Analysis-P5

"A Modest Proposal" Literary Techniques >
 * Tongue in cheek- Swift literally says, eat kids, but he really means to address the issue that Ireland has problems within the society
 * Sardonic tone- the author acts not as he is, a concerned Irish citizen, but as a dispassionate and economically driven "accountant," scholar, or advisor (this may be a way for him to "poke fun" at the government)
 * Overstatement- Swift overestimates how children are viewed in the eyes of most humans, how they are more compatible to crops and other sources of profit; overstates the uses for the babies; he overstates the entire thing so that people will actually listen to something shocking; the problem should not be as large of an issue as it is (directed to the government); economics are one of the single-most influential factors in many decisions where people are concerned; the British government is already feeding off the Irish