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WorksheetsA Modest Proposal
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 5mins
Swift’s sale of children is primarily meant to:
Increase Ireland’s population.
Satirically criticize English policies.
Improve children’s nutrition.
Lower landowners’ taxes.
Swift claims there are about _____ poor children born each year in Ireland.
20K
30K
80K
120K
When Swift reserves 20,000 children for “breeding,” his purpose is to:
Offer a genuine demographic plan.
Mock how people treat humans like livestock.
Propose genetic improvement.
Describe literal animal husbandry.
“One 28‑pound child should be enough for two dishes at a dinner” is an example of:
Logical reasoning
Hyperbole and dark humor
Statistical data
Moral appeal
Comparing landlords to creatures that “devour” tenants is:
Irony criticizing exploitation.
A literal praise of their power.
A non‑satirical simile.
An agricultural comparison.
In paragraph 7, Swift explicitly dismisses the idea of:
Raising taxes on the English.
Planting more crops.
Expelling colonists.
Encouraging shopkeepers’ honesty.
Saying a baby will be “plump and fit” after nursing for a month serves to:
Support the proposal with science.
Ridicule the commodification of children.
Promote maternal health.
Suggest feeding techniques.
Swift’s real audience for this satire is:
Irish nobles
The English ruling class
Poor farmers
Religious scribes
The problem–solution–objection structure makes the argument:
Clearer and more convincing.
Hide the true critique.
Present economic formulas.
Serve as a parenting guide.
Swift’s final comparative question aims to:
Weigh moral cost vs. benefit.
Propose a political alternative.
Spark religious debate.
Measure population growth.
