Question

As to our City of Dublin, shambles may be appointed for this purpose, in the most convenient parts of it, and butchers we may be assured will not be wanting; although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs.
Which statement best describes Swift’s use of understatement in this excerpt?

He states that “roasting pigs” is more difficult than roasting children.
He states that butchers would have a problem roasting a child “as we do roasting pigs.”
He states that butchers are always “wanting” for “roasting pigs.”
He states that sending children to the butcher would be as simple as “roasting pigs.”

Answer 1

The correct answer of the given question above would be the last option. Based on the given passage above, the statement that best describes Swift’s use of understatement in this excerpt is this: He states that sending children to the butcher would be as simple as “roasting pigs.” Hope this answer helps.