Question

Whom or what is Swift criticizing in his satire, and what techniques does he use to make his point? Write a two- to three-sentence response, using examples from the text to support your answer. (AP ENGLISH)

Answer 1

Swift is criticizing the English government and the wealthy for creating poverty in Ireland. He uses verbal irony when he proposes that eating children is the way to resolve the growing problem of impoverished children. By developing this idea and implying that the English will not mind if the Irish use children for food, Swift suggests that the English government is callous and cruel. 

Answer 2

The question revolves around Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal where Swift criticizes the English government in the lights of the poor lives of Irish people. He ironically proposes Irish can solve their food problems by selling their children. Swift lashed out to the economic policy of the government. However, he himself does not put any economical solution. He only just uses satire in order to convey the truth.