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Quiz about A Modest Proposal
Quiz about A Modest Proposal

A Modest Proposal Trivia Quiz


This quiz tests players' knowledge of Jonathan Swift's satirical essay "A Modest Proposal". Best of luck!

A multiple-choice quiz by Triviaballer. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Triviaballer
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
296,378
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
805
Last 3 plays: Guest 181 (4/10), Guest 76 (4/10), Guest 204 (0/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. What is the full title of "A Modest Proposal"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Of the following, which is not one of the common options chosen by the children of Ireland? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. How old did Swift recommend children be before they became a modest proposal? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Of the 120,000 children annually born in Dublin at the time, how many did Swift suggest should be used for the modest proposal? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What was the ethnicity of the person who told the narrator that a young, healthy child is a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. During what time are the most Roman Catholic children born? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. What did the narrator recommend as the selling price for a beggar's child? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What did the narrator acknowledge as the strongest objection to his proposal? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which of the following is listed as one of the benefits of the narrator's modest proposal? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Why did the narrator say that the modest proposal food should not bear exportation? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 21 2024 : Guest 181: 4/10
Mar 12 2024 : Guest 76: 4/10
Mar 12 2024 : Guest 204: 0/10
Mar 12 2024 : wellenbrecher: 10/10
Mar 04 2024 : Guest 72: 10/10
Mar 04 2024 : Guest 207: 10/10
Feb 15 2024 : Guest 174: 10/10
Feb 12 2024 : Guest 47: 0/10
Feb 07 2024 : colbymanram: 1/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What is the full title of "A Modest Proposal"?

Answer: A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public

When Jonathan Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal" in 1729, there was widespread poverty throughout Ireland and especially in Dublin. Swift wrote "A Modest Proposal" as an alternative suggestion to all of the other failed suggestions by 'experts'.
2. Of the following, which is not one of the common options chosen by the children of Ireland?

Answer: Become factory workers

Many Irish people enlisted in the French and Spanish armies and immigrated to Barbados in the 1700s. As with many poor economies, thievery increased as the number of available jobs decreased.
3. How old did Swift recommend children be before they became a modest proposal?

Answer: One year

In the story Swift mentions that a child can be brought up almost entirely on a mother's milk for about one year. If tolerably nursed, the child should weigh twenty-eight pounds at one year of age.
4. Of the 120,000 children annually born in Dublin at the time, how many did Swift suggest should be used for the modest proposal?

Answer: 100,000

The other 20,000 children would be used for breeding. Of the 100,000 children being consumed under the modest proposal, 20,000 of them would be for Dublin and the remaining 80,000 for the rest of Ireland.
5. What was the ethnicity of the person who told the narrator that a young, healthy child is a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food?

Answer: American

The American told the narrator that he had tried stewed, roasted, baked and boiled varieties.
6. During what time are the most Roman Catholic children born?

Answer: Nine months after Lent

The narrator mentions that the author Rabelais recommended that the Lenten diet was conducive to propagation in his work "Gargantua and Pantagruel".
7. What did the narrator recommend as the selling price for a beggar's child?

Answer: Ten shillings

Since the cost of raising a child was only about two shillings, each poor family should make eight shillings from each child they give to the modest proposal.
8. What did the narrator acknowledge as the strongest objection to his proposal?

Answer: It was a little bordering on cruelty.

The narrator confesses that the proposal is somewhat cruel but that it is the best solution to reducing poverty in Ireland.
9. Which of the following is listed as one of the benefits of the narrator's modest proposal?

Answer: The food will bring a great custom to taverns in Ireland.

The narrator also mentions that it would lessen the number of Papists and that Ireland's stock will be increased by 50,000 pounds per year.
10. Why did the narrator say that the modest proposal food should not bear exportation?

Answer: The flesh is too tender to admit a long continuance of salt.

The narrator also pokes fun at the animosity between the Irish and the English by mentioning that the English probably wouldn't mind if all the children of Ireland were shipped to them to be consumed.
Source: Author Triviaballer

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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