... Ireland in his satirical work, "A Modest Proposal". During a time when a caste system was a basis for government, and when the English who governed Ireland held Catholicism in disdain, Swift clearly threw stones with his essay. The author begins by blaming the existence of the poor for the hardships of the kingdom; this is complete irony, since it would be the existence of ... the first time. The utter irony, and sadism they must have felt, being compared to such perverse actions. It is probably safe to say that Swift threw more than a few stones with this essay, but more likely he dire...

• Word Count: 349
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... reason, a man becomes a slave to his cravings and desires. The Yahoos hate one another more than any other species, causing them to fight over food and material objects, like large stones. Through this fantastic character, Swift is satirizing mankind's folly over material objects. He is showing that when man doesn't exercise reason, he will naturally take an object with little usefulness ... ...

• Word Count: 1168
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate