The effects of colonialism are not shaken off in an instant. The first clue which would have given off the facade of this 'modest' proposal perhaps lies in the name of the author himself; Swift. For the damages done by colonial masters are not shaken swiftly. Swift however, does offer a quick solution, that goes; because Ireland is drowning in poverty, mothers should sell their children so that they could be eaten and skinned. Talk about economic planning. The proposal is a facade by many layers. At first, the essay seems like a planned academic paper. The title is at the top, with a mild abstract in a smaller font at its bottom. The author's name has a doctorate title as a prefix, asserting the opinions of the writer to be initially true. The fact that this was written at a time doctorates were rare, the 'Dr' title surely affirms its readers of that time that it is in fact something serious (while this title still is somehow enough to have the same impact, however, less).
Swift begins his essay with the stark imagery of Ireland, sounding almost poetic. The imagery; begging mothers and helpless infants. As the proposal progresses, he slowly begins addressing the issues one by one, almost on all levels. Whether it be of a religious concern, or moral concern of abortion, he elaborates the situation on every possible level. By this point, an average reader is convinced, or deceived by Swift's dark rhetoric, mixed with logic and authority. Fulfilling the Aristotelian method of persuasion; ethos, logos, pathos (authority, logic, emotions). By this point, he hasn't presented a solution to all these problems, and insists upon building up of the persuasion.
Slowly, he unravels the proposal, that is using children as a commodity rather than a waste. He proposes selling children so that their mothers could benefit from the sale. The children then used as food, and their skins as clothing. What is interesting about him is specific details in which he describes how the process shall take place. Going as far as to telling how the children shall be cooked, and the variety of gourmet meals that could be (literally) churned out of them.
Another addition to his method of persuasion is appeal to authority, that is when he falliciously commits a logics crime by claiming that the had heard from an American in London about how well the children actually taste. But this crime goes un-noticed when mixed with the emotional build-up of the proposal and numerous number of other such fallacies committed. Such as the support of made-up statistics, which are quite convincing.
It is intriguing how cunningly the satire is applied in the essay. The reason being that Swift's actual serious proposals to the Parliament for the aforementioned issues were not looked upon. Therefore, resorting to a much harsher option. While cannibalism still remains a topic of controversy in the modern world (enough to not go un-noticed), Swift's decision to promote child cannibalism was surely bound to be seen, and it indeed was.
Meanwhile, it did achieve what satire is supposed to do; to present an issue without creating one for yourself (the writer). Orwell's '1984', did succeed because it could easily be passed of as a children's storybook. And this not so modest proposal too, did not directly criticize the colonizers, or the elite class of Ireland. Therefore, it did succeed in making people self-aware of the issue.
In conclusion, this brilliant piece is well-written, enough to fool anyone, and yet proclaim its effects of realization upon the reader. It is almost perfectly set-up, almost a trap for anyone assuming that it was written in its true sense.
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