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The Proposer
Psalmanazar is, in fact, a historical figure. He was a French literary imposter who claimed to be a native of Taiwan (then called “Formosa”) and wrote a made-up account of his travels. By the time A Modest Proposal was written, Psalmanazar had been exposed as a fraud. The Proposer is apparently unaware of this development, and writes that the “very worthy person” got his ideas from Psalmanazar.
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George Psalmanazar Character Timeline in A Modest Proposal
The timeline below shows where the character George Psalmanazar appears in A Modest Proposal. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
A Modest Proposal
...give his friend a little credit, however. This Very Worthy Person got his idea from George Psalmanazar , who spoke of an incident on his native island of Formosa in which a...
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