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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.

Author
Triviaballer

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
296,378

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
822

Last 3 plays: Guest 142 (10/10), Guest 174 (2/10), Guest 174 (6/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What is the full title of "A Modest Proposal"? Hint

A Modest Proposal for Feeding the Hungry, Clothing the Needy, Sheltering the Homeless, and Enriching the Poor People of Ireland

A Modest Proposal for Maximizing the Usefulness of the Poor Children of Ireland and for Providing a Means to Regulate the Economy

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

A Modest Proposal for Improving the Living Standards in Ireland and for Relieving the Poor People in Ireland of Their Unwanted Children

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Question 2 of 10

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

Become factory workers

Fight for the Pretender in Spain

Become thieves

Sell themselves to the Barbadoes

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Question 3 of 10

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

Six months

Two years

One year

Four years

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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

120,000

5,000

10,000

100,000

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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

Spanish

American

Italian

English

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Question 6 of 10

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

Nine months after the first day of autumn

Nine months after Christmas

Nine months after Lent

Nine months after the first day of spring

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Question 7 of 10

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

Three shillings

One hundred shillings

Ten shillings

Twenty shillings

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Question 8 of 10

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

It would create a more homogenous Ireland.

It would be too difficult to implement if it was run by the government.

It would be looked down upon in other countries.

It was a little bordering on cruelty.

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Question 9 of 10

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

The price of other foods in Ireland will go down.

People will not live in fear of being robbed.

Sanitation in Ireland will be improved.

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

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Question 10 of 10

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

The people of Ireland did not want other nation's citizens eating their children.

The people of Ireland could not afford the shipping costs.

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

The smell of the food would be repulsive over a long journey.

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Most Recent Scores

Dec 18 2024 : Guest 142: 10/10
Dec 09 2024 : Guest 174: 2/10
Dec 03 2024 : Guest 174: 6/10
Dec 02 2024 : Guest 73: 4/10
Nov 28 2024 : hellobion: 10/10
Nov 15 2024 : Upstart3: 2/10
Nov 10 2024 : Guest 223: 6/10

Score Distribution

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

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