A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (Book Review Sample)

Student Name: ID: Course: Instructor: Date: A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift Through "A Modest Proposal," Swift's satire is not only that of a one-fold but also it is the satire of many. He uses irony, overstatement, and parody to attack the economic subjugation of Ireland by the British ruling class. The proposal to sell and consume Irish babies as a solution to poverty turns into a critical view of the indifference of the rich to the poor. Just like in Orwell's "Animal Farm," satire is also used to reveal the corruption of power and the inability of revolution to achieve its goals. Through the use of animals in Orwell's book, he shows how the animals manage to overthrow the human masters, but then they make a new regime which is oppressive. Thus, Orwell is ridiculing the hypocrisy of the authoritarian governments and the betrayal of the revolutionary ideals. Through the application of satire, Voltaire's "Candide" mocks the Enlightenment philosophy and the society norms. The book is full of the happenings of its foolish hero that makes fun of the philosophers like Leibniz and shows the foolishness of philosophical optimism being in the face of the human suffering and injustice. Rapid, Orwell, and Voltaire all present examples of the exploitation in their own work. In "A Modest Proposal," Swift illustrates the economic oppression of the Irish by the British gentry. The idea of turning Irish children into commodities as a way to deal with poverty shows how the colonialist and economic inequality is dehumanizing. In "Animal Farm," Orwell explains how the pigs take advantage of the other animals for their own profit, which is the same as the attacks of the totalitarian regimes. The pigs' gradual change from revolutionary leaders to oppressors justifies the author's warning about the corrupting effect of power. In "Candide," Voltaire has Candide going through all the trouble and suffering caused by the things he sees in his world which is full of corruption and hypocrisy. Through the protagonist's voyage, the credibility of the power holders who were perpetrating the atrocities, on the one hand, from the inhumanity of the Spanish Inquisition on the other hand, and the selfishness of the European nobility is exposed. Swift, Orwell, and Voltaire all demonstrate through their works the absurdity inherent in the human nature and the structure of society. "A Modest Proposal" is a brilliant piece of work, as Swift's proposal to solve poverty by eating children is so ludicrous, but it in the same time emphasizes the absurdity of the economic and political systems that make poverty possible. Likewise, Orwell's portrayal of animals running a farm and setting up their own oppressive regime is preposterous and yet it resembles the absurdity of the actual power dynamics. The animals' following of the simple but false slogans that say "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" is the proof of the absurdity of the ideological dogma and the way it can be easily manipulated. In the novel "Candide," Voltaire gives several absurd incidents and characters that satirize the unreasonable nature of human behavior and the mess of the world. The message of the novel is the foolishness of human beliefs and the uncertainty of fate that is shown by the characters including Pangloss who is too optimistic and Martin who is completely irrational. The evaluation of the texts through the lenses of Marxist criticism and feminist t...