A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Desperate times often call for desperate measures, and proposals of desperate measures are often met with swift criticism if they are found to be without rational thought and merit. It is unlikely that anyone in their right mind would consider, for any amount of time, the proposal of rearing children, or properly raising them, as food to help alleviate poverty-stricken Ireland in 1729. Yet, Jonathan Swift’s suggestion was satirical brilliance, and it was a modest proposal for illuminating the cause of Ireland’s woes. The proposal was not actually eating children but placing a mirror for the reader to reflect upon. The target audience of landlords, gentlemen, and other people of stature were more than accustomed to stepping on the poor on

The satirical essay “A Modest Proposal” written and published in in 1729 by an Anglo- Irish man named Jonathan Swift, in response to the worsening conditions of Ireland, was one of his most controversial and severe writings of his time. The narrator in Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal” argues for a drastic and radical end to poverty in Ireland. Swift’s proposal suggests that the needy, poor people of Ireland can ease their troubles simply by selling their children as food to the rich and make them useful, benefitting the public. With the use of irony, exaggeration and ridicule Swift mocks feelings and attitudes towards the poor people of Ireland and the politicians. However, with the use of satire Swift creates a

During the early 1700s in Ireland, there were countless people that lived in poverty. Families that had many children at that time were usually the families that lived in poverty. If they chose to sell those children instead of keeping them, at the end of every year they would make 8 shillings for every kid they did not keep. In time, it would have been more beneficial for the poor families to sell their children because they would be making money on them (Baker). In 1729, a man named Jonathan Swift believed that he found a way to eliminate some of that poverty and feed the rich with the same solution. To propose his theory, he wrote “A Modest Proposal.” He wanted the poor people to give up their children as necessary evil. In the essay, Jonathan Swift challenges the status quo of the time and place in which it was written by saying people should sell and eat children and believing that women should be breeders (Swift).

In Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” Swift proposes to solve the devastating poverty in Ireland by selling children as food for wealthy families. Swift goes on to explain how this would solve all of Ireland’s problems from domestic abuse to poverty. “... a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled…” (par. 9.)Swift explains his proposal in depth, in many ways treating these children as nothing more than livestock.

When one thinks of the phrase “A Modest Proposal,” does one come to think of fattening babies so they can sell as meat. In Jonathan Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses satirical writing to communicate with the reader to expose the critical situation of the poor people of Ireland. Whom besides going through a tough period of famine have to endure the overwhelming taxation rates of the English empire. The author’s proposal intends to convince the public of the incompetence of Ireland’s politicians, the lack empathy of the wealthy, the English oppression, and the inability of the Irish to mobilize themselves against this situation. Johnathan proposed an outrageous solution that the Irish folks eat their children at the age of one or sell them in the market as meet. Finally, he manifests to be open to other suggestions to help overcome the country’s crisis. The proposal was made strategically using several different parts: the text, author, audience, purpose, and setting to persuade the tax to go lower.

In Jonathan Swift's satirical essay “A Modest Proposal” he addresses the issues of the nation of Ireland and the problems that it is having with its government because it is doing nothing to help their people come up from issues such as poverty, overpopulation and other crudely addressed political issues. In an attempt to solve these national problems, Swift comes up with a very unique and intense proposition on how the problem can be fixed and dealt with. By providing the reader with a combination of all the three rhetorical appeals ethos,logos, and pathos, Swift can easily, slowly, and effectively bring his proposition into view without the reader completely discarding it from consideration as Swift's words take into deliberation the feelings

“A Modest Proposal” uses ironic and cruel humor to target Ireland’s corruption and poverty. Jonathan Swift bizarre way of announcing his discontent in regards to the British and how Ireland is going down the hill, makes his audience uncomfortable but aware that there is an issue. Subsequently, Swift presents the idea of selling babies as food in order to stabilize the country’s condition. Morbid as it sounds, Swift continues to deliberately explain why this idea would be the perfect solution by stating that these children and their parents begging are “a very great additional grievance” (Swift, 2) and furthermore continues to state that the country should fine a way to make these children ‘useful’. Throughout the text, Swift makes a serious argument on why

In the literary work of A Modest Proposal, one of the better examples of satire in literature by Jonathan Swift he writes as a concerned citizen to the Irish poor, which he describes in detail about their suffering. Swift often refers to the economy of Ireland as being unsutible for its people due to the fact that Ireland is over populated. Swift argues that the problem they are having is poverty in Ireland and describes his remedied on how it can be stopped. His work shows how savage, insane, and frightening it could be for the people of Ireland. From his work he allows many details about alienation. One of the points where this becomes about is how he takes the stand for the poor Irish people and shows how in society they have been alienated

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to eat a one-year child, whether stewed, roasted, or freshly baked? Perhaps you could have the chance for that unique experience, if you were English, living around the time period, when Jonathan Swift wrote his essay “A Modest Proposal” in 1729. The main purpose of his satirical essay was to capture the attention to the problems that were experienced by the Irish people, especially at that time when the English were imposing severe taxes on them. He proposed that Irish infants could be sold as food at age one, where a young healthy one-year child would be delicious and wholesome food. He offered many advantages for his scheme; for Irish, to decrease the burden and charges upon Irish parents, to prevent voluntary abortions, and to give them a new source of income; for English, they would benefit from a new food product, and at the long run, to eliminate a social problem and reduce the number of Catholics in Ireland.

In the satire piece “A Modern Proposal” (1729), Jonathan Swift suggests that the poor of Ireland should sell their children to be eaten by the rich in order for them to survive and have enough money to provide for the rest of the family. Swift describes anecdotal events first on how much the children are worth at the market and then describing how many people can one child end up feeding.

Jonathan Swift in his essay, "A Modest Proposal" suggests a unique solution to the problem concerning poor children in Ireland. Swift uses several analytical techniques like statistics, induction, and testimony to persuade his readers. His idea is admirable because he suggests that instead of putting money into the problem, one can make money from the problem. However, his proposal is inhumane.

A Modest Proposal by Johnathan Swift is all about Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Public. “A Modest Proposal” is considered to be verbal irony due to the fact that its neither modest nor should it be a proposal for something like this, but it was not meant to be one. Swift starts this proposal of by highlighting the problems Irish families face, and then proposes his solution, which is eating the poor family’s children. When he says, “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,” he is not serious about what he said but

The theme of A Modest Proposal, a satirical essay written by Jonathan Swift, published in 1729, was predominantly about preventing the children of poverty from being a burden to their parents or country; in other words, making them beneficial to the “Publick.” This theme appears in the essay surrounding the significant attempt of irony to find a fair, cheap, and easy method for converting the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the commonwealth.” The author offers statistical support by giving specific data about the number of children being sold, their weight from birth until sold, as well as the price they are being sold. Swift’s solution to Ireland's devastating food shortage consisted of the eating of babies.

At the end of the 17th century, political brochures were dispersed throughout Ireland to encourage philosophies of different savvy intellects and layman. Nonetheless, most people didn’t focus on the brochures, so Swift, who is who wrote “A Modest Proposal” takes advantage of the ignored pamphlets and develops a ludicrous suggestion. Swift’s motivation in the article was to enlighten the one-sidedness against the Irish, especially the individuals who were disadvantaged. He argues that something must be done with infants since their mothers and fathers are too poor to provide for them. Instead he suggest eating them and using them to make clothing and gloves, for example. This proposal is of course supposed to be sarcastic. To most people,

Jonathan Swifts “A Modest Proposal” is speaking to the English Government and wealthy land owners, on the poverty stricken Irish families and the inhumanities he had to witness. The English Government at the time did little to nothing for the wondering begging families. The wealthy just passed by them in the streets ignoring the begging families. Swift makes a proposal in the essay speaking to the government and the wealthy land owners to take care of the beggar’s children, so the children have a chance at equality and making them useful members of the common wealth. “In the present deplorable state of the kingdom a very great additional grievance; and therefore whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, useful members of the common wealth would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up