Aleksandra Trifunoska ID: 108733 Module title: British Literature 1643-177 Le!

turer: Mir"eta Lushi Title of the Assi#n$ent: %rite an essa& on satire in 'onathan ()ift*s +A Modest ,ro-osal. and /ulli0er*s Tra0els

Jonathan Swift is an Irish satirist, essayist and pamphleteer poet, famous for his writing about political, economic and social sphere in his country. He wrote many stories that used a wide range of voices that were used to make some persuasive personal statements. He was also brilliant and prolific writer, writing in different style about satire, irony, and voyages. He does this to make fun of todays society and the way society used to be. Also, he had written some books for poetry. ne of his famous and most important pieces of writing are !ullivers "ravels and #odest $roposal. !ullivers "ravels is Swifts book, which is done with great skills, and it is his greatest work. "he way this book is written is an idea of some of the political themes from that period, including satire. ne of the forms of political satire is the e%ample in the first

culture that is met by !ulliver. "he &illiputians are the e%ample of 'ngland of that time period. "he &illiputians are small people who control !ulliver through way of threats( )hen in an instant I felt above a hundred arrows discharged on my left hand, which pricked me like so many needles* and besides they shot another flight into the air, as we do bombs in 'urope+ ,!ullivers "ravels $art - .hapter -/. 'ngland was a small country that had 'urope0represent by !ulliver, and many other parts of the world under their control. In this e%ample, Swift is comparing the political situation in 'urope at the time to the story, which is e%press by using !ulliver against the 1lefescan nation, as 'uropean nation would use a political helper.

It is satirical that the empire of such small people could cause a threat to !ulliver, even he was a giant to them having believed that the &illiputians refer to 'ngland. Swift makes a remark of 'nglands arrogance for rule when he wrote that the &illiputians kept !ulliver tied up and threaten him, never reali2ing that he could break free without effort and stamp all over them. Another e%ample of his political satiric e%pression is the methods of selecting people for public office in &illiput who are very different of any other nation. In order to be chosen, a man must +rope dance+ to the best of his abilities. "he best rope dancer receives the higher office( )hen a great office is vacant, either by death or disgrace five or si% of those candidates petition the 'mperor to entertain his #a3esty and the court with a dance on the rope* and whoever 3umps the highest without falling, success in the office( ,!ullivers "ravels $art - .hapter 4/. 5one nation in 'urope in Swift6s time followed such a strange perform. "hey did that not to choose public officers with skills, but to chose a man with a lot of money. Another relevant issue is the satiric demonstration of &illiputians heels. "he heels represent the two different political parties in this 'mpire* Slamecksans are the low0heeled and the "ramecksan are the high0heeled. Slamecksans believe that the high0heeled government is far greater than their government, but that +the power was wholly+ on their side 7)e compute the "ramecksan, or High0Heels, to e%ceed us in number* but the power is wholly on our side( ,!ullivers "ravels $art - .hapter 8/. "his mean that the 'mperor himself has lower heels than all of his officials, but that he has one heel higher than the other does, making him walk une9ually. In this situation Swift describe an e9ually high level of hate e%isted between the various 'nglish sects which

considered themselves $rotestant, and between the .atholics on the other site. Also in this e%ample Swift, describe the struggling between two 1ritish parties )ings and "ories. A further e%ample of his satirical e%pression is when hi is in 1robdingnag an island of gains. n this island, Swift continues to make fun of 'nglish politics. "his time 1robdingnag represent 'nglish 1robdingnagians almost step on him, and

behavior. 1ut !ulliver is not satisfied with their attitudes.

then the farmer appro%imately enslaves him, forcing him to do tricks for paying audiences. "his habit describes the fundamental humanity of the 1robdingnagians;3ust like 'uropeans, they are happy to make fast money when the opportunity arises.( #y master finding how profitable I was like to be, resolved to carry me to the most considerable cities of the kingdom( ,!ullivers "ravels $art : .hapter :/. Swifts main purpose of 7A #odest $roposal( was to show the ridiculousness of the insensitive acts that were being carried out by the Irish government. He
emphasi2es the terrible poverty of eighteenth0century in Ireland by ironical and satirical proposing that Irish

parents earn money by selling their children as food.

1ut the true satire in this story is not in the

analy2ation of the details in the story, but in the conte%t of the story that is written. He is doing this because is the most effective way to awake the people of Ireland into seeing their own immorality. "he title itself is satirical 7<or preventing the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public( ,#odest $roposal page :8=:/. It provides the person who reads with false e%pectations of politeness and responsiveness. Also in his first paragraph( It is melancholy ob3ect to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets,

roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female se%, followed be three, four, or si% children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms( ,#odest $roposal page> :8=:/ through the first reading, may be led to believe that Swift is a sympathetic writer attempting to feel the pain of the beggars. 1ut as the story continues, person who reads can see that he is using a satirical tone and the only sad scene that he sees is the fact that people of his status have to deal with class struggling. "he mass murder of innocent babies and the use of their skin for clothing is way further than being modest 7"he skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen( ,#odest $roposal page :8=8/. It is cruel, foolish and satirical. "he proposal is intended to shock and throw the person who read off balance. At its part, his suggestion is that the 'nglish and the wealthy landowners of Ireland are causing the poverty and misery of the population. Swift6s satire is in one e%ample, when he suggests that, even as the meat of children likely could not withstand preservation in salt for long sea voyages, he 7could name a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it.( ,#odest $roposal page :8=?/."his proposal also directly attack the 'nglish e%ploitation of Ireland. "he story itself is satirical because no one can take Swifts proposal seriously. "he satire is clearly demonstrated at the end of the story 7 I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich. I have no children by which I can propose to get a single penny* the youngest being nine years old,

and my wife past childbearing(, #odest $roposal page :8=@/.He makes it clear that this proposal would not affect him since his children were grown and his wife unable to have any more children. It would be ridiculous to think that a normal man would want to propose this and participate in the eating of another human being. Jonathan Swift in both of this novel is writing in satirical and ironic way of human nature. !ullivers "ravels is considered to be his magnum opus, and #odest $roposal a short pamphlet which is one of his most important piece of writing of classical satire and use of sarcasm and irony. .learly, these essays are treated as a work of fiction. 'ven if it is nothing more than a fictional work, it should be taken into account that the essays carry a deeper meaning to which every reader can find variation.

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