Children are now comparable to simple farm animals that are slaughtered daily without a second thought because there is no moral issue present. Swift defends his proposal by saying, "I can think of no one objection that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged that the number of people will thereby be much lessened in the kingdom" (BL 1143). Irony is blatantly evident in this statement, since mankind would never support mass child cannibalism, or any cannibalism for that matter. By using such bitingly ironic tones, Swift tries to capture the attention of an audience whose indifference is apparent in the nation's regrettable state.
Another method Swift uses to exaggerate and justify his "Modest Proposal" is a factual tone. By presenting some minor calculations, Swift believes to further vindicate his proposal. .
The number of souls in this kingdom being usually reckoned one million and a half, of these I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders, from which number I subtract thirty thousand couple who are able to maintain their own children. there will remain a hundred and seventy thousand breeders. I again subtract fifty thousand for those women who miscarry, or whose children die by accident or disease within the year. There only remain a hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born. (BL 1139).
By dividing the population up for the reader, Swift implies that the one hundred and twenty thousand children remaining are an insignificant number as compared to the original one and a half million. In Swift's final calculation he outlines, "Thirdly, whereas the maintenance of a hundred thousand children from two years old and upwards cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a piece per annum, besides the profit of a new dish introduced to the tables. and the money will circulate among ourselves, the goods being entirely of our own growth and manufacture" (BL 1142).
