1. Jonathan Swift & A Modest Proposal
Gerron Jordan
Vanessa Hamilton

2. Irish History
Irish Catholics had endured generations of subjugation by the British
Irish peasant farmers were largely at the mercy of absentee British landlords whose financial demands made their basic survival difficult
Irish peasants were also the victims of racist discrimination

3. Irish History Cont…
Were considered by many in England to be brutish, apelike, crude, and superstitious.
Irish peasants were treated like African Americans in the United States in the 19th century.

4. Alexander Pope Good friends with Swift Also a satirical writer, and
had the same ideas about Irish politics as swift
Works we’re considered “mental furniture of the well-educated person”
One edition of the Oxford dictionary contains more than 212 of his quotes.

5. Jonathan Swift Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland on November 30, 1667
In 1688 (Anti-Catholic Revolution), Swift moved to England and became a servant in the household of Sir William Temple
While there, Swift became the tutor of young Ester Johnson, he called her Stella
In 1696, Swift moved back to Ireland and was ordained in the Church of England.

6. Jonathan Swift Cont…
Swift moved back to London in 1707 to serve as emissary for the Irish clergy
Swift was a major political figure in London, however, still protected Ireland
Swift made his final move back to Ireland in 1710
Swift died on October

7. Swift’s Women We Mean Inspiration…
Swift’s student, Ester Johnson, became his lover and inspiration
She followed him to Ireland in 1696
In 1717, there were rumors that the two were married.
Stella died in 1728, shortly afterwards, Swift wrote Stella’s Journal, and Modest Proposal
While serving as emissary in London, Swift had an affair with his student at the time, Hester Vanhomrigh
He called her Vanessa, and when he ended the relationship with her, he wrote Cadenus and Vanessa

8. A Modest Proposal Can definitely be seen as a satire.
Swift states a problem within the Country
Irish poverty
He then offers a solution, although very absurd
Cannibalism

9. Bibliography
Ross, David. Ireland: History of a Nation. New Lanark, Scotland. Geddes & Grosset: 2002.
Foster, Roy. The Oxford Illustrated History of Ireland. Oxford. Oxford University Press: 1989.
Wikipedia. [ 11 Feb 07.