Raise your hand if you forgot or didn't realise that Jonathon Swift was taking the piss?*
...
*raises hand*
It can be found here by the way. Definitely worth a look if you haven't read it before.
*Taking the piss = making fun
A Modest Proposal
Moderator: Orlion
-
Hound Of Chulainn
- Ramen
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 4:53 am
- Location: Cibola, Seven-in-One, the City that is Promised
A Modest Proposal
Last edited by Hound Of Chulainn on Tue Sep 26, 2006 2:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Endut!
Hoch Hech!
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Endut!
Hoch Hech!
-
Alynna Lis Eachann
- Lord
- Posts: 3060
- Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2002 8:23 pm
- Location: Maryland, my Maryland
ROTFL! Sorry, not I. Clued in from the get-go.
We read it some time in high school, and I still remember the one girl who just Missed the Point. Which was weird, really, because she got that it was satire and she was supposed to outraged at some level, but she was outraged at Swift instead of the English.
We read it some time in high school, and I still remember the one girl who just Missed the Point. Which was weird, really, because she got that it was satire and she was supposed to outraged at some level, but she was outraged at Swift instead of the English.
"We probably could have saved ourselves, but we were too damned lazy to try very hard... and too damn cheap." - Kurt Vonnegut
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
"Now if you remember all great paintings have an element of tragedy to them. Uh, for instance if you remember from last week, the unicorn was stuck on the aircraft carrier and couldn't get off. That was very sad. " - Kids in the Hall
You had me scratching my head there for a minute. I've never heard the expression "taking the piss." I thought maybe I was getting A Modest Proposal mixed up with another Swift essay. 
A Modest Proposal is great. Yeah, I remember two folks in my class (and this was college!) who were pretty clueless. One missed the point completely--couldn't believe that Swift could propose such a thing. The other understood the satire, but was sickened by the subject--how dare Swift make light of something so foul. Whatever.
You know, population is getting out of control these days and people continue having babies they can't care for. Government can't take care of everyone. Hmmm...if a mother needs a little extra cash...
A Modest Proposal is great. Yeah, I remember two folks in my class (and this was college!) who were pretty clueless. One missed the point completely--couldn't believe that Swift could propose such a thing. The other understood the satire, but was sickened by the subject--how dare Swift make light of something so foul. Whatever.
You know, population is getting out of control these days and people continue having babies they can't care for. Government can't take care of everyone. Hmmm...if a mother needs a little extra cash...
Proverbs for Paranoids #3.
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.
If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers.
-
Hound Of Chulainn
- Ramen
- Posts: 96
- Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 4:53 am
- Location: Cibola, Seven-in-One, the City that is Promised
My fault - It's a term used in the UK and the former colonies for making fun.Tulizar wrote:You had me scratching my head there for a minute. I've never heard the expression "taking the piss." I thought maybe I was getting A Modest Proposal mixed up with another Swift essay.
And the great thing is that if you don't realise what's happening, you find yourself thinking "Well... guy's got a point there, actually." Which is wrong, or course, but it's difficult to fault his logic.
"But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Endut!
Hoch Hech!
"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."
"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
Endut!
Hoch Hech!
-
duchess of malfi
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 11104
- Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2002 9:20 pm
- Location: Michigan, USA
-
Holsety
- The Gap Into Spam
- Posts: 3490
- Joined: Sun May 21, 2006 8:56 pm
- Location: Principality of Sealand
- Has thanked: 5 times
- Been thanked: 5 times
Well, I happen to disagree that it's difficult to fault his logic. There were many other solutions to the problem in Ireland, some of which Swift championed in letters to parliament. Rather, A Modest Proposal's logic is, I feel, that considering how little England had done for Ireland it might well resort to well regulated cannibalism.Hound Of Chulainn wrote:My fault - It's a term used in the UK and the former colonies for making fun.Tulizar wrote:You had me scratching my head there for a minute. I've never heard the expression "taking the piss." I thought maybe I was getting A Modest Proposal mixed up with another Swift essay.
And the great thing is that if you don't realise what's happening, you find yourself thinking "Well... guy's got a point there, actually." Which is wrong, or course, but it's difficult to fault his logic.
However, the excellently performed grammatical subordination of the basis of his rational argument (listing off a number of arguable facts early on without discussing them in depth, as though they had been previously agreed upon) makes the writing all the more brilliant.