Questions for “A Modest Proposal”
1. What do you think? What was your first reaction to the proposal offered in
this essay? Comprehension check – what is Swift’s proposal? What
problem in Ireland does the proposal pretend to solve? Name one
advantage that the speaker sees in this solution.
3. What response do you think Swift hoped to get from readers of “A Modest
Proposal”?
4. Go back through the essay (“A Modest Proposal”) and find at least two
places where you think Swift’s satire is particularly powerful. Explain your
choices. Use text to support your answers.