Jonathan Swift Prompts

I hope you have been enjoying your spring break. Here are the prompts for Tuesday. All of them are based on A Modest Proposal (but please be sure to read all of the assigned material):

1. In terms of social commentary, which part of A Modest Proposal is the most damning? Why?

2. Do you see any similarities between A Modest Proposal and Utopia? How are they alike? What are their chief differences?

3. What makes A Modest Proposal work as satire? After all, cannibalism is one of the oldest, deepest, human taboos. And eating children? Flaying them? How can a piece like this be anything more than revolting? How can it qualify as literature?

4. A Modest Proposal is, in part, a parody--and a denunciation--of William Petty's Political Arithmetic (2437-38). Have a look at Petty's piece, which is not satirical in nature. Could one make the argument that Petty's piece is, in fact, much more horrifying than Swift's?

Cheers.