¶ … SWIFT'S A MODEST PRPOSAL Surprise Ending - Swift

The Surprise Ending in Swift's a Modest Proposal

In his essay A Modest Proposal (1729) Jonathon Swift ironically puts forth the proposition that for the betterment of Irish society, children of the poor, particularly Catholic children, because there was an over abundance, should be slaughtered and eaten. Swift maintains that this practice would solve a number of societal problems. It would decrease the number of Papists who are the principle breeders of the nation, as well as the most dangerous enemies, it would turn a liability of the poor, another mouth to feed, into an asset or a valuable commodity,...

The surprise ending is that swift recommends this practice only for Ireland.
At the time Swift published this work Ireland was not an independent country and was far poorer than England. Most of the people born there were Roman Catholics and worked as tenant farmers and agricultural laborers. The land owners were mostly Protestants, many of whom were not born in Ireland and were not permanent residents. This ruling class took advantage of the plight the poor found themselves in, and knew that if the laborer quit, there would…