This document provides summaries of readings for the week including short biographies of Jonathan Swift, Wilfred Owen, Katherine Mansfield, Jean Rhys, and Nadine Gordimer. It also summarizes Swift's satirical essay "A Modest Proposal" and analyzes some of his other works. For the poets Owen and Wilfred, it highlights some of their notable poems and discusses literary elements. Similarly, it introduces Mansfield, Rhys, and Gordimer's short stories and notes themes and social contexts.

1. Week 4 Readings and
Authors
Keiser University eCampus

2. Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), a distant cousin of John Dryden, was born in
Dublin. His parents were Royalists. Swift was educated at Trinity College,
and he eventually became an ordained minister and was appointed the
dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in London. He was a master of satire and
used it to criticize the English government in his masterwork Gulliver's
Travels and in the short essay we have been assigned for this class.

3. “A Modest Proposal”
It’s important to remember that this
over-the-top essay from Swift is an
example of satire. In fact, it is probably
the most famous example of satire in
literature.
Satire – the use of humor,
exaggeration, or ridicule to criticize.
One popular example is the political
cartoon.
Keefe, M. (August 20, 2010). [Educational political cartoon]. Caglecartoons.com.

4. “A Modest Proposal”
To understand what Swift is so effectively satirizing, it’s important to understand
the political climate in 1729, when “A Modest Proposal” was written.
Two main groups were living in Ireland—the Irish Catholics and the Protestant
English living in Ireland.
80% of the population was poor. They were mostly Irish Catholic, who as a group
owned less than one-third of the land.
The Protestant English kept getting richer, and the Irish Catholics kept getting
poorer.

5. “A Modest Proposal”
Many sources blame the poverty in Ireland on Oliver Cromwell, who served as Lord
Protector following the execution of King Charles I in January of 1649. Cromwell’s
armies burned much of the land during the invasion of Ireland, which resulted in poor
farming conditions.
Many of the Irish Catholics were tenant farmers and relied on potatoes as an
inexpensive source for food. Because of the poor soil conditions, many were unable to
feed their families, and the British government failed to address the problem.
Once you identify Swift’s shocking proposal to solve the economic crisis, take a look at
the way in which Swift lays out his argument. What effect do you think this satire had
when it was written?

6. Wilfred Owen
Wilfred Owen (1893-1918) was born in Shropshire and fought
for the English in World War I. He is known for his poetry on
World War I and wrote most of his poetry during the last year of
his life before he was killed in action.

7. “Anthem for Doomed Youth”
Owen wrote “Anthem for Doomed Youth” when he was recovering from shell shock (now known as
PTSD). Items to note:
– Religious references – why is it an “anthem”? What other religious references are there, and why
would Owen make these choices?
– The poem’s structure – it should look familiar to you! Which type of sonnet does it most
resemble, and what are some notable differences from the sonnets you’ve seen thus far?

8. “Dulce Et Decorum Est”
In January 1917, Owen endured an attack of poison gas, which he chronicled in this poem. The title
of the poem is from the Roman poet Horace, and it means “it is sweet and fitting to die for one’s
country.”
As you read the poem, evaluate its structure. What rhyme scheme(s) does Owen use? What
patterns do you see in terms of line length?

9. Katherine Mansfield
Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was born in New Zealand and
moved to England for a career as a writer when she was 19. Her
work is notable for her ability to write about complex emotions
in an understated way.

10. “The Garden Party”
This short story focuses on the character of Laura and her response to the death of
a workman. As you read, pay attention to how the members of different social
classes interact with one another.
This story is a good example of a bildungsroman, also called a coming-of-age story.
Look for ways in which Laura experiences psychological and moral growth.

11. Jean Rhys
Jean Rhys (1890-1979) was born on the Caribbean island of
Dominica and lived mainly in England from her late teenage
years until her death. Her most famous work is her novel Wide
Sargasso Sea, which serves as a prequel to Charlotte Brontë’s
Jane Eyre.

12. “The Day They Burned the Books”
The story is set in the Caribbean and explores the issue of cultural identity. The narrator is a white
English girl, and her friend Eddie Sawyer is the son of a lower-class Englishman and his biracial wife.
As you read, look for ways that Eddie’s father shows his favoritism for one culture over the other.
How do the narrator and Eddie feel about this conflict?

13. Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (1923-2014) was born in Springs, South Africa, the
daughter of Jewish immigrants. She is known for her short stories and her
novels, which include a number of works set in South Africa during
apartheid. She supported the anti-apartheid movement, and several of
her books were banned by the apartheid regime. She won the Nobel
Prize in Literature in 1991.

14. “The Moment before the Gun
Went Off”
Like many of Gordimer’s stories, this one is set in South Africa during apartheid
rule. As you read in the biography of Gordimer in your textbook, her works tend to
“give a number of different perspectives on a situation” (Greenblatt et al, 2019, p.
1458).
In what ways do you see these different perspectives portrayed in “The Moment
before the Gun Went Off”? What is the main point Gordimer is making in this
story?