Ethical Behavior in Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”
Jonathan Swift addresses his proposal to the British government, which does not care about Irish society’s poverty and famine. In his “A Modest Proposal,” he suggests poor Irish Catholics selling their little children to aristocrats and protestants as food. Therefore, Swift proposes to poor people to earn some money for a living while aristocrats will taste the delicious meat of toddlers. This proposal was written in 1729 when the Irish government in Dublin was ruled by the British Protestants, who prosecuted Irish Catholics. Swift tries to catch governmental attention with this ironic paper.
By representing mathematical calculations in his writing, Swift tried to emphasize that Irish children are only numbers, not humans for the British government. For instance, in paragraphs 9-10, Swift argues that among 120 000 children, it would be sufficient to keep alive only 20 000 of them, one-fourth of which should be males to fertilize four females each. This idea might sound terrifying for Irish parents, especially mothers. Moreover, here is an example not only of children as numbers but adults as cattle: people here are just means to produce further generations and other kids to be eaten.
In conclusion, Swift addresses the British government again and asks it to take action, which can help the Irish population to live. In paragraph 31, the author encourages politicians to ask Irish mothers whether their children should be eaten by aristocrats or maybe they would prefer to have real support from the government. However, he states again that he is sure that nothing can be more profitable and beneficial for them to sell their children – which is another sign of irony in the paper. Then, Swift digresses and describes Irish society seriously: he recalls that aged and poor people are obliged to die in filth and famine (para. 19). This shows that Swift’s proposal was not aimed at threatening poor women in Ireland, but he tried to change society and encourage Irish citizens and the British government to take action.
Ethical Behavior in Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock”
In his satirical poem “The Rape of the Lock,” Alexander Pope describes the loss of the main heroine Belinda’s curl as the central tragedy of her and, perhaps, the rest of women’s lives. Pope images woman’s lock as the main treasure protected by many mythological Spirits or guardians: Sylphs, Gnomes, Nymphs, and Salamanders (Pope xii). After Pope described what procedures Belinda needs to keep her beauty in the mornings, he reminds readers about females’ main enemy: man. Then he shows another hero of the poem Baron, whose main dream is to cut the lock of beautiful Belinda (Pope 9). In other words, Baron wanted to defeat Beline and gain the trophy.
Pope created the tense between Belinda, whom her mythological guardian protects, and Baron, who wishes to cut her lock. The battlefield between them can be seen during the card game: “Four Knaves in Garbs succinct, a trusty Band / Caps on their heads, and Halberds in their hand / And particoloured Troops, a shining roops, a shining Train, / Draw forth to combat on the Velvet Plain” (Pope 16). Here it is clear that heroes do not just play the game: all cards are uniting and going to the actual fight. Although Belinda won this fight, she loses when Baron finally stole her curl. This is when the tragedy occurs, and Pope’s heroine loses her passion for life. Stealing a lock is not a serious crime; however, the author addresses another crucial issue: men’s and society’s picture of women.
Works Cited
Pope, Alexander. The Rape of the Lock. 1712. 93beast.fea.st. Web.
Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal. 1729. University of Oregon. Web.