Throughout "A Modest Proposal", Jonathan Swift obviously utilizes biting satire to illustrate the English as "savages" for forcing the Irish into their terrible conditions. At the time of the writing, Ireland was completely dominated by England and was essentially a "conquered territory". Similar to their treatment of the Americans, the English withheld the right to vote, buy land, or receive an education from the Irish, and thus pushed the Irish to resent the English and eventually begin a revolution. In his essay, Swift mentions that the Americans under English control consume "schoolboys", and thus, like the Irish, are savages. Similarly, Swift writes that "a native from the island Formosa" told him that "the carcass [of a human]... [is] a prime dainty", painting the people of Formosa as savages. However, because the Formosans were not under the English's control and actually were known for consuming small children, while the Americans and Irish were comparatively civilized, Swift can be interpreted as saying that the English's forceful rule will eventually drive both the Americans and Irish into states of savagery. Consequently, Swift portrays the English as the true "savages", pushing the two territories they control into poverty and starvation.

Swift similarly uses a paradox to emphasize the English as the real savages, writing that "Those who are more thrifty may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen". By juxtaposing "carcass" and "admirable gloves... fine gentlemen", Swift brings out the negative qualities of the English. As those who were regarded as "ladies" and "fine gentlemen" during this period were the English, Swift associates the obviously uncivilized "carcass... skin" with the supposedly civilized English, thus criticizing the English for creating the conditions that the Irish are forced to live in. Furthermore, when Swift suggests that the English would wear the carcass on their "gloves [and]... boots" indicates that, to the English, the Ireland is nothing more than a decoration or accessory to their nation, rather than an integral part of it.