Jonathan Swift offers an ironic and gruesome solution to the poverty and famine of the Irish Catholic people whom are being burdened at the hands of the greedy and uncompassionate landlords with the intention of exposing the corruption within the kingdom.

II. Topic Sentence: Jonathan Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal” turns focus on the poor Irish community under the rule of the rich and uncaring landlords.
A. Irish beggars have taken to soliciting the people in the streets for scraps of food or clothing in order to provide for their families.
B. Swift wrote, “These mothers instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants: who as they grow …show more content…
Swift states, “I am assured by our merchants, that a boy or girl before twelve years old is no saleable commodity; and even when they come to this age they will not yield above three pounds, or three pounds and half a crown…” (Swift 4:1)
G. He is suggestion that the children have little to no worth as commodities before the age of twelve and even then would not be of enough value as to cover the expenses of rearing them the prior twelve years.
H. The quote is meant to show lack of emotional attachment toward the poor Irish population. This sets the scene for his outlandish solution to the problem of poverty as seen by the rich upper class citizens.
I. The Irish are seen as second class citizens with no means to feed nor cloth themselves other than turning to the streets as common beggars.

III. Topic Sentence: The Irish their children are offered up as a delicacy for the rich landlords to consume as the have already taken everything of worth from the parents.
A. Since infants are dependent upon their mothers for the first year and may be sustained by her milk they pose no real burden on the community however after that time they may require the charity of the people. This is the point at which his claims of selling the children for their meat is