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A Modest Proposal - CDA
In the essay, A Modest Proposal, John Swift is extremely satirical, using his personal ideas to stereotype people. In this not-so-modest proposal, the narrator of "A Modest Proposal" goes on to further to suggest all of the ways such a system could work. Since he has the belief that every poor family has a price, he is convinced that mothers would gladly carry and then sell their children for 8 shillings, that the rich would find the youngsters to be a delicacy, and with the extra money going to the landlords, the whole economy would be benefit, and the population and poverty problems would be solved. In his way of writing, he uses his own thoughts that he has created in his upbringing to further stereotype, including race and class, or in other terms Critical Discourse Analysis.
He writes using the voice of an economist, which many know- tend to be stuck in their ways and fickle about certain people. Stereotypes against Irish Catholics make it easier for Swift to use them as the subject of his satire. The narrator’s argument that something must be done with infants because they are too young to steal implies that this is a common employment of Irish Catholics, even while it is humorous. The idea of overpopulation comes from the stereotype that Catholics tend to have a lot of children, also implying the stereotypes that Irish Catholics tend to be more “carefree” to put it appropriately. The first reason Swift’s narrator gives for adopting his proposal, that it will lessen the number of Catholics, is a great example of satire of religious stereotyping in the piece. Furthermore, he uses the word “papists” in the offensive sense of anti-Catholic rejection of the Pope. In England, many people might share the stereotypes but would never go so far as the speaker suggests about eating children.
The theme of prejudice against the lower classes is also revealed in the idea that the carcasses of the poor children could be used for...