A Modest Proposal and Other Stories
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Swift also wrote short works, the most famous of these is A Modest Proposal. This book also include 'The Battle of the Books', 'A Meditation upon a Broomstick', 'A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit', and 'An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England'.
'A Modest Proposal' puts forth the darkly comical idea that the starving poor of Ireland might alleviate their economic condition by selling their children as food for wealthy gentlemen and ladies. At its core, Swift’s Modest Proposal satirizes English exploitation of Ireland in particular and the heartless attitude that rich elites can develop towards the poor in general. Along with Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal is an early English example of the black comedic genre.
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) was an Irish author and satirist. After receiving a doctor of divinity degree from Trinity College, Dublin, Swift went on to publish numerous books, essays, pamphlets, and poems, many of which express his political allegiance to the Tories. In addition to being a literary and political writer, Swift was dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin.
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