A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Jonathan Swift uses satire and irony to convey his attitude about the situation. In the book, Satire: A Critical Reintroduction, Griffin how “A Modest Proposal is full of satire by saying, “A more famous satire whose structure from beginning to end is based on carefully reasoned consecutive argument is Swift’s “Modest Proposal” (104). In the book, On the Discourse of Satire, Simpson writes, “In fact, the first seven paragraphs of the Proposal review various schemes and recommendations, including some championed by Swift himself in the years before, to alleviate poverty and starvation and generally to improve ‘the present deplorable state of the kingdom” (143). Dr. Swift also uses an ironic tone while writing “A Modest Proposal.” One piece of evidence that proves that this is an ironic piece of writing is that Swift compares the children to animals. He says, “although I rather recommended buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs” (97-100). Another example of having an ironic attitude is the title itself. It is called “A Modest Proposal,” but his proposal is not modest at all because it is morally incorrect to sell and devour children. Overall, Dr. Jonathan Swift has an ironic and satiric attitude while writing “A Modest

A Modest Proposal was a satirical essay written by Jonathan Swift depicting the horrific conditions of Ireland and the lives of the Irish people in 1729. Swift writes the satire disguised as a social planner of the time who as Swift satirizes were known to be overly rational rather than compassionate. The author portrays and attacks the cruel and unjust oppression of Ireland by its oppressor, the mighty English and ridicules the Irish people at the same time. However, Swift's opposition is indirectly presented. Jonathan Swift is able to do so by using the persona, irony, and wit in order to expose the remarkable corruption and degradation of the Irish people, and at the same time present them with practicable solutions to their economic

Johnathan Swift wrote Modest Proposal with the idea to better humanity.. When you first read it you miss what the true message is. You think “Man this guy is a monster!” or “He’s sick!”, but once you reach the end the true meaning of the proposal hits you. When Jonathan Swift wrote a Modest Proposal he tried to get his audience to see the problem by taking it and providing an unethical and inhumane solution then using rhetorical devices to bring out people’s emotions.

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.

In Jonathan Swift's essay "A Modest Proposal", he discusses the problem with the number of poor children in the streets whose families are too poor to support them. Swift comes up with a plan to solve this problem that will hopefully help the number of poor children. The plan is to eat the children because he believes that they are going to be an excellent source of food for anybody. The satirical essay mocks how the rich treat the poor as if they are poor animals. Throughout the essay, Swift uses the rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos and logos to convince the audience to agree with his solution.

In addition to the use of Irony,Swift also uses appeal to emotions in his essay to make the people reading his context to be ashamed of themselves.In the very beginning of the essay,Swift states how "it is a melancholy object to those, who walk through this great town,when they see the streets,the roads and cabin doors crowded with beggars of the female sex,followed by three,four,or six children " (Swift 1-3).The author talks about the many beggars and undernourished citizens who are "forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants" (Swift 5-6) which immediately makes the readers lament the fates of these poor mothers and children.By stating the terrible sight that one would see in the streets of Ireland,the author is able to make the reader feel the terror,which would evoke a sympathy in reader's mind.In addition, the author makes use of harsh and bitter words to address the citizen such as "bastard children"(Swift 31).Swift also states that "a young healthy child well nursed makes a delicious,nourishing ,and wholesome food whether stewed,roasted,baked or boiled." (Swift 62-63),which he considers to be "somewhat dear,and therefore very popular for landlords,who,have already devoured most of the parents"(Swift 79-80).The author is cleverly using these horrific words and imagery to make the people,especially the rich citizens of Ireland,who in any manner have not shown any sign of humanity towards the poor,to feel

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 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

When a writer decides to use satire in an essay, the author uses different components such as: humor, ridicule, irony, and sarcasm in order criticize and prove a point. Jonathan Swift uses sarcasm and harsh irony in order to criticize or disapprove social issues. Jonathan Swift is the author of “A Modest Proposal”; this is the perfect example where satire is used. In this essay, Jonathan Swift is unhappy with the current situation of the Irish who are going through hard times facing poverty and they are being exploited by the English. ”I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted,

“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, and “Top of the Food Chain” by T. Coraghessan Boyle, both are short stories that explore the concept of satire. Satire can be defined as a kind of writing that ridicules human weakness, vice, of folly in order to bring about social reform. It is a kind of writing to bring about change to society. Even though both are short stories, they easily get the faults of society across to its readers.

Jonathan Swift wrote a modest proposal to parliament. He addressed the problem of over population and famine in Ireland. The solution was presented in a satire manner and rightfully so. He proposed to eat babies to make them beneficial to the public. Swift used hyperbole and sarcasm to justify his argument.

Satire, and sarcasm by teasing the rich government. A modest proposal was a tough social explanation. In that day and age, it was tough on what to do with plenty of the poor in England, especially in London. Swift brings out a articulate resolution to the dilemma. His solution was in fact, outrageous. After reading Swift’s masterpiece, I could not believe how graphic and shocking it would be. At times I was sickened in the way he detailed his feelings. Writing a sarcastic short story, he suggests that they out the poor children on the market to wealthier families since it will provide them food, clothing, and will decrease the population. All the way through this proposal, he uses a great deal of elements on how they should be eating the children, treating them as penniless but as farm animals. In the end of the proposal he trims it in another way by signifying something more practical, like the rich giving up their

The irony of its texts provided in a satire form of writing becomes very convincing to people. For instance, Swift has proposed to Irish families in fattening their kids to sell to wealthy English land owners. This comes off as a sort of a humorous proposal as kids were treated like pigs to be sold for wealthy people. Seriously, Swift does not like the Irish people to sell their kinds as food. However, he had used the particular irony to send a message to the poor people in Ireland. The title itself, A Modest Proposal, is ridicule to the pamphlets being distributed at the era. He mocks the pretentious modesty displayed by the British ruling people with regards to their Irish subjugates.

A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift, is a story about how harsh the social and economic problems were in Ireland, in the year of 1729. A Modest Proposal uses satire in many forms to discuss ways to banish poverty and other societal problems. Swift’s proposal may not be ideal, but the purpose behind his writing is interesting.