Satire Test Review

What is the author’s purpose in writing “A Modest Proposal”?

• To quickly reduce the population of Ireland

• To call attention to the problem of poverty in Ireland

• To enable poor mothers to earn more money

• To encourage Catholics to leave Ireland

In "A Modest Proposal", what problem does the narrator call attention to in the first paragraph?

• His own inability to find work

• Female beggars accompanied by children

• His wife’s inability to bear children

• The country's ongoing war with Spain.

In "A Modest Proposal", what is Swift’s main purpose in the opening paragraphs?

• To persuade people that poor children should be slaughtered

• To describe the misery and extent of poverty in Ireland

• To prove that he has no personal stake in writing the proposal

• To explain why the poor depend on begging for their livelihood

In "A Modest Proposal", what does Swift propose doing to solve the problem of poverty in Ireland?

• Sell children of the poor into slavery

• Ship all Catholic children to England

• Slaughter children of the poor for food

• Train poor children for the English army

In "A Modest Proposal", according to the narrator, at what age is a child best suited to serve as the solution to the problem he identifies?

• One year

• Six years

• Three years

• Twelve years

In "A Modest Proposal", after identifying the details of his proposal, the narrator points out “one other collateral Advantage”. What is that advantage?

• Reducing noise pollution in the vicinity of playgrounds

• Lessening the number of papists (i.e., Catholics)

• Freeing fathers from the burden of caring for their children

• Improving the diets of adults

In "A Modest Proposal", according to the narrator, a gentleman should be prepared to pay how much for “the carcass of a good fat child”?

• Twelve pence

• Ten shillings

• Two guineas

• One pound

Toward the end of "A Modest Proposal", the narrator rejects alternative solutions. Which one of the following is NOT one of the “other expedients” that he considers and immediately rejects?

• Taxing absentee landlords at five shillings a pound

• Requiring shopkeepers to buy only goods that have been made in Ireland

• Putting children to work at a young age

• Quitting animosities and factions, and learning to love “our country”

In "A Modest Proposal", what evidence does Swift give to prove that he will not benefit from his plan?

• His children are too old, and his wife is past child-bearing age

• He is English and therefore cannot sell any of his children for profit

• He will voluntarily avoid selling or buying any children for five years

• He is a priest of the Church of England and has no children

In "A Modest Proposal", Swift includes many facts and statistics. What seems to be his purpose in including this information?

• To convince people to act

• To make his proposal to appear logical

• To add humor to his proposal

• To justify laws to protect the poor