A Modest Proposal: Attitudes Towards Poverty and the Poor

Part 1 in half a page
Even when we understand the principles of satire, it is easy to become emotionally overwhelmed by Swift's proposal. What is he really calling for? Why do you think he decided to use this particular manner to level his critique? Focus your initial post on your reaction(s) to Swift's "A Modest Proposal." What intrigued you and/or repelled you as you were reading?
As you begin to engage with selected posts, broaden the analysis by considering how the proposal speaks to us in the 21st century. Begin by identifying common responses and attitudes toward poverty as well as people who are experiencing food shortages and/or homelessness. By the end of the week, you should have contributed to exchanges that help to develop an analysis of the social justice issues Swift first raised in his now classic satire. Use these questions as a guide:
What does Swift's proposal reveal about attitudes towards poverty and the poor?
What seem to be the prevailing contemporary sentiments? Consider the pieces from The Onion and News Thump, the short history of food stamps in the United States, as well as your personal observations/experiences.
Which attitudes towards poverty and hunger have changed since Swift composed his proposal? What seems to be responsible for the change?
What has remained unchanged? What might explain this stagnation?
As always, support your analysis with references to specific passages with a direct quotation or paraphrase. Be sure to check your initial post and engage with the posts it has received.
Part 2 respond to two classmates in half a page
Sydney
COLLAPSE
My initial reaction to Swift's satire, though I was already a bit familiar with it, was that it was a brilliant method through which to demand social change. Satire, at its core, is meant to "resensitize" its audiences to something they previously dismissed or accepted as the status quo, and Swift does this well— he calls attention to the plight of impoverished children (a remarkably effective demographic to bring up if one hopes to evoke an emotional response) and suggests their sacrifice as a solution to the larger issues of English oppression and the gluttony of the upper class that created these socioeconomic problems to begin with. Swift's message, I would argue, is less a call to action and more a call to attention— by proposing something as morbid as the killing and consumption of children for the sake of the wealthy's luxury (including using their skin for gloves and boots), Swift points out that due to wealth inequality, these children are already suffering, as are their families who are struggling to provide for them. Swift's complete removal of a moral line also implies a criticism of the rich, that being that they have no issue with this sacrifice as it is, and that they would relish in taking it farther if it was to their benefit, all while the working class continues to be complacent in their own oppression. What interested me the most, though, was how Swift ended his essay with a disclaimer that he has no children through which he could profit from his absurd hypothetical, highlighting his own hypocrisy and, by extension, that of politicians he taunts in the paragraph prior— he undermines his own "credibility" in order to further legitimize his real argument, which was extremely clever considering that he chose satire as his medium.
Warren
COLLAPSE
Swift is really calling for understanding of how women and their children and how they go through hard times and create criminals which he hopes will cause an emotional look on the kid's and mom's. I think he used this manner to level his critique because he wants people to want to help. what had intrigued me while I read is how he bashed the higher wealth while trying to say solutions for the poor. his proposal for poverty shows that he does want to change it but he does not have the right idea for a change In what he gives. what seems to be the prevailing contemporary is how he wants to sell kids and from the short history of food stamps, there are so many food stamp frauds and people getting extra money when they shouldn't.

Part 3 on one page
Because much has changed since Swift's proposal was published in 1729, this week's journal allows you to try your hand at composing a contemporary food related satire or parody. While is up to you whether the target of the satire or parody is political or social, it needs to not only make people laugh or disturb them but that it must also offer a serious commentary on an important social issue of our time.

This journal may be longer than our usual entries, but it should not be longer than 5 double spaced pages. Be sure to adhere to the conventions of fiction in terms of integrating dialogue, ect. Use Microsoft Word to compose the document.