Question

What is Swift's main purpose in the opening paragraphs of 'A Modest Proposal'?

Answer 1

Answer:

The main objective is to describe the misery and extent of poverty in Ireland

Explanation:

Swift has been occupying an increasingly important place for some years in postcolonial studies and Irish studies, within which it is considered a champion of the interests of this nation against British oppression. The 1720s, which culminates in the publication of the text that concerns us today, opens with that of the Proposal for the universal use of Irish manufactures (1720), and also includes the famous Cartas del Pañero (1724), A Short View of the State of Ireland (1728) and a treatise entitled Maxims Controlled in Ireland (1729), about "the truth of some maxims of the State and government examined with reference to that country", among other "Irish writings."

Let's start with the title: A modest proposal to prevent poor children in Ireland from being a burden to their parents and their country, and to make them useful to the public. Modest proposals to alleviate the situation of growing poverty proliferated at that time. We cite only two eloquent examples: An essay or modest proposition to increase the number of people, and consequently the strength of this kingdom (c. 1693); The Modest Proposal for a more accurate and even easier maintenance of the poor (1696). Recall that Ireland experienced three periods of famine as a result of poor harvests between 1708-1710, 1718-1721 and finally one that began in 1728, one year before the publication of the Swift Proposal, and that it would extend until 1730. The public He was used to this type of project at the time, which sought to deal with economic problems, mainly related to population, work and unemployment, and poverty. The title itself is, then, as evidenced by the reader's collection of the cannibal proposal of the pamphlet, a mockery of the economic treaties of the time.

Answer 2

To address the burden of the children of the poor on the rest of the Irish community