Concerning Swift's "A Modest Proposal," I'm not sure if you're asking how I or other's react to the essay, or if you have to answer this question and you're asking for ideas.
If you're asking for ideas, I suggest you don't read any of our comments. You should go with your initial reaction, rather than anyone else's.
If you're asking for reactions from others, then you might as well hear mine.
The first time I read Swift's essay I was taking a satire class while working on my B.A., and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. What an idea! What a way to satirize a target! Could there be any better way to condemn the English wealthy and the English government than what Swift does?
And I thought it was hilarious. Even those shots at we vulgar Americans were great laughs.
Any discussion about whether or not it was successful goes to the heart and effectiveness of satire itself, rather than to Swift's essay in particular.
By the way, now I know that this was Swift's last-ditch effort to influence his targets--he'd tried everything else and nothing worked. This didn't work either. That would have taken some charity and compassion on the part of the English for the Irish. And that just wasn't the case.
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