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A Jar of Pickled Children Trivia Quiz

A modestly titled quiz about Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal"

A multiple-choice quiz by AlexT781. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
AlexT781

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
379,375

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
263

Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. How many children does the speaker estimate can be sold each year? Hint

200,000

120,000

1,500,000

50,000

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. At what age does the speaker say children could find employment, either legal or illegal? Hint

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Who told the speaker that a child, "whether stewed, roasted, baked or broiled", is very nourishing? Hint

a Frenchman

a Formosan

an American

an Englishman

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. The speaker then moves on to addressing the benefit to the parents. How much money could they make by selling their child? Hint

8 shillings

2 shillings

10 shillings

12 shillings

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Why doesn't the speaker make any proposition dealing with the poor who are elderly, sick, or maimed? Hint

Somebody needs to transport the children!

He thinks they are dying as fast as can be expected.

He insists the English are taking care of that problem.

They could be shipped to France because they couldn't tell the difference.

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Economy-wise, what benefit would the entire country get from selling the excess children? Hint

Parents can work more often instead of raising children

All of these

The entire production chain stays within Ireland

About �50,000 put into the economy each year

7. When Jonathan Swift wrote "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", who is he referring to? Hint

The English monarchy

English Landlords

The Irish landowners and the English government

Irish nobility

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Swift's writing leaves nothing unscathed, no matter how sacred. The speaker in his satire adds one more reason for the English to support his proposal. The Anglicans would be happy because of what side effect of selling the children? Hint

No threat of plague ever again

Reconcilliation with Rome

The number of Catholics would decrease dramatically

Lower healthcare costs

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. What is the speaker's answer to more moderate and reasonable solutions to the growing problems of Ireland? Hint

Don't bother with them.

Ireland cannot recover while England exists.

Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

Don't bring them up until they will actually be implemented.

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. After reading "A Modest Proposal", what event seems, in hindsight, destined to occur since nobody is willing to try to seriously solve the problem? Hint

Great Donnybrook

Irish Civil War

Great Famine

English takeover of Northern Ireland

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. How many children does the speaker estimate can be sold each year?

Answer: 120,000

Out of a population of 1.5 million, he estimates 120,000 births each year from poor parents. Later he subtracts another 20,000 to keep the supply of children flowing for later generations.

2. At what age does the speaker say children could find employment, either legal or illegal?

Answer: 6

According to the speaker, nobody has known a child under six years old to be able to earn a living by stealing. That means the child would be a burden on all the Irish, and so offers his proposal to prevent that from continuing.

3. Who told the speaker that a child, "whether stewed, roasted, baked or broiled", is very nourishing?

Answer: an American

An American living in London supposedly told the author how good children taste and how healthy they are. The American, however, was told this by somebody living in Formosa (today Taiwan).

4. The speaker then moves on to addressing the benefit to the parents. How much money could they make by selling their child?

Answer: 8 shillings

Estimating an 8 shilling profit, the speaker points out another obvious benefit: the mother would be fit to work, instead of begging, until she has her next child.

5. Why doesn't the speaker make any proposition dealing with the poor who are elderly, sick, or maimed?

Answer: He thinks they are dying as fast as can be expected.

The speaker states he isn't bothered by the problem because disease, famine, and vermin kill them as fast as possible. He doesn't feel there is any way to further accelerate their death.

6. Economy-wise, what benefit would the entire country get from selling the excess children?

Answer: All of these

It sounds like a perfect win-win plan, assuming you can get past the cannibalism....

Answer: The Irish landowners and the English government

Swift saw the problems facing Ireland at that time resulting from not just what he saw as English abuses, but from the Irish landowners as well. They used up what resources were available and never thought about the effects on the country and its people.

Answer: The number of Catholics would decrease dramatically

The majority of the Irish, Swift included, were Catholic. This put them at odds with England from the very beginning, since England broke away from the Catholic Church during the reign of Henry VIII.

9. What is the speaker's answer to more moderate and reasonable solutions to the growing problems of Ireland?

Answer: Don't bring them up until they will actually be implemented.

Jonathan Swift writes, "Therefore I repeat, let no man talk to me of these and the like expedients, 'till he hath at least some glympse of hope, that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice."

10. After reading "A Modest Proposal", what event seems, in hindsight, destined to occur since nobody is willing to try to seriously solve the problem?

Answer: Great Famine

In the first couple of paragraphs, Swift outlines problems Ireland was facing at the time (1729). This being the only part that can be taken seriously, a modern-day reader can see the chain of events leading to the Great Famine from 1845-1852.

Source: Author AlexT781

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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Referenced Topics

Literature People English Food & Drink Government England Diseases Ireland English People London Henry VIII Jonathan Swift Irish: Famous & Historical Legal

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