Tantalus, king of Sipylos, was distinctively favored among the mortals of Greece. He had a banquet, which he invited gods and goddesses, major or minor, to feast. He didn't know of any dish worthy to be served to the immortals, so he sacrificed his most valuable possession, his son Pelops, to be made the main dish. The gods found out and punished Tantalus to be immersed neck deep in water with a fruit tree above him, always thirsty but never able to drink, always hungry but never able to eat, for water and fruit shifted from his reach. In this excerpt from A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift ridicules British rule and develops a design to end unemployment, poverty, and deaths in Ireland. He proposes an idea so outlandish, so unorthodox, that it cannot help but catch his readers" attention. His deliberate language, convoluted style, and underlying tone contribute to the sarcastic effect on his piece, accomplishing its goal, conveying its message.
Swift attests his friend's merit humbly while he continues upon his absurd idea of sacrificing youths for the good of Ireland. His bombastic manner and repetition of his friend's qualities, "very worthy person", "true lover of his country", "whose virtues I highly esteem", add to his sardonic tone, leading up to an additional idea, one that rids current "grievances". In saying that there was a new source of "venison" for the "gentlemen" of the country, he mentions that the rich young men have "of late destroyed their deer", giving it a barely controlled, annoyed quality, making the audience, if at least a bit intelligent, realize how subtly he hints of their wastefulness. Swift then suggests the use of "lads and maidens" for them to hunt with, not unlike the forfeit made to the Minotaur. He adds that there are plenty of both sexes in every country "ready to starve for want of work and service", signifying the unemployment problems, causing the reader to visualize the ragged youths starving for work to aid their parents, and of the helplessness of them, not being able to find work, then being "disposed", a term one uses when applying to trash, to "their nearest relation", where they might be a burden there also.