I first read this piece my junior year of High School. My teacher, very cleverly, decided not to tell us that it was satirical. As a result, most of us thought it was a real proposal. I was incensed until I realized how ridiculous it was. As I read, I started laughing, aloud, in class. Most of my classmates still thought it was real...so they thought I was nuts.
I think the line that made me realize that Swift wasn't being serious was "They shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing of many thousands." There was no way he was seriously suggesting that we wear things made of baby skin. Once we reached the part about where Swift listed the various ways a child could be cooked ("stewed, roasted, baked or boiled") the whole class was in on it.
To me, the most interesting part of this essay is the fact that Swift, while being extremely funny, also addresses a serious issue. Comedy that deals with social issues is my favorite kind; it's funny, but it makes you think. This made me think. There really was a problem with hunger back in Swift's time, and nothing was being done about it. Why not eat babies? What else were they going to do? I think that was his point, 'we're stuck. we've got to resort to ludicrous solutions if they government doesn't do something to help us'.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment