The Narrator in A Modest Proposal begins by first walking the reader down the streets of Dublin, Ireland, to illustrate the disheartening conditions of the Irish people and the burden they induce upon the Commonwealth. He appears to be a logical and educated man, who for many years has studied the problem and has come up with a plan to solve the overpopulation, and thus ending the economic woes of the country as well. His plan, though not traditional, would not be "confined to provid

e only for the children of professed beggars, [. . .] shall take in the whole number of infants at a certain age [. . .] who demand our charity in the streets" (483). What proposal, the reader asks, could possibly be so beneficial to the people of means and all the children and residents of Ireland and England and could be implemented so easily and had never been thought of before? The answer is child cannibalism!

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Next, the Narrator lists several advantages that his proposal would make. This list is offered to the reader to further justify the proposal on the basis of its economic and even moral benefits to Ireland and England. For example, it would "lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly overrun" (487), give money to the poor, increase the country's treasury, and provide new recipes to the taverns, thus

Some common words found in the essay are:
Ireland England, Dublin Ireland, Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift, Finally Narrator, Norton Company, modest proposal, Encyclopaedia Britannica, ireland england, reader proposal, child cannibalism, irish people, conditions irish people, conditions irish,
Approximate Word count = 608
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)