1. Clearly state in your own words the “surprise ending” in the reading you selected. Clearly identify the point in the reading when you realized that there were elements in the reading that surprised you. Not all of the surprises come at the end.
The “surprise ending” of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” became evident when the work made it apparent that the argument it was making was satire. This became obvious due to the increasingly radical views that were being proposed within the text. As the author continued to monetize and commoditize human life and began discussing trading children the underlying nature of the work became hard to miss. The solutions to various social problems were proposed through a disheartened and unabashedly condescending point of view. As the underlying context of the author’s true position began to be revealed, the outcome of the argument was invariably altered. While the text itself seems to indicate a desire to commercialize the poor in the pursuit of a more utilitarian principle of human capital the extent to which the ideas being proposed could be considered to be serious became more and more radicalized throughout the work. This made it fairly evident that the author was actually taking a satirical position towards the issue. The idea of breeding wives in order to attain children that could be used as labor would seem to be appalling, making it difficult to believe that any author would seriously commit to such an argument. This made the ending of the article much more surprising than what I had originally expected it to be. The discussion of children and their weight seems to indicate a comprehensive solution to the overall issue being discussed.
The subject that the author is discussing, the alleviation of the poor in the most efficient and effective means possible would seem to correspond to the critical nature of the social problem itself. The capacity of social change to be directed towards the poor has long been focused on the need to do so in a way that can also be affordable to society. This has resulted in a variety of solutions to the issue of poverty that seem to be inhuman in nature. The way in which the English viewed the Irish at the time that the essay was written becomes evident in the context of the proposal that the author is putting forth. This proposal seems to be related to an underlying desire to suppress specific groups or individuals while maintaining the dominance of the elite (Swift, 1729). The paper at this point becomes much more interesting in regards to the message that it is attempting to communicate. More than simply the resolution of a variety of perceived social ills, Swift’s views seem to corroborate a much more broad context that can be associated with the insight that human dignity can provide when some people are stripped of it entirely. Even if Swift’s work is unable to present a solution to the problem it, at the very least, expresses a concern for the direction that social values had taken to that point. This seems to be one of the most important points of the text as well as the most surprising revelation.
In assessing the conditions upon which Swift developed his proposal it is evident that there is a a need to address the circumstances in which the text was written. The underlying values of English society at the time were directed towards the subjugation of others for the betterment of those within English society in general. In this way, even those social systems that were built to help the poor would often result in their exploitation. This is a primary concern of the pursuit of social justice, as it is difficult to pursue true social change while dispensing with economic or monetary concerns. The pursuit of fulfillment for these individuals therefore became the underlying context by which they could challenge the various social mechanisms in place to address the problem of poverty. In writing the work, Swift’s arguments were continuously surprising due to the increasingly radical nature of the proposal being addressed. While it is evident that the experiences of Swift would have resulted in a profound denial of these considerations it is also necessary to establish the means by which he was able to adopt such a sarcastic attitude towards those that he was in contact with. His colleagues in society seemed to presupposed the principles of human nature through the values that were being addressed in order to help their fellow man. However, the exploitation was an indication of the overwhelming circumstances by which it was necessary for Swift to consider addressing the outcome of such values. His work therefore presents an important relationship between the considerations of social welfare and the need for economic support. The work was surprising in its depth of coverage regarding the principles of human freedom versus exploitation.
2. Evaluate how successful the author was in convincing you to accept the validity of the “surprise ending” that was different from what you expected.
While at first it was easy to go along with the argument that Swift was making it soon became evident that such actions could not be condoned. The author was fairly successful in being convincing regarding the legitimacy of his argument and the need for it to be adopted within society. Even after it became apparent that this type of action would not be condoned by most societies and that even the author was not being wholly truthful in their proposal the argument continued to be reasoned and lain out with a great deal of detail. This was perhaps the greatest strength of Swift’s proposal. His ideas were carefully considered and examined and presented in such a way that it seems as though it could be carried out if a great enough people had the will to do so. This presents the need to consider not only the underlying obligations that people in society have towards the welfare of the poor in society but also the need to carefully criticize and judge the proposals that are put forth in order to address with this need. Swift was successful in being convincing regarding the validity of the “surprise ending” that, while not explicitly stated, would become evident as the proposal became more and more radical in nature. This process demonstrates the way in which values can evolve into circumstances that are more and more difficult to deal with as certain social agendas or values are proposed which focus the direction of social change in a negative way. The success of Swift’s proposal is in his execution of principles that are carried out in a rational and logical way. This presents a concern for the legitimacy of social institutions that do not take account of the underlying humanity that they are built upon. This can help to challenge the expectations of personal dignity and social justice.
The point at which it becomes fairly evident that the author could not be at all serious about his proposal is when he begins to discuss the nutrition that children can provide. This is simply too radical a solution to a fairly common problem to be adopted. It was at this point that the author failed to convince me that the argument they were making was done so seriously. The focus on the need to maintain the health and dignity of the rich at the expense of the poor is a primary example of the way in which this satirical piece of work begins to become evident to the reader. The proposal is juxtaposed with the underlying moral values that most people would likely have when reading the text. These values are challenged by the reasonable expectations of the essay. In doing so, Swift was able to successfully execute the creation of this satirical piece of work. In addressing social problems in such a way he was able to address actual problems that are related to the pursuit of social justice. While this pursuit might seem to be undertaken in order to exact social justice it can also lead to a variety of unethical principles when the need for universal response mechanisms arises. The universalization of principles prevents people from seeing the nuanced nature of social problems. For this reason, Swift was unerring in his criticism of such programs. In presenting his arguments in this light he was able to achieve a more considered response to the issues and challenge those who adopt simple solutions wide-ranging social problems. This is one of the major successes of his work.
The establishment of values that can be considered in relation to the principles of response that many would have in their aversion to Swift’s proposal is another major success of his work. The desire to correspond to a specific set of values is evident even in the actions of those who argue for utilitarian compromise, however, the aspects of personal dignity that can be viewed in such responses should also be considered. These aspects of social dignity and human justice are important to Swift’s work and he successfully adapts this into his satirical response to issues of injustice. The conditions that he responds to can be valued in their character and the position that he takes in relation to the coordination of efforts to deal with common issues such as poverty. However, the expectations that he addresses early on seem to underlie a less simple approach. For this reason, his work is expressed through the form of satire so that the reader can be made more averse to the realities that are being presented as they continue to read. The challenge in this respect is to advocate for a moral authority that does not have a certain economic or monetary agenda in mind but rather the well-being of those that the policies are attempting to address. Within the context of such a compromise it seems to be necessary to build a more common set of values that social programs can be built upon. These ideas are expressed through the implications of the satirical depictions that Swift presents in his proposal. The orientation of the author, when evident, is successful in adapting the growing aversion of the reader towards a real and common problem in regards to social justice.
The major surprise of “A Modest Proposal” was the underlying commitment that he had to the radically inhuman solution that he argues for in order to address a fundamentally human problem. The nature of the text is a satirical voice that is taken in order to help the reader to consider the underlying ethical and moral complications in attempting to help the poor. Furthermore, the need to humanize the poor and not simply view them as a commodity or a means to an end is also addressed. These associations become increasingly obvious throughout the text as Swift continues to amplify the immoral compromises that he posits within the work. These ideas are successfully communicated to his audience in a way that seems to implicate his personal commitment to these ideas. The level to which Swift was able to ascertain the promotion of the social program of feeding children to the rich seems to underlie the need to focus the reader’s attention on an obviously corrupt and unjust mode of thought.
References
Swift, J. (1729). A Modest Proposal for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a
burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick. Victorian
Web.
