A Modest Proposal
Introduction + Context
Plot Summary
Detailed Summary & Analysis
Themes
All Themes Satire and Sincerity Colonialism, Greed, and Inhumanity Society, Rationality, and Irrationality Misanthropy (Hatred of Humankind)
Quotes
Characters
All Characters The Proposer George Psalmanazar The Pretender
Symbols
All Symbols Eating
Literary Devices
All Literary Devices Ethos Genre Irony Logos Mood Motifs Pathos Satire Setting Situational Irony Style Tone Unreliable Narrator Verbal Irony
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A Modest Proposal

by

Jonathan Swift
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The Pretender Character Analysis

The Pretender, mentioned twice, is James Francis Edward Stuart, the son of the recently deposed King James II. (King James II was replaced as the leader of England by William III and Mary II in what was known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688.) James Francis Edward Stuart, a Roman Catholic with the support of the Pope, claimed to be the true heir of the British throne, though that claim was denied by the Protestant English (hence the nickname they called him by: The Pretender). Because he was Catholic, he was favored by the Catholic population of Ireland, and became a figure of hope and revolution for them, and much hated by the English.

The Pretender Quotes in A Modest Proposal

The A Modest Proposal quotes below are all either spoken by The Pretender or refer to The Pretender. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Satire and Sincerity Theme Icon
).
A Modest Proposal Quotes

For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly over-run, being the principal breeders of the nation as well as our most dangerous enemies; and who stay at home on purpose to deliver the kingdom to the pretender, hoping to take their advantage by the absence of so many good protestants, who have chosen rather to leave their country than stay at home and pay tithes against their conscience to an episcopal curate.

Related Characters: The Proposer (speaker), The Pretender
Colonialism, Greed, and Inhumanity Theme Icon
Society, Rationality, and Irrationality Theme Icon
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Pretender Quotes in A Modest Proposal

The A Modest Proposal quotes below are all either spoken by The Pretender or refer to The Pretender. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Satire and Sincerity Theme Icon
).
A Modest Proposal Quotes

For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of papists, with whom we are yearly over-run, being the principal breeders of the nation as well as our most dangerous enemies; and who stay at home on purpose to deliver the kingdom to the pretender, hoping to take their advantage by the absence of so many good protestants, who have chosen rather to leave their country than stay at home and pay tithes against their conscience to an episcopal curate.

Related Characters: The Proposer (speaker), The Pretender
Colonialism, Greed, and Inhumanity Theme Icon
Society, Rationality, and Irrationality Theme Icon
Page Number: 56
Explanation and Analysis:
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