A Modest Proposal About Hunger

The Impact of Hunger on Irish Literature

Looking into how hunger in Ireland affected literature, a story was written called A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift. Swift, an Irish man, mainly wrote about political issues but included dark humor in his stories to "lighten it up." His work remains a significant critique of the socio-political landscape of Ireland during his time.

'A Modest Proposal About Hunger'

In A Modest Proposal, Swift emphasizes how desperate the people of Ireland were due to widespread hunger and the ineffectiveness of their government. Swift proposed the satirical notion that the Irish folk should eat their children. He had some justification for his reasoning. Swift wrote that by the time children are around the age of six, they lose their innocence and start committing crimes like stealing (Swift, 1729). He uses "math" to further justify his proposal, stating that if there were one hundred and twenty thousand children, half would be left to help maintain the population. Then, of the remaining half, only half are males, leaving a quarter of the child population (Swift, 1729). Swift then compares these children to cattle, hogs, chickens, and sheep. This would give anyone reading his proposal the impression that children are more of a commodity rather than human beings.

Swift also argues in his writings that if a baby is born, the cost to feed that baby is fairly cheap because it will just be drinking breast milk. However, once that baby stops breastfeeding, it becomes a financial burden to the family. So instead of being a burden, this child could be sacrificed to feed the family (Swift, 1729). The real reason he kept referring to eating their babies was that families working for others' farms had no steady income. Since the famine broke out, no one was making money. But since these families gave everything to the landowners, the landowners practically owned the entire family. The children would never have freedom due to the overwhelming debt (Swift, 1729).

Secondly, because these children were forced to work from a young age, everyone, including adults, was getting paid less (Swift, 1729). If the Irish took children, from ages two to twelve, out of the labor force, people would be paid more. Another point Swift made was that keeping children alive was less of a burden throughout their ages (Swift, 1729). These children would keep dying due to the lack of food and nutrients.

The 1770s shortage of food didn’t just make people hungry for sustenance; it made them hungry to see a difference in government involvement. When the Irish needed help, their higher-ups did not come to the rescue. Jonathan Swift was hungry for change, and by suggesting that they would have to sacrifice their most beloved children by eating them to keep the rest of the family alive, he stressed how desperate the Irish people were. Swift’s work remains a powerful reminder of the consequences of neglect and the urgent need for governmental responsibility.

Modern Implications and Lessons

Today’s world could potentially avoid famines and hunger due to genetically modified organisms and a wide variety of food groups. The Potato Famine and the Food Shortage of the 1770s profoundly affected the lives of many, with hunger and disease taking over one million lives. Hunger influenced how people were treated and the choices they made. In today’s society, especially in small towns, hunger is sometimes overlooked, and the food on the table is taken for granted. However, the Irish were willing to sacrifice their lives over it. This historical context serves as a crucial lesson in valuing food security and ensuring that such tragedies never repeat. God bless.

References

Swift, J. (1729). A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People From Being a Burthen to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick. London: Harding.