When does the reader begin to realize that "A Modest Proposal" is ironic/satirical?

It is at paragraph eight that the reader would begin to realize that this essay is satirical. Up until this point, the narrator sounds like a completely reasonable and humane person, concerned with finding a solution to the pressing problem of poverty in Ireland. He opens by describing the poor in moving terms, calling it "melancholy" to see women in rags begging, followed by their children, and explaining the difficult problem people find themselves in...

It is at paragraph eight that the reader would begin to realize that this essay is satirical. Up until this point, the narrator sounds like a completely reasonable and humane person, concerned with finding a solution to the pressing problem of poverty in Ireland. He opens by describing the poor in moving terms, calling it "melancholy" to see women in rags begging, followed by their children, and explaining the difficult problem people find themselves in when they can't find work and don't want to become thieves or sell themselves into slavery. A normal reader would agree that this is a sad situation, and agree that it would be a good idea to find " a fair, cheap and easy method" of making hungry young children "useful members" of society. This narrator continues to sound compassionate as he talks about wanting to take care of more than just the children of beggars and when he mentions that he has spent many years thinking about the problem of poverty.

The "turn" in the essay comes as the narrator as the narrator "humbly" offers his own thoughts, which he says cannot be in the least objectionable.

Then, in the very next paragraph, having softened us up with his seeming compassion towards the poor, he hits us with the surprise whammy: his "modest" idea is to note that a well-nourished child at a year old is a "most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled." He want to sell babies as food. At this point, a reader, recoiling with shock, would be saying "this can't be serious." Of course, it's not, and from now on the irony becomes heavier and heavier as the narrator goes into greater detail to outline all the benefits of his plan.