Swift is trying to tell us that gunpowder is a threat to human existence, just as we today see nuclear weapons as a threat to our own existence. ... The King of this Island has two methods of suppressing insurrections: The first and the mildest Course is by keeping the Island hovering over such a town, and the Lands about it, whereby he can deprive them of the Benefit of the Sun and the Rain, and consequently afflict the Inhabitants with Death and Diseases. ...

• Word Count: 10069
• Approx Pages: 40
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School