Swift's motives for writing "A Modest Proposal," were complex. He felt that he had been exiled to Ireland when he would have much preferred to have been in England, and his personal sense of the wrongs he had suffered at the hands of the English only intensified the anger he felt at the way England mistreated Ireland. He lived in an Ireland which was a colony, politically, militarily, and economically dependent upon England. It was manifestly in England's interest to keep things as they were; a weak Ireland could not threaten England, and the measures which kept it weak were profitable for the English. As a result, Ireland was a desperately poor country, overpopulated, full, as Swift said, of beggars, wracked periodically by famine, heavily taxed, and with no say at all in its own affairs. Swift was enraged at the passivity of the Irish people, who had become so habituated to the situation that they seemed incapable of making an

The author’s brilliance in his use of witticism and sarcasm by the persona plays a critical role in awakening the Irish to the reality of their oppressive environment. By convincing the people of Ireland to reform, Jonathan Swift proved his satire, “A Modest Proposal” to be an effective change agent. The people of Ireland went through a stage of awakening due to Swifts' scintillating portrayal of their corrupted, exploited, and dehumanized lives. The satire gave the Irish a better grasp of reality. They were able to grasp the severity of their crisis and that they were compliant in their oppression.

“A Modest Proposal” is so effective and appealing because of the author’s copious use of irony throughout his essay. The title itself is definitely ironic. It provides the reader with false expectations of decency and sensibility on the part of the writer. The butchery of innocent babies and the use of their skin for clothing is way beyond being modest. It is brutal and insane. The proposal is intended to shock and throw the reader off balance.

Swift creates a fictional persona because by hiding his true identity he is able to convince the reader of the significance of Ireland's problem and allow them to see truth and reality. The persona is a concerned Irishman who is very intell

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