A Modest Proposal Contextualizing
A Modest Proposal - ContextualizingReading by contextualizing would be effective in understanding the argument in the essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathon Swift. When the reader recognizes the time and place of the essay’s writing and the unique attitudes and values of that time and place, he or she is contextualizing. Before and while reading “A Modest Proposal” the reader must consider the occasion for writing. The reader should recall any experiences that revealed the quality of life in Ireland for families now or several centuries ago. If the reader has read the novel Angela’s Ashes, based on 20th century Ireland, he or she recalls the widespread poverty described. Images such as houses smelling of urine, crying babies, and starving children help the reader understand the situation surrounding the author’s writing of the essay. Also, the reader should also recall the enduring conflict between the Irish and the British. The Irish Catholics are consistently unhappy with the British Protestants desire to maintain control in Ireland. Catholic splinter organizations now rebel against the government with violence. The reader should recall the political culture in Ireland, which has been affected by the Irish’s continuing lack of and desire for independence.