Question

Which are main ideas of Swift’s "A Modest Proposal"? Check all that apply.

People could solve the problem of poverty in England by breeding, selling, and eating its impoverished children.

The practice of eating impoverished children would benefit the poor, the wealthy, and the English economy.

Those who constantly breed would have to care for their children for only one year before selling them for a profit.

Men would take better care of their pregnant wives because they would not want to do anything to cause a miscarriage.

Swift maintains that his solution to end poverty in England is the easiest, cheapest, and most effective proposal thus far made.

Answer 1

choices 1, 2, and 5 represent the same main idea. choices 3 and 4 are details--the fine print, so to speak, of swift's proposal. the fact that they can sell their children to be eaten after a year isn't a main idea; it's just another small factor in his overall suggestion. the same can be said for his point about men caring better for their wives. again, this is a detail and an "extra benefit," but it doesn't capture the overall ideas in his proposal like choices 1, 2, and 5 do.