Read the following excerpt from Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal":
I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration, that of the
hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty
thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to be
males, which is more than we allow to sheep, black cattle, or swine; and
my reason is that these children are seldom the fruits of marriage, a
circumstance not much regarded by our savages, therefore, one male
will be sufficient to serve four females. That the remaining hundred
thousand may, at a year old, be offered in sale to the persons of quality
and fortune, through the kingdom, always advising the mother to let
them suck plentifully in the last month, so as to render them plump, and
fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment
for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore or hind quarter
will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt,
will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter.
I have reckoned upon a medium that a child just born will weigh 12
pounds, and in a solar year, if tolerably nursed, encreaseth to 28
pounds.
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.
How does the author's word choice in this excerit imply a message other than the one explicitly
stated? Analyze specific phrases within the except and explain how they help the writing to
function as satire. Support your answer with evidence from this excerpt and from your general
knowledge of 'A Modest Proposal"