Satire in Swift's "A Modest Proposal" (Continued) — Quiz
Question 17 • English Language Arts 12
Read the excerpt from "A Modest Proposal." Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flea the carcass; the skin of which, artificially dressed, will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen. The false premise in this excerpt is that
Answer
A
people sometimes spend less during times of economic hardship.
B
some women wore gloves and some men wore summer boots.
C
people would be willing to use the skin of children to make clothing.
D
some people in England were suffering from poverty and hunger.
Explanation
The passage proposes using the skin of children as leather for gloves and boots. Swift uses this shocking idea to expose the cruelty of treating poor people as commodities; the false premise is that people would be willing to wear clothing made from children’s skin. The other choices describe real conditions or ordinary behavior rather than the absurd proposal.
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