A Modest Proposal: Ending, the Revelation of Good Will
For Jonathan Swift to write his work, "A Modest Proposal," he must have a strong feeling of revolt against the mistreatment to the Irish people during his time. The piece is written in satire, a social commentary of the nineteenth-century England. The turning point of his argument is only being revealed towards the ending.
Surprise Ending. Swift used paralipsis in his ending. If my analysis is correct, my interpretation to Swift's ending is that he is suggesting a reform in which he introduced in an opposite matter. Here's the reform he was suggesting: 1) compensating the non-contributing citizens; 2) patronizing organically grown produce or national productions; 3) rejecting imported products; 4) putting discipline on the lifestyle of women; 5) promoting prudence and tamer behavior; 6) promoting nationalism; 7) removing animosities and factions among the citizens; 8) reminder of cautiousness and conscience; 8) orienting landlords to be considerable with their tenants; and lastly 8) orienting shop-keepers or entrepreneurs about the sense of honesty, responsibility, and nationalism.
This ending is a twist to the entire proposal of Swift, which if we will miss the point of his writing we might misinterpret him promoting infant cannibalism. The point in the pamphlet that gave me foresight that the ending will be different is the whole body itself. It is somehow suspicious that something this inhumane will be even considered as solution to a social conflict. I may not know where exactly in the text the apparent point where the twisted ending will emerge but I always know it is just in there if not coated with paralipsis.
Validity. The surprise ending suggesting reform is very convincing although in the form of paralipsis. The way to accept is by decrypting his message that his piece must be understood the other way around. So when it is promoting inhumane solution as proposal to end the overpopulation problem in England, Swift is actually against it. And when he is saying he won't be paying attention to the reforms he enumerated, he is actually suggesting of it.
REFERENCES
Swift, Jonathan (1729). A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from
Being a Bruden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the
Publick. Kingdom of Great Britain.
