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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This was mad weird, but I liked it once I realized it was satire and not literal. Always Sparknotes the historical background before you try to read things written in the 1700's.
A really short, quick read at only 20ish pages long. I thought it was very clever and funny. Most of the sentences were SO long which made it kind of hard to follow, but I think that's just how the writing was at that time in history.
i actually thoroughly enjoyed this and the commentary that it gave on poverty in ireland in the 1700s
There’s nothing more ephemeral than political satire and aging it 300 years doesn’t do much to improve it. Swift retains what little acknowledgement he does for writing Gulliver’s Travels. In his own lifetime, he was well known for his biting wit and sarcastic, politically-indulgent essays and pamphlets. An educated Irishman in the time of the potato famine, his efforts were distinctly targeting the oppression of the British that would last and intensify for a couple hundred after he was dead and gone. Those few collected here deal in large part with the question of Irish oppression, in varying degrees of seriousness and satire.
The “Modest Proposal” Swift suggests and parses out in detail is a infant cannibal market for Ireland, to address starvation poverty and add a source of additional income that the Landlords and British government cannot strip away. The families of beggars and starving farmers who are taxed into the gutter should raise their children for one year on the teat before offering them as a delicacy on the meat market. Swift goes into excruciating detail about how humane and revolutionary this could be, giving the Gentleman of Fortune a new delicacy at the holidays while providing a reason for the poor to take better care of their wives as they would a farrowing sow. In the end, he summarizes by assuring the reader that the meat can’t travel, so the countries that would readily eat up the entire island will be deterred. He is certain this is the only humane way to move forward since no changes can be made to keep Irish incomes in Ireland or to offer a decent wage to blue collar workers.
While his satire is excellent, it is overwrought and somewhat vulgar. I’m a fan of black humor, but infant cannibalism is a hard subject to squeeze comedy from; Swift makes sure he wrings out every last drop. In other works, he seems also to squeeze a bit too hard on the vulgar observations.
The “Modest Proposal” Swift suggests and parses out in detail is a infant cannibal market for Ireland, to address starvation poverty and add a source of additional income that the Landlords and British government cannot strip away. The families of beggars and starving farmers who are taxed into the gutter should raise their children for one year on the teat before offering them as a delicacy on the meat market. Swift goes into excruciating detail about how humane and revolutionary this could be, giving the Gentleman of Fortune a new delicacy at the holidays while providing a reason for the poor to take better care of their wives as they would a farrowing sow. In the end, he summarizes by assuring the reader that the meat can’t travel, so the countries that would readily eat up the entire island will be deterred. He is certain this is the only humane way to move forward since no changes can be made to keep Irish incomes in Ireland or to offer a decent wage to blue collar workers.
While his satire is excellent, it is overwrought and somewhat vulgar. I’m a fan of black humor, but infant cannibalism is a hard subject to squeeze comedy from; Swift makes sure he wrings out every last drop. In other works, he seems also to squeeze a bit too hard on the vulgar observations.
funny
reflective
challenging
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
This is always a fun one to read and discuss, and it’s a blast seeing people’s reactions the first time they read it. It is very helpful to go into this work with some knowledge of the mistreatment of the Irish at the hands of the British in the 1600-1700s. It also is enjoyable to see that humor has changed little over the years. This work is a political satire, and political satire still exists every night on TV.
If you’ve never read this, give it a go. It’s short, quick, and fun and you absolutely can find it for free online. But, it is very thought provoking, so take a second to think about it!
If you’ve never read this, give it a go. It’s short, quick, and fun and you absolutely can find it for free online. But, it is very thought provoking, so take a second to think about it!