Jonathon Swift's A Modest Proposal Jonathon Swift assumes a few key ideas throughout A Modest Proposal. It is unquestionably assumed through the essay that anyone would be willing to give up and sell his child as nourishment. It is presumed that the reader would not hesitate to accept the ideas of cannibalism and barbarism. If this is not understood, it is hard to read the piece without bias. I have found through careful reading that …showed first 75 words of 356 total…

…showed last 75 words of 356 total…directly state his own opinion, his words inexhaustibly twisted with irony. Swift could be ambivalent to the causes of the unfortunate circumstances, while at the same time he could be writing smugly from an unarticulated point of view, causing the reader to question his motives. Swift's paradoxical judgement and explanations cause perplexity on the reader's behalf, speculating at everything from his actual proposal, to his assumptions, to his actual opinion on Ireland and its situation.