A Modest Proposal Visions of Ireland Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Paragraph)

Quote #10

I desire those politicians who dislike my overture […] that they will first ask the parents of these mortals whether they would not at this day think it a great happiness to have been sold for food at a year old in the manner I prescribe, and therefore have avoided such a perpetual scene of misfortunes as they have since gone through by […] the want of common sustenance, with neither house nor clothes to cover them from the inclemencies of the weather. (34)

Swift shows the gap between what he views as two separate Irelands: the hoity-toity politicians and the very real economic burdens of poor Irish citizens.