Sunday, August 11, 2019
Surprise ending Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Surprise ending - Essay Example The reader anticipates that Swift will come up with a realistic solution by which these poor children can ââ¬Å"contribute to the feeding, and partly to the cloathing of many thousandâ⬠(para.4). The readerââ¬â¢s suspicion is aroused when Swift begins to talk about children being ââ¬Å"saleable commoditiesâ⬠(Swift, 1729, p.7) and calculates a cost-effective selling price. At this point, the reader realizes that there is a catch in the argument and that Swiftââ¬â¢s suggestion will be out of the ordinary. Then comes the ââ¬Å"surprise endingâ⬠: Swift suggests that that ââ¬Å"a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiledâ⬠(Swift, 1729, p. 9). He continues to devise plans for the sale of children and various ways to convert their flesh into delicacies. The reader is now aware that Swiftââ¬â¢s suggestion is pure irony. By giving the reader a jolt with his ââ¬Å"surprise ending,â⬠Swift greatly strengthens the validity of his real suggestion to improve the social and economic condition of Ireland under British rule in the eighteenth century: the taxation of absentee landlords, the promotion of locally manufactured goods, banning foreign luxury goods, practicing thrift and temperance and encouraging nationalism, brotherhood and virtue. He urges ââ¬Å"landlords to have at least one degree of mercy towards their tenantsâ⬠and shop-keepers to adopt ââ¬Å"a spirit of honesty, industry, and skillâ⬠(Swift, 1729, para. 29). This is Swiftââ¬â¢s real proposal. Swift skilfully uses his ââ¬Å"surprise endingâ⬠to stimulate interest, rouse the readerââ¬â¢s conscience and make the reader more receptive to his concrete suggestions to rectify the ills of the suffering Irish
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