A Modest Proposal

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

Write Your Own “Modest” Proposal

A satire is a form of writing in which the author uses humor to make a statement regarding a specific issue. Satirical artistic expressions are present not only as written texts, but also as visuals such as caricatures. Swift’s use of satire in this essay focuses on providing an exaggerated solution to a widespread problem; even the title itself as only a “modest” idea to the problem evokes some humor once the reader understands the nature of Swift’s suggestion.

Write your own “modest proposal” to the problem of income inequality in 18th-century Ireland.

• First, review Swift’s essay, with a particular focus on the description of the problem in the first portion of the text.
• Then, brainstorm a new satirical response in order to address the issue of income inequality in 18th-century Ireland. Remember, your proposal should be satirical in nature, not serious.
• Using a similar style of writing to Swift, write a 1–2-page response to the problem. Be sure to answer the following questions in your response: What is your solution to income inequality? Why do you believe this solution to be the best way forward? Do not spend too much of your response on the problem you are addressing; rather, focus your writing on the satirical solution.