Swift Wants to Fry Up Your Baby and Make Sweet Bacon!

During the early 1800's, a general strife was ongoing in Ireland, if one can deduce such facts from the allusions in Jonathon Swift's "A Modest Proposal". In the beginning of his satire, Swift draws in the reader by lamenting about the conditions of his town and country, "see the streets, the roads, the cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms," (Greenblatt, et al, 2006). Apparently, the Irish countryside was flooded with beggars, many of them mothers with children in tow. Not only that, but the children born and raised in the degradation of perpetual poverty would only rise up to 'serve abroad' or likewise become beggars themselves. A last choice for the poor children of Ireland was to be a thief.

If the children truly wanted to aid society, Swift reasoned the only way for them to do that was to become a food source for the rich. The selling of children to the rich would help the oppressed people and made sense because, "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," (Greenblatt et al, 2006). In humorous tones, Swift goes on to describe the problems that the selling and eating of children would solve, such as 'lessening the number of papists [priests]', help tenants pay their rent, cause mothers to value their children even more (the ones they intend to keep at least), and it would cause men to appreciate their wives more because they would be more valuable as breeders, like cows, (Greenblatt et al, 2006).

All humor aside, what Swift really would have liked to have seen solved was taxes, pride, vanity, nationalism, fair dealings among merchants and shopkeepers, empathy from landlords towards their tenants, and an all encompassing goodness of man that would not so easily sell out his country or fellow man for nothing, (Greenblatt et al, 2006). His arguments were given more meaning because of the flippant way he made fun of them to begin with. There was truth in his humor and passion in his ending arguments that could not be denied.

Revolutionary writing like "A Modest Proposal" is necessary because it serves the purpose of illuminating the wrongs of society. It may not illustrate how to correct them, but by articulating the problems, change can occur over time once people begin to understand what is wrong and how it can be amended.

References:

Greenblatt, et al. [Eds]. (2006). The norton anthology english literature (8th ed.). New York NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Babies Have Another Way to Communicate: Sign Language!

Until they are about 8-12 months of age, babies only have one sure way of communicating: crying. Other subtle signs babies communicate like yawns, wetting their lips, or wiping their eyes can also cue a parent in to issues of hunger or sleepiness. However, babies begin to understand the cadence of language and meanings of words well before their first birthday, (Babies, 2006 ). Therefore, a baby might have more complex desires beyond that of the standard clean diaper, full tummy, and well-rested body. For instance, a baby might want to cuddle with their favorite stuffed animal or blanket, be read a story, or inform the parent that they are feeling too hot. In order to harness the full communication potential in an infant, a parent can utilize the power of sign language.

“Signing with babies, whether hearing or deaf, has proven to be beneficial,” (Berke, 2009). Not only will a baby or young toddler be able to let a parent know that they want their blue socks instead of their red socks, but American Sign Language is the 3^rd most common language in the United States. That means, “Should your baby continue to learn American Sign Language past his or her 3rd year, she will have acquired a 2nd or even 3rd language,” (Babies, 2006). When a child cannot verbalize exactly what they want, a tantrum can occur. To avoid frustration, a parent can show their child the hand signs for common words used on a daily basis, like “milk”, “water”, “teddy bear”, “blanket”, “sleep”, “more”, “hug”, and others. Another benefit of teaching an infant sign language is the improved relationship between parent and child.

References:

Babies. (2006, n.d.). Baby sign language with your infant or toddler. Retrieved on August 2, 2010, from http://www.babies-and-sign-language.com/

Berke, J. (2009, July 14). Using baby sign language with your baby. Retrieved on August 2, 2010, fromhttp://deafness.about.com/cs/signfeats1/a/babysigning.htm