Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” excels at displaying the purpose by using a high skill level of craft. Jonathan Swift was known for his very successful book Gulliver’s Travels; however, “A Modest Proposal” goes above and beyond that in terms of craft. “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical article mocking the ridiculous ideas on how to improve Ireland’s condition given by the English. If there are too many children and there is not enough food, why not fix both and eat the children? Swift does not just place his plan out in the open, he leads up to it in a very elaborate way. He uses strong vocabulary and leads your mind to his idea without stating it. Once his idea is heard, the shock sets in. The plan stated seemed too over the top; no way …show more content…
For example, Swift states, “. . . a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout ”. This gives the reader a feeling of discomfort. The idea of eating children just wouldn’t happen in the current time period. This is considered incongruity because it is something that isn’t normal. It is not likely to be walking down the road to a holiday dinner consisting of children. Another example of incongruity in Swift’s writing is, “He said that many gentlemen of this kingdom, having of late destroyed their deer, he conceived that the want of venison might be well supplied by the bodies of young lads and maidens, not exceeding fourteen years of age nor under twelve . . .” (Swift). If there was a large craving for venison and there wasn’t enough for all, most minds wouldn’t jump to the idea of replacing venison with the local youth. Not only is Swift’s writing unusual, but when he describes something, he describes it to the largest …show more content…
Swift states, “Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: Of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: Of using neither cloaths, nor houshold furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture: Of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury” (Swift). This is a parody because it is mocking all of the reasonable solutions to the struggles Ireland is facing. All of the ideas that Swift is dismissing, are very logical and rational. Swift’s idea is very over the top and seems very irrational. Jonathan Swift has many little stories that have impacted English literature in many ways. “A Modest Proposal” gives a glance into the struggles of the Irish during the early 18th century. The despondency of the people from the lack of food, and the drastic measures they were willing to take to survive. Jonathan Swift uses a nice mixture of incongruity, exaggeration, and parody to place himself high up on the list of strong
Narratives play a big role in stories. They show a perspective and really go into depth how a character feels for a certain situation. The argument in the story “The Modest Proposal” is trying to convince the Irish and English parliament to improve the conditions of the poor. Satire, which is a use of humor or irony plays a big role in “A Modest Proposal” ; it uses humor to show the real truth and chaos of Ireland and the people of it. Swift (the author of the story) used the idea of eating children as a metaphor for what he saw as happening to the poor. .
In “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, there are many disturbing remarks that make the readers uncomfortable. The purpose of his essay was to try to make the Irish people open their eyes so that they would take better care of themselves. At this period, the Irish politicians were corrupt and the people were not willing to fight to regain their country from the recent occupation of Ireland by England. He used the idea of eating the yearling children of poor families in order to accentuate the idea that the only people the wealthy men of Ireland cared about was themselves, and not the lives of the Irish citizens. The author uses logos to his advantage in order to show the overall amount of people that are in poverty and how they would be able
What’s the difference between a baby and a peanut butter cup? The baby won’t stick to the roof of your mouth. Jonathon Swift was a satirist, essayist, pamphleteer, and cleric who became dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. In 1729 Swift wrote A Modest Proposal, a satirical essay, suggesting that by selling Irish children it might ease their economic troubles. The pamphlet mocked the heartless attitudes towards the poor.
In fact, he refers to “A very worthy Person, a true Lover of his Country, and whose Virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my Scheme”(17). As a result, Swift shows that even the most patriotic person to both Ireland and Britain (since Ireland was under British control at the time) realizes that within this current situation of poverty, this proposal is a solution and can be acted out in many different
Mohammed Ismail AP Language Composition Lyons, William December 9, 2014 Rhetorical Devices Used in Jonathan Swifts Modest Proposal The essay Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift perhaps known better for his novel Gulliver’s travels wrote this piece, because during his time he addressed solutions to many contemporary social issues by writing them on pamphlets. Swift’s main purpose in writing this essay is to avert children from being less of a problem to their parents and the public. The author tries not addressing his subject directly, children, instead Swift introduces the concept of a market, livestock, breeders, etc., to address the overcrowding and poverty stricken children in Dublin, Ireland.
Rhetorical Analysis Essay: A Modest Proposal Dr. Jonathan Swift places himself as a villain who is willing to do evil deeds to answer hard questions. What pushes Swift to write the essay “A Modest Proposal” is Ireland's economic and social problems. In this satirical essay Swift highlights the problems in Ireland and gives a sarcastic solution to make people feel guilt. Swift’s use of dehumanizing language is used to make the reader oppose Swift’s modest proposal.
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a very interesting take on how the Irish government should cure the famine that the country was then facing. However, the entire proposal was completely bizarre, and the whole point of the essay was to bring attention to the idea that they needed a solution to the all the problems they were experiencing but the proposal was definitely not it. He even had a strongly developed plan as to how his proposal would work which makes the reader feel as if he is serious about selling children, eating them, and using their skins as a fashion accessory; however, ultimately this proposal was not his true goal. Jonathan Swift skillfully used different styles of writing, such as imagery and irony, to show why the
Jonathan Swift uses rhetorical devices, logical, ethical, as well as emotional appeals to highlight the difference between Swift’s satirical attitude and the narrator’s serious attitude concerning poverty and starvation. These various articles and different exerts from “A Modest Proposal” show the misleading content of the proposal in order to save Ireland and help them become a free country
1729, a Papist infected Ireland was being devoured by the taxes that the British placed on them. The taxes were turning into what once was a glorious place into ruins. Jonathan Swift, an Englishman and Irish sympathizer, realized that someone had to do something to wake up the British. This lead to the creation of A Modest Proposal, a pamphlet heavy with irony and juvenalian satire, which was how Jonathan Swift planned on compelling the British to do something about the poor situation in Ireland. His use of rhetorical devices gets his point across in an effective and powerful way.
This essay will be analysing a close reading of Jonathan Swifts ‘A Modest Proposal,’ focusing on the literary technique of satiric meaning and the effects this has on the overall message including references to the definition of satire from Murfin and Ray. The use of Satire is present in Jonathan Swifts ‘A Modest Proposal’ since it involves “using irony, wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose humanity's vices and foibles (Murfin and Ray 251),” which we can identify predominantly in the dialogue of the text. The essay will be anaylsed through referring to one set reading provided by Barbara Bengels ‘Swifts modest proposal’ and how Swift uses the proposal to discuss the “Children of Poor People (in Ireland) Being a Burden to their Parents, or
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a very interesting take on how the Irish government should cure the famine that the country was then facing. However, the entire proposal was completely bizarre, and the whole point of the essay was to bring attention to the idea that they needed a solution to the all the problems they were experiencing but the proposal was definitely not it. He even had a strongly developed plan as to how his proposal would work which makes the reader feel as if he is serious about selling children, eating them, and/or using their skins as a fashion accessory; however, ultimately this proposal is not his true goal. Jonathon Swift skillfully used different styles of writing, such as imagery and irony, to show why the Irish should sell their children to the rich to eat.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift wrote possibly the world’s most ironic essay entitled, A Modest Proposal. Swift implies that poverty in Ireland can best be resolved by selling the children of the poor as food for the wealthy. Swift argues that children could be sold into a meat market as early as the age of one, which provides income to poor families because it saves them the costs of nurturing so many children. Throughout his entire essay, Jonathan Swift utilizes irony and satire to convey his sardonic arguments.
Around the 18th century in Western Europe, a new way of thinking and writing emerged. This period, called the Enlightenment, created many works of literature that expressed the ideas society there had at them time. One of the most popular works from the Enlightenment was Jonathon Swift’s A Modest Proposal. He encompassed many of the Enlightenment’s philosophies in both a captivating and correct to the time way.
Swift’s satire consisted of many “modest theories.” For example, you may have heard people talk about overpopulation. You may have your own theories about it, but what about eating children? In this instance, Jonathan Swift used his form of humor, also known as satire, to get his point across, in which wrote a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal,” a mockery for the ideas of how to deal with overpopulation. “Satire is a technique employed by writers to
Critical Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” In the work entitled “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, the theme of social injustice is enhanced by the use of verbal irony to convey a charged message. The ambiguous title and introduction to Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece does little to prepare the reader for shocking content revealed later in the text. Swift’s work is powerful, poignant and persuasive because it strikes at the heart of the modern readers ethics, as it likely would have done for the author’s contemporary audiences. Jonathan Swift’s 1729 masterpiece is a satirical metaphor centered around the pervasive assertion, “the English are devouring the Irish.” Jonathan Swift gives a more comprehensive exordium concerning his work stating that is it “a modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents and country, and for making them beneficial to the public (Swift 1199).