A Modest Proposal Analysis

All across America, you see the topic of “Should children be receiving participation trophies” being brought up. The idea that all kids should get some reward for being a part of the game and helping it grow. To some, it seems like an excellent idea, but to others not as much. For example, NFL linebacker James Harrison took his children 's participation trophies and gave them back to their coaches saying "EARN a real trophy." Other parents believe that their children deserve to be praised and want them to feel good for doing something they have worked hard. So which side is correct? Should we give our kids these trophies or not?

In Fred Stenson’s “In Search of a Modest Proposal” the author states, using his daughter’s first essay assignment as an example, that essays are inherently personal and should reflect the author’s own ideas, and that essay curriculums are flawed in their formulaic approach to teaching what is supposed to be a creative form of writing. Stenson’s essay uses a liberal amount of sarcasm to get his point across, and coupled with a reliance on personal examples his overall argument loses some efficacy. However, most of his irony and sarcasm are effective in their emotional appeals, and when coupled with more convincing examples and reference to authority that directly support his claim, they make for a compelling debate that is hard to refute.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, America has had to deal with the on going

The implied thesis of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal" is that 18th century Ireland would be in a better situation if the Irish society and monarchy actually treated problems such as overpopulation and poverty, While the overt thesis is that Irish people should consider eating their children and selling them to rich Englishmen to solve the issue of poverty and overpopulation in the country. They differ form one another as one focuses on eating children, while the other focuses on giving commentary through the essay itself.

In Jonathan Swift’s satire, “A Modest Proposal”, Swift writes about the starving people of Ireland in the early 1700’s. He makes a wild and absurd proposal to help remedy the problems of overpopulation and poverty. Swift wants to make a political statement by using the “children” as satire to grasp the attention of the audience - the English people, the Irish politicians and the rich – and make them aware of the political, moral, and social problems. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift’s arguments are presented effectively by using pathos (emotional appeal), ethos (ethics and values), and logos (logic reasoning and facts).

The sarcastic views of Swift’s understanding of the poverty of Ireland leads him to make a proposal for a solution to poverty, where he ignores the concern of human morale by displaying the lacking efforts of England to help. Swift uses methods that work to get or help better understand a situation, for example being sarcastic in a situation where a person wants something out of the situation by satire. The undeniable effect of satire catches the attention of England to further display the poverty of Ireland which is displayed throughout Swift’s Modest Proposal with exaggeration, incongruity and reversal.

According to an article written by Jason M. Breslow, as of 2011, children had the highest poverty level with over 16 million children living in poverty. That is just in the United States. Imagine the number of children living in poverty in the entire world.

The modest proposal challenges the status quo by using sarcasm. This proposal was published in the year 1729. This proposal also was published in the country of Ireland. There are several different sources of information about the “A Modest Proposal.” The modest proposal is an Juvenalian satirical essay written by, Jonathan Swift. The “A Modest Proposal”, is summed up to be about preventing the children of poor people from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public. The Modest Proposal has an ironic tone. It’s also a use of sarcasm. The thesis for this Proposal is that most of all poor people should have many kids to sell for food. This is a masterpiece of irony. Times were very different back then from now. Times back then seem to be more desperate than times now. Being sarcastic wasn't a big thing till recently. Jonathan was humorless and was very sarcastic, but people in his decade weren't that way. They believed everything and were quite serious about everything. In the essay “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift challenges the status quo of the time and place in which it was written by discussing cannibalism, selling children, and giving realistic ideas.

A college degree is becoming increasingly more valuable with many decent jobs requiring some sort of higher education. As more students prepare to enter college, many are faced with the escalating prices of not only tuition, but also other things such as textbooks and the cost of living. This problem has been especially prominent in California, particularly within the last month, due to the UC regent’s new and controversial plans for an in-state tuition increase of five percent in five years. With the rising prices of tuition many students must turn to student loans. These loans often get them through the expensive costs of school, but after they graduate, they are left with a substantial amount of debt to pay off. I think we can all agree that something must be done in order to stop students from having to pay these ridiculous tuition prices while still being able to get a quality college education. The answer actually lies in a system used decades ago, known as indentured servitude. If we want to create economic stability for future generations to come we must give them proper access to a college education without the worry of tremendous financial debt. In order to achieve this, I propose that any student will be able to attend a university free of charge, but after graduating must be given to an owner who will dictate their work, where and how they live until they finish their service which will range from fifteen to twenty years, depending on the

Every time I visit my grandmother in Georgia the temperature can never be right. It is always too cold or too warm. This is a problem for someone her age because she is constantly having to adjust the thermostat; furthermore, to squint at the small numbers and dials is tiring and frustrating. Her internal temperature needs to be maintained, and constant fluctuations provide no benefit to her health. If her temperature drops too low it can cause infections and illness. If it rises too high it can cause fever, dehydration, and heat stroke. When 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is not sustained the problems become endless.

When Swift is describing the use of children as commodities, it is ironic because his intentions are to actually explain that the English view the whole Irish population as commodities. The English landlords are the ones responsible for Ireland’s poverty. The essay shows, through sarcasm, that the English have purposely took everything from the Irish because they view them as commodities. One example of sarcasm used to portray that idea is that the utilization of infants will be “proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children” (804). It is very apparent that Swift blames the English for Ireland’s problems. He also blames the Irish Catholics that allowed English policy to break down Ireland.

A main stressor for my client is the ending of his marriage. He declares that he wants to resume his relationship with his ex-wife. Even though he and his ex-wife have not spoken in the past 8-months, Pat asserts that they are still "very much in love" and that he is still married. Pat is focused on trying to get a letter to her, reading the books she assigns to her students, and visiting the school where she works. He asserts that they are not together because she wanted him to lose weight and now that he has lost weight he thinks that they will revive their relationship. This stressor serves to motivate most of Pat's daily activities in the hopes that performing these activities will make him more desirable to his ex-wife.

In this composition,” A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift who was an Anglican priest and a writer , has talked about the worst condition under which people are living in Ireland. He uses this writing as a means of communication to convey his message across the whole world for people to be aware of what is happening to the citizens of Ireland. How the landowners are maltreating the poor families whose spouse are dead, and their government too is not doing anything to assist them. Although he has made ironical statement, and also uses a lot of sarcasm does not make this writing to lose its value, it is still carrying its subject and message across. This kind of evil deeds does not happen in only Ireland, it is all over the world now.

If a horrible action becomes normal in a society where everyone contributes, is the action still horrible? This type of question gets one into the mindset of the story “A modest proposal”. The story is an author stating his solution to the poverty problem which is causing kids to grow up on the streets with their poor parents. A major part of this solution is including the process of eating infants to clear up the streets. Throughout the story the author speaks of concepts that would usually be frowned upon in society or down right prohibited because of human rights as stated before. But, it is always important to delve deeper into a society to find its true purpose, then it could be possible to see why certain actions are taken, perhaps in response to a need.

Jonathan Swift, the writer of the satirical essay A Modest Proposal, grew up and lived in Ireland during times of famine and economic struggles (Conditions). Growing up with a single mother and no father, Swift knew what hard times and struggles were like (Jonathan Swift: Biography). His essay proposes an easy solution to the economic problems going on in Ireland for both the wealthy ruling classes and the poorer classes, although his intentions and the meaning behind his words are not what would be originally thought when initially reading the essay. Through his word choices and the description of specific events of his time, Swift uses satire to grab his audience’s attention and get his own personal ideas and opinions out about all the