to my own part, having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject and maturely weighed the several schemes of our projectors…”. He has shown concern by investigating into the topic. Swift had traveled from England to Ireland and was very disappointed with what he saw. He writes the proposal to get out his technique for solving the issue that must be solved.
The tone of the essay is ironic and sarcastic for many reasons. Starting out with the title, Swift claims his proposal to be “modest”, when it fact it is quite the opposite. From first glimpse at the essay, the reader might see the tone
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He definitely gets his message across and achieves the purpose of the essay. This is because of how he dramatized the solution. One example is how he refers to what American’s do, “ … my American acquaintance assured me from frequent experience that their flesh was generally tough and lean…” By referring to this, the people of Ireland connect their own country to others hopefully seeing what they are doing wrong. Another way is how he uses his writing techniques in a good way. He does not mean harm when he suggests cannibalism but rather just uses the proposal to spread the word and create an image for the