Jonathan Swift, in his "A modest proposal", uses the speaker as a subtle yet effective means of conveying the problem of poverty in ireland. throughout the pamphlet the speaker moves from a totally rational approach to the problem towards a very sarcastic one. Swift, through the speaker, suggests that the ideal way to end poverty in ireland is to turn children of poor families into a food source. He proposes that the children not only …showed first 75 words of 260 total…

…showed last 75 words of 260 total…about the less fortunate instead of always thinking about themselves. The speaker begins this pamphlet in a very rational tone and states the problem "cabin doors crowded with beggers of the female sex, followed by three, four , or six cildren, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms" (Swift 2-4). This rational voice is what makes the paper believable at first; the problem is laid out before the reader in a methodical manner.