A Modest Proposal and Other Satires Quizzes

1. In the beginning of "A Modest Proposal,” what are the mothers of Ireland doing instead of working?

• engaging in prostitution
• begging for their infant children
• ignoring their infant children
• stealing

2. What do the children of the begging mothers do when they grow up?

• find employment to support themselves
• borrow money to support themselves
• steal, fight for Spain, or sell themselves
• steal, fight for France, or sell themselves

3. The writer calls the condition of the poor children in Ireland what?

• deplorable
• commendable
• unavoidable
• regrettable

4. What should be done for the person who can solve the conditions in Ireland, or “whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the commonwealth”?

• a statue should be erected for him
• he should be banished
• he should receive a medal
• he should be executed

5. According to Swift's narrator, for how long may a child be supported on mother's milk, and perhaps two shillings?

• two years
• six months
• one year
• three years

6. What is NOT an advantage to his idea that Swift's narrator cites in “A Modest Proposal”?

• it will decrease sibling rivalry
• it will decrease the number of voluntary abortions
• it will decrease the population of Ireland
• it will decrease wife-beating

7. According to Swift's narrator, how many people live in Ireland?

• one million and a half
• one million and a quarter
• one million
• two million

8. At what age does the narrator in “A Modest Proposal” think children learn the ability to steal?

• age one
• age six
• age three
• age seven

9. The merchants assure the narrator of “A Modest Proposal” that

• a child of twelve is a saleable commodity
• a child of twelve is not a saleable commodity
• a child of twelve is not old enough to steal
• a child of twelve would make a delicious dinner

10. The acquaintance of the narrator, who assures him that a child is a “delicious food,” is from where?

• America
• England
• Formosa
• Spain