Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is a masterful example of satire, using irony, exaggeration, and humor to critique English exploitation of Ireland. Swift adopts the persona of a rational scientist to propose the absurd idea of selling Irish children as food, mocking the dehumanizing attitudes of English Protestants towards Irish Catholics. Through vivid imagery and ironic language, Swift highlights the dire conditions of the Irish poor and criticizes the moral indifference of the ruling class, ultimately urging social change and exposing the grotesque nature of contemporary political solutions.

Swift uses satire to expose and criticize the cruelty and discrimination against Irish Catholics by English Protestants. By taking on the voice of a prejudiced English Protestant, Swift exaggerates the usual anti-Irish discourse. He suggests that the Irish should eat their own children to reduce their population, mocking those who agree with such views. This extreme proposal is a way to highlight the absurdity and inhumanity of the attitudes towards the Irish, as seen in the line,

“For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly overrun, being the principal breeders of the nation as well as our dangerous enemies”

Swift's use of a serious medium, like an editorial or thesis, for his outrageous proposal further emphasizes the satire. By adopting an erudite tone to suggest that a group should eat their young for population control, Swift mocks the anti-Irish Protestants. The grotesque nature of the proposal is intentional, as it shocks the reader and underscores the inhumanity of the English treatment of the Irish. The bad taste of the proposal is part of the point, serving to highlight the absurdity of the real social issues.

The last paragraph of "A Modest Proposal" reinforces the author's feigned sincerity. Swift stresses the supposed noble intentions behind the proposal, claiming it is not for personal gain but for the public good. The line,

“I have no Children, by which I can propose to get a single Penny; the youngest being nine Years old, and my Wife past Child-bearing.”

underscores the satire by highlighting the absurdity and inhumanity of the plan. Swift critiques the British treatment of the Irish poor, satirizing the contempt of the rich for the poor and the British for their Irish subjects.