A Modest Proposal
“A Modest Proposal”, written in 1979 by Jonathan Swift, is a fascinating sardonic, overwhelming hyperbole. He explores the miserable fate of poverty-striven Irish whose struggle in vain in an effort to feed their huge emaciated families. In the essay, Swift advocates that the penurious Irish should sell their babies to the rich ladies and gentlemen and obtain monetary power required to ease their economic predicaments. The straight-faced parody that features predominantly in the essay makes it outstanding in exploring the tarnished relationship between England and Ireland as well as comprehending the strategies that were thought to be best in resolving the crisis that were facing Ireland at the moment. This paper shall
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The Irish felt that the British were dedicated to mistreat them for their egocentric ambitions.
Swift vents his growing exacerbation at the tyranny of the English class, insincerity of the affluent, ineptitude of Ireland’s leaders and the ruin and shabbiness in which many people were living in. He describes and laments an Ireland that is utterly subject to manipulation by England (Barnet 222). However, he does not totally blame the bleak state of affairs in Ireland to the Englishmen. He proclaims that even the Irish are to blame for their nation’s poor socio-economic status. Self-evidently, Swift believes that despite the harshness of the Englishmen, the Irish could still have done something to liberate their state rather than simply living at the mercy of the British ruling class (Atwan 877).
Swift uses satire not to promote cannibalism or infanticide, but to create a well-informing masterpiece that fosters self-determination and the sense of national pride among the Irish. National unity was and is still the best way through which a national can call attention to matters of national importance. The satirical element is evident when one critically analyzes the insinuations made to the insolences of landlords. "I grant this food may be somewhat dear and therefore very proper for Landlords, who as they
The Irish have done nothing to halt the terrorizing nature of their domineering counterparts. Swift uses this proposal to “the wretched Irish situation” (Lockwood). By “rigorously underplaying the aspect of fantasy in his proposal,” Swift suggests the Irish have arrived at a condition in which such a plan may be seriously considered (Lockwood). Booth describes that every detail of Swift’s proposal “supports the inference that the woes of Ireland make, indeed, a ‘melancholy Object.’” In essence, the “anger against the English is used merely to heighten” Swift’s own dismay over the way Ireland has conducted itself (Booth). Swift craftily causes readers to question more than just how to fix the problems in fraught Ireland.
Using the proper appeals and mechanisms, Swift wrote a piece that in a sense was the voice of the voiceless! Eighteenth century for Ireland was almost like a rally; their economic condition was a harsh one, and they had high poverty rates. As opposed to that of the United Kingdom- formed of England and Scotland-, back then it was economically vibrant. As for the Irish political condition; there was a huge gap between the Irish and the English as well as the discrimination present in the Catholic Church. Ireland was an oppressed minority and was in a sense an outsider in its own home. “In 1750, 93% of the land was owned by non-Irish landowners and by 1770, this number was practically 100%” (“Short history of Ireland in the 18th century”). Swift didn’t only use the proper appeals while tackling those conditions but also used the right language. Satire maybe a difficult to understand genre but it certainly is a treasured way to deliver a message. It serves to voice the cruel acts in a manner that wakes those who practice them. Woken from a trance then, the oppressor gets the chance to regard his acts with
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).
Beneath Swift’s irony, his argument is that the rich consume everything, even the children. “I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.” (par 12.)He argues this to shock his audience and to call attention to the problems that were being experienced by the people in Ireland.
Satire is a form of literature in which an author tries to demonstrate his or her point of view by ridiculing. The author uses heavy irony and sarcasm in order to criticize a social issue. A perfect example of a work of satire is Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal. In this satirical essay, Jonathan Swift attacks on the issue of the Irish poverty in the 1700s. The essay sarcastically suggests that Ireland’s social and economic problems would be quickly solved by putting the children of impoverished Irish families on the food market. Through heavy exaggeration, Jonathan
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
Swift attracts attention to the cruel mistreatment of the impoverished class of Ireland through the use of his absurd proposal, his tone, and also his insincerity.
In ‘A Modest Proposal’ the author, Jonathan Swift utilizes techniques such as satire, sarcasm, and irony to create a bigger picture to the reader. Within the poem, Swift not only presents a humorous approach to social and economic issues but does so in a well-constructed and carefully composed manner. A closer reading of the text reveals a deeper critical analysis of the social perceptions of the poor at the time. Through Swifts’ use of irony, he creates a proposal that is so extremely absurd that some may believe the piece to be genuine. By taking an issue and providing a corrupt and merciless solution, the writer uses a unique approach to catch the attention of the people of Ireland and presents them a proposal they cannot ignore. Through the use of irony, Swift creates a poem that not only criticizes social perceptions of the poor but also remarks upon the issue without directly addressing the reader.
Swift was said to “declare at one stage in his life: ‘I am not of this vile country (Ireland), I am an Englishman’” (Hertford website). In his satire “A Modest Proposal,” he illustrates his dislike not only for the Irish, but for the English, organized religions, rich, greedy landlords, and people of power. It is obvious that Swift dislikes these people, but the reader must explore from where his loathing for the groups of people stems. I believe Swift not only wanted to attack these various types of people to defend the defenseless poor beggars, but he also had personal motives for his writings that stemmed from unconscious feelings, located in what Sigmund Freud would call the id, that Swift
Amid the late 17th century, Jonathan Swift’s pamphlet, A Modest Proposal, exploits the negligence of British government towards the Irish people. To illustrate the disregard of the government, he uses logical fallacies, metaphors, repetition and parallelism as well as humor, sarcasm and a satiric tone to highlight these negative attitudes. Not only does he applies these literary devices, he adopts Francis Bacon’s, The Four Idols, to exemplify the intention of the pamphlet. Adopting Bacon’s ideas of the corruption, illusions, and errors of people in society, Swift had the ability to demonstrate the government's disregard towards the people of Ireland. Bacon’s his ideas regarding society are proposed through four idols: “Idols of the Cave”,
Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal in response to the Whigs political party attempting to further devalue the existing third-world economy of Ireland through absentee landlordism. The Whig Party was originally founded in 1678, at the start of Britain’s modern political history. The key principles of the Whigs were to defend the people against tyranny and to advance human progress. Swift sought to expose the English complacency and hypocrisy as well as Irish 's unwillingness to fight back against injustice. The way A Modest Proposal is written, it is obvious it was made of people of higher class. Swift show those who are privileged a glimpse of what life is like for poverty struck Ireland.
In a “Modest Proposal” Swift expresses his grief as well as irritation of Ireland’s politicians, the hypocrisy of the wealthy, the tyranny of the English, and the degradation in which he witnesses the Irish people living. While Swift explains how England continuously exploits Ireland, he also expresses the utter disgust he finds in the inability of the Irish to help themselves. Swift mourns and shows compassion for the Irish people but critiques both for the issue at hand. (Sparknotes). Through this ironic essay of surprises and shocks, swift challenges the reader consider and critically analyze policies, motivation, and moral values. Jonathan Swift states in the essay that
The Irish have done nothing to halt the terrorizing nature of their domineering counterparts. Swift uses this proposal to describe the wretched situation in Ireland. By “rigorously underplaying the aspect of fantasy in his proposal,” Swift suggests the Irish have arrived at a condition in which such a plan may actually be seriously considered (Lockwood). Ireland is in such a dismal state that “the advantages by the proposal,” which Swift presents, are of the highest importance” (Swift). Merrily pitching his own ludicrous idea, Swift is mockingly attempting to elucidate the seriousness of the state of Ireland. Every detail of the proposal reveals the terrible conditions of Ireland through the eyes of a normal citizen. Through Swift’s vividly appalling arguments, the audience is “never allowed to forget that Swift hates the evil conditions more passionately than the speaker who describes them” (Booth). In essence, the ostensible anger against the English in the proposal is used merely to heighten Swift’s own dismay over the way Ireland has conducted itself (Booth). Swift craftily causes readers to question whether he is being serious or just poking fun at the sad situation.
In his biting political satire called ?A Modest Proposal,? Jonathan Swift seeks to create empathy for the poor through his ironic portrayal of the children of Irish beggars as commodities that can be regulated and even eaten. He is able to poke fun at the dehumanization of the multitudes of poor people in Ireland by ironically commenting on what he sees as an extension of the current situation. Swift?s essay seeks to comment on the terrible condition of starvation that a huge portion of Ireland has been forced into, and the inane rationalizations that the rich are quick to submit in order to justify the economic inequality. He is able to highlight the absurdity of these attempted
At a first glance, a misogynist’s paradise is apparent when perceiving Jonathan Swift’s The Lady’s Dressing Room and a cannibalistic one in A Modest Proposal. However, Swift’s intricate feelings do not depict Ireland’s crude social convention, but rather for Swift’s revolutionary vitriolic satire, which permeates humanity’s blindness through political stand points. By using grotesque metaphors, to open the figurative eyes of the public, Swift’s poetry forced society to analyze the ways of living in order to push reform. The push came in his many satiric works, which criticized humanity, but also acquitted the feelings of a personal vendetta. Swift’s vendetta against oppression in his society constructed the transition to a more heavily