"I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for Landlords; who, as they have already devoured most of the Parents, seem to have the best Title to the Children" (Swift). This is an example of the distancing effect that Swift puts on the metaphor. He distances the reader from the actual feelings that he should be experiencing. The vocabulary that Swift employees, forces the reader to focus on economic opportunities rather than the necessities of the poor. In the same way that Swift felt the English had been doing all along. Using the word "devoured" is very powerful and it goes beyond the ordinary language associated with economics. It demands that the reader interpret the text in the manner that Swift has decided he should. The cruelty of the text continues on throughout the quote. This reader is shocked by the violence that is created by the economic situation. It makes the landlords appear as if they are actually devouring their tenants rather than protecting them. By using language Swift is able to go a step further and create double meanings out of the words. For example in the last quote from the proposal, the word "dear" can be taken two ways. The first meaning, as it appears, a precious thing. The second meaning of the word dear can be taken as a key to the value of money, something the English keep taking from the Irish. By selling the children, economic gains can be made to profit the English and Irish alike. Swift choose his word carefully in order to convey what he witnessed in Ireland. The English were devouring the Irish and sending them into devastating depths of poverty. The second party that Swift criticizes is the Irish. By saying that the Irish can sell their children on the market for money implies two things: One that the English have oppressed them beyond a limit of rationality and two that the Irish are letting the English take advantage of them.
