Answer:
The full title of Swift's pamphlet is "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick." The tract is an ironically conceived attempt to "find out a fair, cheap, and easy Method" for converting the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the Commonwealth." Across the country poor children, predominantly Catholics, are living in squalor because their families are too poor to keep them fed and clothed.
The author argues, by hard-edged economic reasoning as well as from a self-righteous moral stance, for a way to turn this problem into its own solution. His proposal, in effect, is to fatten up these undernourished children and feed them to Ireland's rich land-owners. Children of the poor could be sold into a meat market at the age of one, he argues, thus combating overpopulation and unemployment, sparing families the expense of child-bearing while providing them with a little extra income, improving the culinary experience of the wealthy, and contributing to the overall economic well-being of the nation.
The author offers statistical support for his assertions and gives specific data about the number of children to be sold, their weight and price, and the projected consumption patterns. He suggests some recipes for preparing this delicious new meat, and he feels sure that innovative cooks will be quick to generate more. He also anticipates that the practice of selling and eating children will have positive effects on family morality: husbands will treat their wives with more respect, and parents will value their children in ways hitherto unknown. His conclusion is that the implementation of this project will do more to solve Ireland's complex social, political, and economic problems than any other measure that has been proposed.
One characteristic of Enlightenment that is seen in this excerpt is that people should be guided by the reason and not irrational fears, however serious they may seem to be. The protagonist/author of the diary seems to be the only cool-headed person in this terrible situation. Everybody else is freaking out, running about and screaming. He notices multiple times that nobody is making any effort to actually quench the fire. He is the one who goes to warn the king and suggests that houses should be pulled down. There is one very interesting remark about Lord Mayor, who is in a panic just like everyone else: "To the King's message he cried, like a fainting woman..." Misogyny aside, this comment shows the speaker's manly, reasonable, commendable attitude. He is an active person who does something to undo the damage, and not just a passive observer or a coward who runs away in panic.
A diary entry was a fitting form during the Enlightenment period because that was the first time that the words and opinions of a more or less ordinary person were deemed important. A diary has this risk of being a subjective collection of personal impressions. But Pepys' diary pretends to be highly objective because its author sees himself as a reasonable man, important in his own right, competent enough to keep a diary and record some important things that happen around him, to other ordinary people.
Answer:
B. Modern theater audiences can be superstitious.
Explanation:
"The Tragedy of Macbeth" is without a doubt a play of superstition. The play is about the degradation of its tragic hero and witches. It is also considered an unlucky play by performers. It is popular belief not to say the name of the character or to say "The Scottish play" instead because the play is cursed. Whether this be true, the truth of the matter is that accidents have befallen many casts and productions from around the world. However, it is important to mention that accidents are unexpected events that can happen anywhere at any time. In summary, this is the reason for which the audience and actors will refuse to say "Macbeth".
