Customer Reviews
Fab - By: Piper Halliwell, 08 Mar 2007 
In response to the review from 'a reader' below- have you never heard of a satire?? I read thisin the first year of an english degree & have to say that I found it really thought provoking as it has a very dry witty theme throughout & it is meant to be taken lightly after all!
a modest mistake? - By: Ms. H. Powell, 26 Jan 2007 
The book A Modest Proposal, writtenin the first instance by Swiftin pamphlet form, is a wonderful piece of social commentary. The reviewer "a reader" appears to have completely missed the point, however,in not recognising the desired effect of this pamplet on the citizens of London. Plagued by crime & poverty, London of Swift's time was a place run as an autocracy, with many politicians & other people with high & influential social standing of a mentality far removed from reality. Swift's intended readership was these people, of upper middle & higher status, &in offering them a "solution" to the problems involved with mass poverty & crime, was actually illuminating their own misconceptions & haughtiness concerning the issue. His "modest proposal" was designed to shock & cause a reconsideration of opinion, rather than to amusein the same way a horror film does today. Indeed, it isin this fashion that Swift is one of the first employers of "shock tactics"in politics.
The book was an insight. - By: , 23 Mar 2001 This book opened my eyes to ideas that hadn't even occured to me before. Even the thought of some of the suggestions that were mentioned made me cringe with a gripping fear that someone could think of things like that. I thouroughly enjoyed the book as it takes a great deal of guts to wrote what he did & I only hope that his proposal is not prophetic! It amazes me that someone could create such ideas, but the way that he proposes them is clever & well thought out.
