I think it is agreed by all parties that this prodigious number of children in the arms, or on the backs, or at the heels of their mothers, and frequently of their fathers, is in the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional grievance; and, therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.

But my intention is very far from being confined to provide only for the children of professed beggars; it is of a much greater extent, and shall take in the whole number of infants at a certain age who are born of parents in effect as little able to support them as those who demand our charity in the streets.

• Here, Swift is clearly building towards his main shock point. He takes great pains to write as he is being very serious and thoughful. This is important for the structure of his work, by showing he is being serious, his satire is that much more powerful when he reveals his own little twist.  I also enjoyed how he subtly pats himself on the back when he says "whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation" since he is in essence, telling his audience how to make use of these poor and as of now useless kids.
• He is writing from a very negative viewpoint and making may assumptions about the lives of the poor. He is making  negative generalizations that poor people cannot have "honest" jobs (whatever that would be) and that the children will grow up to be thieves.  Having read this work before I know that it gets very dark, but even from the opening paragraph, if you pay attention to his phrasing, you can see great darkness evident already.
• It seems that Swift is pointing out the poverty problem in Ireland at the time. I am unsure how much of this maybe exaggerated or be in some way satire.   It does seem to be a complex problem. I believe that Swift is calling on the monarchy to fix the issue by saying, " whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation." The monarcThe language here shifts the precieved blame on the problem of poverty.  For example, when he writed "...as they grow up either turn theives for want of work", it is implied that they aren't poor by choice but by circumstance out of their control- but at the same time it completely neglects to assign any blame for why that is.  This way of speaking of the poor effectively takes away their will as Swift satirically speaks of them as if they're literally just objects.
• In the first paragraph Swift sets it up so it appears that the children are the ones to blame. They are seeling themselves to Barbadoes, not being sold by someone else. Also that they rob people because they so desperately want to do something besides begging and being lazy.   In the second paragraph he kind of commodifies the children.
• It seems as though Swift's audience is the middle to upper class, as he reflects on the poor beggars in the streets, seen through the eyes of someone who travels the world (usually middle to upper class because they could actually afford to travel).   He also speaks of the beggar's children in very negative terms, calling them helpless and thieves. He is trying to prove that the country would be better off without them (foreshadowing to using them as food). He is trying to convince the reader that his proposal is a good one by making the reader believe that they want the beggars gone as well.
• This is setting the reader up to understand why they do this and why it is ok. They mention that "whoever could find out a fair, cheap and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation." They talk of the children as though they are burdens and will not go anywhere in life anyway. The connections the reader is being invited to make is that whatever this Modest Proposal is, it is ok in this community as they think there should be a statue made of the person who comes up with an idea of how to keep these burdens from being burdens and to make them beneficial to members of the commonwealth.   Swift's still introducing how this Modest Proposal works. Swift enters in to it lightly, easing the readers in to the understanding of why he feels this is justifiable. He says they will "take in the whole number of infants at a certain age who are born of parents in effect as little able to support them as those who demand our charity in the streets." This helps break the reader in, giving them an understanding still that what these people do is justifiable and it is for a good cause.
• From my understanding of this, Swift is referring to how we view the lower class of Ireland. He is criticizing the way in which the richer view the poor people as being burdens and grievances in their lives. Swift doesn't agree with their ideals (at least I hope he doesn't), and is trying to make us see the wrongs in their beliefs. Instead of viewing the poor as people in need that they should help, the rich view them as an irritating annoyance in their lives. The rich don't try to help make the lives of the poor better, but they try to find ways to make their own lives better through use of the poor.
• Reading the very first sentence we can see a clear image of Ireland's poor being bluntly portrayed to us. Right after this we already see Swift playing with his choice of wording making the reader have judgmental thoughts because the mothers are unable to work, concluding with them being forced into poverty. This would have been a little ironic due to the majority of the people at the time (possibly including Swift) wouldn't have thought this way, the poor did it to themselves. This is a perfect example of Swift making the reader be unsure of how to take the tone and what to expect next. ##This paragraph from the essay sets readers up by presenting a “melancholy” mood. The depressing mood creates empathy for the readers. This technique is how Swift is able to present his proposal later in the essay. Swift's main point in this section is the economic issues in Ireland during the eighteenth century, and how he will proceed to give readers the solution to the problem. When Swift says “agreed by all” he is assuming the majority have a consensus. This is interesting, I wonder what the 'rich/impoverished' people of Ireland had to say about this?
• This is setting the reader up to believe that the voice of this passage is going to change society by providing for poor children on the streets.  The person is lead to expect the voice to make a difference in society.  He/she expects us to already believe that the future of these children is doomed.  It seems as though whoever the voice is, is looking for fame and does not really care about the children.  --    "and, therefore, whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making theWhat strikes me is the difference between the first and second paragraph. Although his voice doesn't necessarily change, it seems to me you can tell what things he is drawing deliberately from real experience, and which of those experiences or observations he is satirizing. I will attempt to elaborate. In the first paragraph, to me it seems clear that he is pretty adequately describing the situation in Ireland at the time. Then we get into the second paragraph and there is again the focus on how the children are essentially a grand annoyance and nothing else. I think it starts to become clearer that even though he sympathizes with the poor people in Ireland, he writes as though he wants to appeal to the side of the wealthy. By describing the children as, "in the arms, or on the back, or at the heels of their mothers," it suggests that these children are bothersome and furthermore represent a large portion of the population, that is to say, there are too many, and this is further suggested when he adds, "a very great additional grievance." By adding that, it again suggests, well these poor people aren't actually human so let's think about a solution on how to make them more useful. I know that's not what he is saying, he is in fact saying the exact opposite, BUT by writing in such a sophisticated style, it is obvious that this proposal is not intended to be read by the poor people who would likely be illiterate anyway. He is ironically addressing the rich, and not-so-discretely insulting them.
• Huh. Swift lists his defense for his argument in the same way that he lists the problem for which his argument is presented for in the first place.   There is a clear sense of progression as the sentences unfold, but the lists's meter and comparable length, give an interesting form of visual logic to the circumstances he describes, and has an "eye for eye, teeth for teeth" kind of balance I didn't pick up the first time I read this.