I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration that of the hundred and twenty thousand children already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one-fourth part to be males; which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle or swine; and my reason is, that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore one male will be sufficient to serve four females. That the remaining hundred thousand may, at a year old, be offered in the sale to the persons of quality and fortune through the kingdom; always advising the mother to let them suck plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump and fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends; and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter. 

• Sickening, basically describes this section.  Yeah, I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of someone actually considering eating a child! I sure hope that no one would ever be in their right mind to ever consider this, and that people would realize that things aren't possibly that bad that this would be your only solution.   I guess this is Swift's reaction too to this situation, and he paints us such a horrible example to demonstrate and exaggerate Ireland's immoral and misguided society. Clearly he's trying to make the people of Ireland realize how desperately they need to come up with a sane plan to help the poor people, or else they will "have no choice but to eat children".  I can see how someone may find this a bit humorous, as he is poking fun at the irrational and unreasonable ways of thinking among the rich.. I didn't find this at all humorous, just because the situation should not be a joking matter.  I personally don't think anyone should ever joke about eating a child, or even hurting a child, but I guess Swift felt like it was time to take drastic measures, and that it was necessary to prove his point that the rich need to stop thinking of themselves and start worrying about others (the poor).  -Elizabeth.
• The nonchalantness of his phrasing is so funny. I can't imagine how it must have felt to write these two paragraphs. I love the use of words like "wholesome" and "reasonable".  -Michael Taggart
• In this paragraph, Swift mentions he has been assured by an American acquaintance the young child however prepared will make an excellent meal. It is curious that Swift mentions an American acquaintance.  Swift continues with the ironic/humorous vivid images of plump babies sitting on fancy platters for rich people to eat.   Nicole
• I really do not know what to say about this section of the reading. Swift demonstrates the most efficient way to farm children; perhaps he could be providing a suggestion as to how easy it would be to actually farm animals. He does point out that there is a lack of male animals used for breeding.
• In this section, Swift unwraps the main component of his argument: let's eat the kids-- here's how to do it, and when.   Surely, Swift's bluntness and methodological approach in this section was meant to be shocking, and to evoke incredulity in his readers. His last line "(...) and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter" is so.. mundane in tone, that Swiftly must have expected his readers to catch on that he wasn't in fact serious.      (A.P)
• Swift compares the poor with animals, and refers to them as "our savages" to further justify his fake plan  Colin B.
• The reader may begin to feel sick at this point. It is quite disturbing the way they explain how the children are eaten. They talk about them as if they are chickens or some type of mean people eat that is normal. It is so gross. The author is assuming that everyone eats children. That it is normal. The reader can only expect for the details to become worse in the next section of this Modest Proposal.  Swift's choice of words continues to be sectioned well. Keeping the reader on the right track of understanding where he is going with all of this. The way this section of the story can be expected to evoke responses in the reader is by making them feel sick. The way they explain how babies are fed to become fat enough before they are eaten and how one baby can make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, etc. It is just so disturbing and sickening.  Kirsten Graham
• The proposal is quite different from what the reader expects.  The voice did not have any interest in saving the children, but instead getting rid of them.  The voice believes that society should eat the children that are not able to be taken care of.  The reader is likely to be surprised by this proposal because the voice introduced it as though he had the children's well-being in mind.
• That first paragraph is just hilarious, and again he deliberately under-emphasizes  the severity of the situation. He makes it seem like it could be a really common thing, just like eating a steak or something.  I also find it funny that he "humbly offers it to public consideration..." I mean really, there is nothing humble about it, but again it adds to the humor and I picture the social elite of the day turning red with anger.  -Sarah
• Finally, the good stuff! That first paragraph is extremely shocking, but he has been leading up to the fact that the country needs to get rid of the children somehow. He is also implying he knows someone who actually has eaten a child before, and that they can be quite delicious, which would help get rid of the overpopulation as well as the hunger problem.   By comparing the children to cattle, he is also making a great case for himself because why shouldn't we eat the kids if they're useless? It may seem cruel, but so is butchering animals, therefore his point sort of makes sense. He is also dissecting them into parts, talking about which part is most succulent, which is hilarious, shocking and disturbing, which only further shocks the reader.
• I wonder why he chose to make his "acquaintance in London" an American? Is there something more than just a random choice going on here? Why not say his friends is a Brit? I mean Swift is Irish writing in Ireland, does he really have any stake when it comes to the argument between the English and the Amerks?  And of course, the idea of having kids on a farm like one would keep cattle is pretty hilarious.