A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

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

Although the use of incongruity is used to seize attention through a sarcastic view, another way Swift uses satire to grab England’s attention is through reversal. Reversal is used by Swift to switch the roles of babies to pigs, to emphasize the idea that these babies taste like pig. It is expressed in the text where the author points out, “I rather recommend buying the children alive and dressing them hot from the knife as we do roasting pigs” (Swift 99). This piece of text is evident of how Swift makes the point of having children served similar to pigs makes it sound serious, yet sarcastic making his point more clear to the reader with hidden meaning. The way Swift places reversal in the text makes it clear to England of how insane he may seem, but for a cause. This effective way of satire is undeniable of how Swift achieves his idea to bring poverty to an end to Ireland.

"A Modest Proposal" is a social commentary written by Jonathan Swift, he uses techniques such as irony, satire, and sarcasm to mock the Irish government of his time. After reading Swift's essay half way through, one might not believe how graphic and shocking it's been written. He wrote a letter suggesting they sell the children of the poor to the wealthy families, as this will provide food, clothing, and will decrease the population. Throughout the letter he uses remarkable details as to how they should go about eating the children, treating them as livestock. The letter ends with a completely different tone when the author explains the absurdity of his proposal and instead suggests something a bit more realistic and humane like the wealthy should give up some of their luxuries. He uses a lot of thorough, literalized metaphors, and ironic and sarcasm techniques to a devastating effect. A Modest Proposal has been judged as an excellent work of rhetorical brilliancy, and it acquires readers critical attention up until now Swift exposes all the bizarre remarks and ideas he has been discussing about are all a humorous way to make fun of the way the government is run and how they are not serving their country. Afterwards he expresses a proper proposal of taking away some of the wealthier people's luxuries in order to help their economy. this essay explains the three techniques used in Swift's proposal, such as; Irony, Satire and Sarcasm.

Jonathan Swift uses humor in his essay ‘A Modest Proposal’ in the form of satire. His writing style specialized in gaining entertainment and humor from the issue that is being criticized. Jonathan Swift was a satirist who is famous for his ‘Modest Proposal’, in which he proposed a shocking but humorous remedy to satirize the false modesty of British pamphlets and the government during eighteenth century.

Authors tend to use a variation of rhetorical strategies to effectively convey their central idea. In Modest Proposal, Dr. Jonathan Swift professionally presents the overwhelming conflict occurring in Ireland during the early seventeenth century. By including his trenchant use of satire, Swift can effectively call attention to the unjust conditions of Ireland to the English people. In the proposal, Swift presents a very persuasive rhetorical strategy through his use of a formal diction, a grotesque imagery, and a satirical irony, that all transition to his use of appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, to generate the purpose of his central idea. To effectively focus the reader’s attention on the tragedy taking place in Ireland, Swift includes

The Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is about deprived people in Ireland in the seventeenth hundred years. Swifts purpose for his argument was to promote knowledge of poverty. Swift said that the poor Irish should kill their children and they should eat them to liquidate Irelands number of covetous citizens. In this time frame Ireland was in extreme poverty there was a wide gap between poor and rich. All throughout the essay swift tries to persuade his audience by trying to propose a sever and immoral solutions, so he can persuade others to come up with a realistic solution. Swift wants to make sure everyone knows how low class so Ireland can come up with a social and moral reform for Ireland. The Catholic population had most of the destitute

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

In moments of despair and injustice, "A Modest Proposal" aimed to raise awareness of England's unjust policies toward the Irish. Through satire, Jonathan Swift expressed his views in a blunt and morbid manner towards a repugnant virus that infected without mercy and caused sorrow in every soul it reached, poverty. His continuous usage of irony, created a comical tone, yet emphasized reality, and the hardship that needed to be confronted. Furthermore, Swift also managed to create a connection with present day, in regards that this deadly

He also uses pathos by appealing to the reader’s sense of humanity regarding something as outrageous as selling and eating children. He counts on the reader to be so horrified that he or she would consider humane alternatives. As important as these are, logos is the primary intended element of Swift’s essay. By advocating one thing when he means another, Swift expects readers to understand the sarcasm and read between the lines, discerning truth from fiction. This calls for some intelligence on the reader’s part and I think Swift understands his audience.

Swift begins his essay by pointing out that Ireland has already faced lots of death and seen acts of evil against children before. He mentions abortion, the practice of women murdering their own children because they feel that they aren’t able to take care of them. He estimates, by figuring that 170,000 women are giving birth to children that would go on to live per year, that 120,000 children are born into poor families per year. Furthermore, he mentions the exact monetary value that he thinks each child could earn before the age of 12, pointing out that this value is still much too low to survive on. After stating his solution, he then goes on to numerically divide the 120,000 children into 20,000 breeders and 100,000 products. Swift’s use of figures shows that he has put time and thought into this subject, and is invested in the matter at hand. Swift’s audience, the people and government of Ireland, will be more likely to believe that Swift cares about his country.

Throughout Jonathan Swifts essay, A Modest Proposal, there seems to be a tone of satirical bitterness towards the English government for colonizing Ireland and then neglecting its citizens to live in such dire conditions. This bitter tone seems to suggest that the English’s unwanted interference and neglect has not transformed the Irish people into “civil” citizens, but instead that it has evolved them into the “barbaric” and “animalistic” people they were once accused of being.

A Modest Proposal was Jonathan Swift’s response to the deplorable conditions faced in Ireland. Swift’s writing brought light to the economic and social issues facing the public in an outlandish, contemptuous, and somewhat humorous way. Cannibalism, as Swift suggests, was a practical solution to the crisis’s faced during the time of his writing. Such a morally outlandish concept uses exaggeration as a tool to relay his argument, making his satire highly effective. The use of satirical responses can elicit change and provoke thought through self-reflection, humor, and criticism.

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

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.

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.