English 102 was more challenging then I expected. I worked really hard on these papers. The most difficult thing I found in this class was the entire concept of analysis rather then just fact and research. I am a concrete girl. I like to have solid facts for everything, and even more so I always say what I mean. Analysis is assuming a writer has an underlying topic or comparisons going on. I don't do that I mean what I say and write what I mean. I don't guess what others are sneakily putting in their writing, talking about their childhood. I find literary analysis to be to inexact for me to enjoy, I feel like I am making up a story with little facts.
The other challenge I found was just keeping on task, reading, writing, working, reviewing, making time for all of it.
I learned a couple of little things about MLA format. I definitely learned a lot about how to write an analysis. I feel as though I have improved greatly in these past fourteen weeks.
Walter Kim’s Up in the Air chronicles
the experiences of Ryan Bingham, a middle class businessman who travels the
country working as a career transition counselor.This book, published in July 2001, focuses on
the experience of the common businessman trying to succeed in the rat race of the
corporate world.In 2009, Up in the Air was released as a movie,
but with some minor alterations that reflect the changes in American business during
that time period.After the book was
published in 2001, America was plunged into a time of war and economic
downturn.In order to survive the
economic struggle of the times, the focus of every company became to increase
efficiency and cut costs.From coast to
coast, countless men and women faced the foreboding feeling of corporate
downsizing, foreign outsourcing and technological advances that would lead them
to the unemployment line. While the book focuses primarily on Ryan Bingham’s
experience as an individual, the movie focuses on the drive of the business
world at large to continually improve the bottom line.
The main focus of the novel is Ryan’s
way of life: his occupation and how he uses his business resources to support
his ideal unorthodox lifestyle.Ryan’s
job is to diffuse tense situations and prevent potential lawsuits. His presence and complimentary services are
meant to give the impression that despite the fact that a company is willing to
put its loyal employees out on the streets, it still has a heart and is looking
out for their best interests. Ryan takes his merciless job in stride.It is a man eat man world out there and he
does what he has to survive in the rat race, “Our role is to make limbo
tolerable, to ferry wounded across the river of dread and humiliation and self-doubt
to the point at which hope’s bright shore is dimly visible, and then stop the
boat and make them swim while we row back to the palace of their banishment to
present the nobles with our bills.”(242-243 Kirn). Ryan’s career requires him
to travel all across the country from company to company.He has grown accustomed to his nomadic
lifestyle and prefers it to time at home. “Last year I spent 322 days on the
road, which means I had to spend 43 miserable days at home.”(Film). All of his
time spent in what he refers to as “airworld” has given birth to an ambition
that has become a personal obsession: to accumulate one million frequent flyer
miles. The travel required by his career is the method to accomplish this feat
which seems to be enough motivation to ease his conscience. He enjoys his time
on the road, his hotel stays, and the courteous service he receives from his accommodations.To him, a day off at home is depressing.He avoids the close personal relationships
that most people enjoy.For Ryan, the good
life is a life of solitude spent on the road in pursuit of the next
destination.The only other aspiration
Ryan seems to entertain is an elusive job with a mysterious elite company
called Mythtech.
The movie version of Up in the Air was released in 2009,
eight years after the books was published.During this time, the United States entered into a time of war and Wall
Street was hit hard.Statistics show
that the nation’s unemployment percentage had climbed from 4.2 percent in
January 2001 to 10.0 percent by October to 2009.(US Labor) The movie version is highly influenced by the drastic
change in the economic climate.America’s
unemployment rate skyrocketed as corporations looked to downsizing,
outsourcing, and technological advances to minimize labor costs. Even the
company Ryan works for in the movie is focused on optimizing its efficiency and
cutting costs. In the film, Ryan’s employer intends to overhaul its business
model to reduce travel expenses.Rather
than laying off employees in person, Ryan is now expected to handle these
delicate conversations via online chat. The company whose sole purpose is to
increase other company’s profitability by decreasing costs is looking for its
own ways to trim the fat at home.In the
book, Ryan was merely the instrument that brought devastation to the
individuals he fired, but in the movie Ryan himself turns victim to the
economic times.
Ryan’s transitioning company is ruining
his way of life. He prides himself on living without the normal things that
weigh you down like a house, a car, and relationships with others. These are the things in life that most people
find value in, but Ryan sees only the limitations of an average life.In the movie, Ryan says, “Moving is living.” When
Ryan’s boss calls him back to the office for a meeting that will prove to be a
real “game changer” Ryan says, “State of business needs me everywhere”, meaning
that his place is on the road because everyone is in need of his services.When he returns to the office for this
important meeting, Ryan discovers that the economic downturn has finally hit
home in an unexpected way. Ryan’s boss
emphasizes, “This is one of the worst times on record for America, this is our
moment.” Ryan finds himself grounded, his way of life brought to a halt and he
is outraged.This transition is being
led by his new co-worker, Natalie.Ryan
wastes no time confronting the source of his frustration, “Before you try revolutionizing
my business, I’d like to know that you know my business”, for him it is very
personal. When Ryan turns his outrage on his boss he is told, “Don’t blame me.
Blame the high fuel cost, blame insurance premiums, and blame technology.” This statement is very typical of the economy
in 2009.The excuses he had been taught
to feed others became his main course.Ryan was now faced with the same message that he had hand delivered to
thousands throughout his career: the company has chosen to make changes which
will directly affect your way of life and there is nothing you can do about it.
This drive for ever-increasing
efficiency can even be seen in Ryan’s habitual patterns while travelling.The novel was published in 2001 prior to the
September Eleventh attacks after which drastically heightened the security
screenings required for all airline passengers.The film highlights these added hassles and shows how Ryan has altered
his patterns to gracefully and efficiently overcome all of these obstacles. In
the film Ryan says, “Everything you probably hate about flying…. Are warm
reminders I am home” (film). The practiced and systemized way Ryan unpacks his
laptop and removes his shoes for the mandatory security screening could be likened
to coming home and kicking back on the couch for any other businessman. Ryan
notes common obstacles to avoid preventing any delays such as families, the
elderly, and Middle Easterners who are more likely to be “randomly selected for
additional screening.”His advice is to always
line up behind Asians because they pack efficiently and have an affinity for
slip-on shoes.This kind of racial
profiling became very common in airports after 911.He also insists that Natalie invest in a new
carry-on to replace her large luggage while travelling with him in order to
maintain efficiency, “Do you know how much time you lose by checking in?...
Thirty-five minutes per flight.I travel
270 days a year. That’s 157 hours. That makes 7 days.Are you willing to throw away an entire week
on that?”By 2009, efficiency became the
engrained motivator for every activity; efficiency had become the new heartbeat
of every businessman.
Corporate America evolved rapidly during this short
time period.The days previously spent
on travel quickly became an unneeded expenditure as the business world collided
head-on with the internet and other technological advances.The cost of hotel rooms and rental cars was
an unnecessary burden on the bottom line.The World Wide Web replaced Airworld and our hero’s dominion was
down-sized to a domain name.The world
of Ryan Bingham was forever changed, along with every other American businessman,
in the interest of the corporate dollar.
Works Cited
Kirn, Walter. Up in the Air. New York:
Anchor-Random, 2001. Print.
Up in the Air. Dir.Jason Reitman. Paramount. 2009.
DVD
United States. Dept. of Labor. “Labor
ForceStatistics." data.bls.gov. US Dept. of Labor. April, 2012. Web. 21 April2012
Walter Kim’s Up in the Air chronicles the experiences
of Ryan Bingham, a middle class businessman who travels the country working as
a career transition counselor.This
book, published in July 2001, focuses on the experience of the common
businessman trying to succeed in the rat race of the corporate world.In 2009, “Up in the Air” was released as a
movie, but with some minor alterations that reflect the changes in American
business during that time period.After
the book was published in 2001, America was plunged into a time of war and
economic downturn.In order to survive
the economic struggle of the times, the focus of every company became to
increase efficiency and cut cost.From
coast to coast, countless men and women faced the foreboding feeling of
corporate downsizing, foreign outsourcing and technological advances that would
lead them to the unemployment line.While the book focused primarily on Ryan Bingham’s experience as an individual,
the movie brought a new perspective to the audience by highlighting the effects
of Ryan Bingham’s actions on the business community at large.What began as an egocentric tale of a
businessman’s desire for success regardless of the cost, broadened to a social
commentary on the effects of this same impulse in the hands of corporate
America.
Up In the Air by Walter Kim, was an uneventful life study. Ryan the main
character is dry, goal oriented impassioned man. He works his heartless job of
firing people across the country. Instead of having a home he has airworld,
his made up version of a nonexistent place. A place he reveres beyond all
others.
I find character and psychological studies like this fascinating. The way
Ryan thinks and acts, the way he calculates every move and how it will affect
his job, life, and most importantly his frequent flyer
miles is enthralling. Not to say I love the writing style or seemingly
nonexistent plot. It was hard to get through. One of those sit down and force
yourself to read kind of books. Up In the Air Preview
Winter’s Bone,
a novel by Daniel Woodrell, examines how the hardships in life are often a
catalyst for personal character development. Set in the backwoods of the
Ozark mountains, this story is filled with undesirable characters who partake
in drugs, crime and domestic abuse on a daily basis. The heroine of this
novel is Ree Dolly, a young girl who must take a dangerous stand for the
survival of her family. She stands alone against a pitiless community ran
by an abusive and chauvinistic patriarchy. She receives countless
warnings and threats of violence for her actions, and although it may lead to
her death, she fearlessly persists for the sake of her family. This
selflessness and sense of moral responsibility is unseen in the other
characters of this novel and proves to be her greatest strength.
Throughout her trials, Ree finds the courage to confront long-standing social
norms of her community, and although she alone may not be able to change the
community at large, she finds the strength to prevent it from changing
her.
The community of the
Ozark Mountains is very isolated and has been made up of the same families for
generations. These families were previously known for their illegal
production of moonshine during Prohibition and now make their money by
producing methamphetamine. Woodrell describes the setting of his novel as
a neighborhood where the houses are surrounded by heaps of trash and rundown
cars, but the children play happily in the yard. Children in this
community grow up with low expectations and no real hopes of being able to
leave the Ozarks. The girls are expected to marry and often become
pregnant as teenagers. The boys are expected to continue the family
business of producing meth. Overseeing and enforcing this social code is
a patriarchy of men that will not tolerate any challenge to their way of life.
After Ree’s father is
arrested for producing meth, she is saddled with the responsibility of caring
for her two younger brothers and her mother, who has become mentally unfit to
raise them herself. She is forced to drop out of school and sacrifice her
own dreams of happiness and fulfillment in order to compensate for her absent
parents. Within the first few pages of Woodrell’s novel, she demonstrates
her new role as caretaker for her younger brothers, “Finish up eatin’. Bus’ll
be along soon.” (6) She teaches them life skills that they should be
learning from their father and mother. Ree teaches the boys to shoot,
“she steadied their arms and guided their fingers” (79) and cook, implying that
she will not always be there to do it for them, “… eyes peeled and watch every
goddam thing I do. Learn how I make it, then you both’ll know.”(19).
Ree’s situation is further complicated when she finds out that her father has
used their family home to post bail and has left town. She has no other
choice but to find him herself or forfeit their family home for his
transgressions.
The women in Ree’s family and community are not treated well and are expected
to know their place. A woman’s role is to cook and clean and do anything
else she is told. Women must obey. The men of the Dolly clan
consider their word to be the law; in fact, they even fancy themselves above
the law. They take care of their own problems and under no circumstance say
anything to the police. All the men in the clan are “outlaws who cook crank as
their daddies brewed moonshine before them.” (NP Bowman). While Ree interacts
with her rough and tumble uncle, Teardrop, you see a glimpse of this
patriarchal oppression when he says to his fifth wife, “I said shut up once
already, with my mouth.”(25). Ree’s only hope of finding her father is to
confront her family and neighbors for any clues of his whereabouts. In doing
so, Ree goes beyond her rank in the social hierarchy and angers many of the
characters. She is called “girl” multiple times in a condescending way
that implies she has no right to be demanding answers since she is not a man,
nor even a woman. Even the sheriff of the town shares this mentality as
he explains to her that her father has disappeared, “Girl, I been lookin’.”
(15) No one is eager to help her and many send her away with threats if
she is unwilling to heed their warning to go home and end her
search.
For Ree, her fear of
violence is surpassed by her devotion to her family and she refuses to back
down, “I can’t listen. I just can’t listen.” (132) She knows she has
exhausted all of her resources and cannot take “no” for an answer from the only
people who might know something that could save her family from eviction and
certain ruin. After being brutally beaten, she makes a heartfelt and realistic
plea for help to the top patriarch of the clan, “I gotta prove dad’s dead…If Dad
did wrong, dad has paid. But I can’t forever carry both… them boys’n
Mom…not…without that house to help.”(134) Even though her actions are never
glorified, her courage is noticed even by those who advised her to surrender
her search, “You took that beatin’ good as most men I’ve seen.” (148)
“Folks have noticed the sand you got, girl.”(150)
Despite the hostile
environment that Ree has grown up in, she has developed an extraordinary moral
compass. She advises her brothers, “Don’t fight if you can help it. But
if one of you gets whipped by somebody both of you better come home bloody.”
(48). This statement reveals a person who is well aware that at time conflict
is unavoidable, but there are some issues worth fighting for. For Ree,
her devotion to the welfare of her family is one such issue that is worth
facing any danger. “You got you a whole bunch of stuff you’re goin’ to have to
get over bein’ scared of boy.” (107) It is remarkable that she has
developed into such a brave, well-balanced youth without a strong female role
model to help guide her.
Ree’s mother was once
described as beautiful; the kind of woman men would go out of their way to
flirt with. She used to dance and be happy, but it seems like things just
slowly deteriorated. She cheated on her husband and paid the price for
it, “no-strings roll in the hay with a stranger lead to chipped teeth or
cigarette burns on the wrist” (42). Her father also had affairs, one of
which Ree believes ultimately led to her mother’s catatonic state. “Mom’s
mind didn’t break loose and scatter to the high weeds until …she learned about
dad’s girlfriend.”(30). Ree undoubtedly learned two things from her
mother: life is filled with double-standards and unfair situations and all
wrong-doings come with a price.
Another influential female role model is her friend Gail. Ree and Gail
have been friends since the third grade. They chased frogs together, fed hogs
together, and experimented with one another. They were as close as two people
can be. Until one drunken night, Gail had a one-night stand which led to an
unintended pregnancy. Due to this event, she “had been required by
pregnancy to marry Floyd Langan.” (31) Neither of them wanted the
marriage, Floyd even had a long-time girlfriend, but they had no choice. He
does not love Gail and has affairs of his own “I know when he says deer stand
it means he’s gone to fuck Heather.”(82). The relationship is strained
and, as with most women, marriage meant the loss of Gail’s freedom. Floyd
controls every aspect of her life. When Ree comes to visit, he says, “she
can come in” (33) and soon after she arrives he says, “Don’t hang around too
long. She’s got that kid now.” (33). He shows no interest in his parental
responsibility at all; however, when Gail stays out later than he approves, he
takes his son and tells her she might as well not have come home at all.
Floyd manipulates and controls Gail, and Gail feels she has no choice but to
obey as all of the other women do. Ree explains to Gail how upsetting it
is to see her taking orders and not doing things she would normally do, but
Gail has resigned to this being her lot in life. Ree asks if the reason
she stays with Floyd is because she truly loves him despite the
mistreatment. To this Gail responds that she loves her son, and he will
need his father. For Ree, Gail exemplifies a woman who has resigned to
misery because she never had the courage to challenge social
expectations.
Winter’s
Bone is actually a “coming of age” story for the character of Ree Dolly.
Ree’s character begins to develop as a young child observing her family and
neighbors. The women around her are expected to submit to the direction
of their husbands and fathers. They are subjected to horrible treatment and
lose their voice and personal power in the process of adhering the social
expectations of the community. Ree witnesses the hardships these women
face and finds the courage to challenge the established authorities in order to
survive. Her daring determination is not a virtue learned by role models
within her life, but a valiant attempt to maintain her personal independence in
a world where she is destined to lose it.
Works
Cited
Bowman, David. “Hillbilly Noir.” New York Times: Sunday Book Review. 17
September 2006. Web. 20 March 2012.
Woodrell, Daniel. Winter’s Bone. New York. Little. Aug. 2006. Print.
I reacted so strongly to the
responsibility of the main character, Ree. She took on the role of the mother and father. I have been
there. My parents divorced and even though my brother was older I became the
man of the house. I fixed things kept an eye on my brother.
I love that the gender roles come out of
the box in the story. Ree teaches her brothers how to shoot, hunt and cook. At
the same time the men in the extended family do treat her like a stupid girl
but she tries to stand on her own two feet. She takes on the full responsibility of the house, even trying
to hunt down her irresponsible crack-making father. She tries to keep the
burden off her mentally unstable mother, and brother by keeping everything to
herself and trying to handle it all by herself.
I’m sure we all feel at some point that
taking all the responsibility on ourselves is the best thing. There have been
many times for me. It seems kinder. Trying to just do the right thing keep
everyone you love, as happy and healthy as possible.
Tribulation for love.. I guess that is how I would describe it. Taking one for the team. Responsibility that she neither anticipated or desired.
In
“Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street,” Melville shares the story of
a scribe working in a law office in order to convey a social change in the
common man’s work ethic and the negative effects it will have on society.The narrator of this story is an average, yet
successful, lawyer who represents the Protestant ethics of work and
charity.Bartleby, on the other hand,
represents a new social class that shows no regard for this outdated mode of
thinking.Throughout the story, the
narrator makes countless attempts to aid Bartleby in his struggles with no
success.Melville makes it apparent that
the ways of Bartleby, and this new social class, will inevitably lead to their
own destruction.
The
narrator of this story is a middle-class man who has made his way in the world
by meeting society’s status quo.He is
not one to challenge social norms or draw attention to himself in anyway; his
success lies in conformity.“I am one of those unambitious lawyers who
never addresses a jury, or in any way draws down public applause; but in the
cool tranquility of a snug retreat, do a snug business among rich men’s bonds
and mortgages and title-deeds… my first grand point to be prudence; my next,
method.”(Melville).
It is obvious that the narrator looks for
similar virtues in the company he keeps: “…Nippers, like his compatriot Turkey,
was a very useful man to me; wrote a neat, swift hand; and, when he chose, was
not deficient in a gentlemanly sort of deportment. Added to this, he always
dressed in a gentlemanly sort of way; and so, incidentally, reflected credit
upon my chambers.”(Melville).From the
narrator’s standpoint, a successful business life requires a man to be dedicated
to his work and to comply with social expectations with a professional and
genteel demeanor.This was a typical
outlook for a Wall Street businessman at the time that Melville wrote this
story.New York in the 1850s was plagued
by poverty in the lower class and an ever-increasing population due to
immigration.Any businessman who
challenged social norms and stood in the way of success was destined to lose
his position in society and face poverty.
Initially,
the narrator believes his newly hired employee, Bartleby, to be a man who
shares in his views of propriety and industry, “Bartleby did an extraordinary
quantity of writing. As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to
gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion. He ran a day
and night line, copying by sun-light and by candle-light.” (Melville).Bartleby seemed to be the ideal
employee.He completed an extraordinary
quantity of work and never showed any signs of mood swings which were
characteristic of the narrator’s other employees.Indeed, the narrator was quite pleased with
his new acquisition until one day Bartleby refused to comply with his
supervisors request to help him review a document, “Imagine my surprise, nay,
my consternation, when without moving from his privacy, Bartleby in a
singularly mild, firm voice, replied, “I would prefer not to.””(Melville). “I would prefer not to” becomes Bartleby’s
response to all miscellaneous requests that are put to him.He refuses to review his work, or run
errands, or do any task other than copying documents at his desk.Then one day he announces, “I have given up
copying.”(Melville). Although Bartleby prefers not to complete any of the tasks
associated with his job, he also prefers not to quit or leave the narrator’s
office. Bartleby’s actions represent a
new social class that is no longer willing to conform to the demands of
bureaucratic society.
The
narrator is perplexed by Bartleby’s refusal to fulfill his duties or to quit
his job, and is not sure how to address the situation.He later discovers that Bartleby is living in
the office and pities his condition, “it is evident enough that Bartleby has
been making his home here, keeping bachelor’s hall all by himself. Immediately
then the thought came sweeping across me, what miserable friendlessness and
loneliness are here revealed! His poverty is great; but his solitude, how
horrible.” (Melville).Bartleby has
refused conformity and his choice is leading him down a path of social
deterioration.The narrator pities his
condition and resolves to be charitable and shelter him from the punishment
society has in store, “Poor fellow! thought I, he means no mischief; it is
plain he intends no insolence; his aspect sufficiently evinces that his
eccentricities are involuntary…If I
turn him away, the chances are he will fall in with some less indulgent
employer, and then he will be rudely treated, and perhaps driven forth
miserably to starve… To befriend Bartleby; to humor him in his strange
willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what
will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience.” (Melville). The
narrator’s Christian charity moves him to offer aid to Bartleby in any way he
can.His only hope is to help Bartleby
until he is able to help himself.
In
order to survive on Wall Street, Bartleby must choose to assume is proper role,
but it is evident that he “would prefer not to.”The narrator patiently tries to coherse
Bartleby to fulfill his duties as a scrivener, but is unsuccessful.He finally chooses to abandon his trials and
relocate his office, deeming the situation hopeless.His fear is that since he is unable to cure
Bartleby of his condition, it is more likely that Bartleby’s attitude will
become contagious and ruin those around him, “Somehow, of late I had got into
the way of involuntarily using this word “prefer” upon all sorts of not exactly
suitable occasions. And I trembled to think that my contact with the scrivener
had already and seriously affected me in a mental way. And what further and
deeper aberration might it not yet produce?...I thought to myself, surely I must get rid of a demented man, who
already has in some degree turned the tongues, if not the heads of myself and
clerks.” (Melville).Bartleby is left
for the next tenants to deal with and is seen, “…haunting the building
generally, sitting upon the banisters of the stairs by day, and sleeping in the
entry by night.” (Melville).Without the
charity of the narrator, Bartleby is left unsupported and picked up as a
vagrant.He is taken to the Halls of
Justice and held on a vagrancy charge until his death.At his death, the narrator closes Bartleby’s
eyes and remarks that he, “Lives without dining.” (Melville). This statement
reflects the misery that Bartleby endured living a life in disagreement with
social expectation.Had he been willing
to play his part and appreciate his good social standing, he would have also
been able to find joy in life be it by success or relationships.
Melville’s
Bartleby represents a new social class that is growing from the social unrest
in New York during the 1850s.The lower
class, made up mostly of immigrants, was experiencing extreme poverty.The narrator represents a middle class that
is bound to a rigid social structure in order maintain its affluence.Melville uses these characters to expose the
harsh reality that without this adherence to the “old ways” the middle class
and society at large faces deterioration.
Works
Cited
Melville, Herman. Bartleby, the Scrivener. A Story of
Wall-street. New York, 1853. Bartleby.com . web. 22 February 2012.
“Now, the utterly unsurmised appearance of Bartleby, tenanting
my law-chambers of a Sunday morning, with his cadaverously gentlemanly nonchalance, yet withal firm
and self-possessed, had such a strange effect upon me, that incontinently I
slunk away from my own door, and did as desired. But not without sundry twinges
of impotent rebellion against the mild effrontery of this unaccountable
scrivener. Indeed, it was his wonderful mildness chiefly, which not only
disarmed me, but unmanned me, as it were. For I consider that one, for the
time, is a sort of unmanned when he tranquilly permits his hired clerk to
dictate to him, and order him away from his own premises.” (Melville NP)
Melville, Herman. Bartleby, the
Scrivener: A Story of Wall-street. 1853
The story of the Scrivener has some literary foreshadowing. I found Melville’s use of words very
interesting. Melville uses “Cadaverously” which foreshadows the death of
Bartleby in the last couple of paragraphs. The deathly persona Bartleby puts
off makes the propriator enough that even though Bartleby is his employee, and
has no business being there, he lets it slide. The “sundry twinges” are his
discomfort with death or deathly character talking to him and making him do its
will. Death can “unman” a man, make him feel like an uneasy child.
In my opinion Bartleby probably was displaying symptoms of schizophrenia. Which on set can come in early adulthood. For more information on schizophrenia click HERE.
A summary, is a simple this is what
happened in the book, movie what have you. It is a true undeniable fact of what
happened in the story.
An analysis, analyzes the text or
story for themes, trends, patterns, characters and making an arguable claim to
its underlying meaning. Underlying, like not visible or outright. It is a
deeper look trying to see something that may or may not be there.
I think as a writer I NEVER have
underlying anything. Seriously is every author thoughtful or conniving enough to
put basically a secret in their work? I sincerely wonder if everyone has
underlying motives, intentions, or meanings? It has become a theme in my life
and now I am going to become a crazy person who overanalyzes what anyone says
or writes, to try to understand why, EVEN if there is absolutely no reason or
underlying motivation.
Swift identifies and explains the
hunger and overpopulation if his society, of Dublin Ireland in 1729. His
“scheme” as he called it was to care for and provide for the children born to
the poor until the age of 1 year then sell them as a delicacy. It would provide
income, eliminate another mouth to feed, and actually feed a whole family with
good “infant flesh”.
Thankfully, Swift was not serious
when he suggested eating babies to solve the hunger and overpopulation problem
in Dublin in 1729. He was criticizing the political and economic policies of
Ireland and England. Ireland was downtrodden filled with the poor facing
disease, starvation, and prejudice.
His solution is totally irrational.
It would never work for countless reasons. People have an ethical issue with
cannibalism especially eating babies. I think most women would not want to give
up any of their babies, but I suppose if things got bad enough they felt ending
the baby’s life would be the most humane thing to do it could happen. I think
if someone really didn’t have scruples they could just produce children to sell
them, like potentially a prostitute or drug addict. Potentially a person could
also imprison women for the sole purpose of making and selling babies, like
cattle.
Swift’s proposal is horrifying but
if we were lacking any sort of principals, ethics, or morals it would be a
viable solution. I figure if we were all animals eating and surviving would be
the only thing we were looking for. His evidence is the sheer number of beggars
and mouths to feed. It is especially true for the Irish Catholics he refers to
as “constant breeders”.
Source of information: http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/ModProposal.html, http://www.enotes.com/modest-proposal-criticism/modest-proposal-jonathan-swift
