As a writer you should use the right words at the right time; the context in which you write your piece is very important for that piece to gain acceptance. Kairos matters and it’s widely acknowledged that a written or spoken word gains acceptance and credibility when the one behind it chooses the right audience and time to say or speak it. Jonathan Swift – An eighteenth century Irish satirical essayist- applied the concept of Kairos when he wrote “A Modest Proposal”. Swift’s essay was like a dagger aimed at the English-Irish division. He used satire as a way to shock those in power out of their tyranny, and criticized the political, social and economic system back then as it dehumanized people. Such conditions frame worked Swift’s context …show more content…
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 …show more content…
He addressed the English by giving them a scenario in the form of a “Proposal” in order to show them their exploiting nature. Swift proposed an idea to help escalate the country’s economic condition and lower its poverty rates. The core of his proposal was the children. He argued that poor parents should no longer bear the burden of children. Instead the children should provide for themselves and their parents by being a commodity. He explained the process similarly to that of raising and selling cattle; mothers should provide their year-old child with nourishment until he or she is fattened, then rich people would buy that child for multiple purposes. Either for feeding or luxurious purposes, those children would eventually provide for the economy. Such proposal intended to camouflage the actual exploitations practiced by the rich English. The reader then was expected to look deeper and untie the knots to discover how in fact he was exploiting the Irish. “The audience is never really let in on the joke - they're supposed to figure it out for themselves that Swift is kidding. Of course, not everybody did.”
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
Swift’s plan is an ironic attempt to "find out a fair, cheap, and easy Method"(503), for converting the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the Commonwealth” (503). His “solution” is to sell a child, after he or she reaches one year of age. “Instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the feeding and partly to the clothing of many thousands”(503). From Swift’s perspective using the children, as food is the most efficient and cheap way to make the children a contribution rather than a burden.
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.
Like the other numerous number of circulating pamphlets, Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal’ begins with a sympathetic description of poor Irish people who can’t afford raising their kids to give one a sense of sympathy towards them. Unlike the other pamphlets of his contemporaries which proposed remedies or just complained about the problem like how the British government did, he emphasizes that his proposal “…is of a much greater extent, and shall take in the whole number of infants at a certain age who are
Effectively ushering change in society or pointing out faults that have existed and gone unnoticed can be a daunting task for any social commentator. Often, blandly protesting grievances or concerns can fall upon deaf ears and change can be slow or non-existent. However, Jonathan Swift in his pamphlet A Modest Proposal, uses clever, targeted, and ironic criticism to bring the social state of Ireland to the attention of indolent aristocrats. He accomplishes such criticism through satire, specifically Juvenalian satire. Swift’s A Modest Proposal stands as an example of the type of satire that plays upon the audience’s emotion by creating anger concerning the indifference of the voice created. He complements such criticism with sophisticated,
In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift discusses how Ireland is in bad shape. He describes the poor conditions of the economy and society of Ireland. To illustrate the poor state of the economy in Ireland he gives examples of the poverty people in Ireland are living. Swift says, “It is a melancholy to those… when they see the streets… crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags…” To further show the unfortunate state of Ireland, Swift demonstrates how the society is in a deprived
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.
“We can incur no damage in disobliging England.” “First as things now stand how will they be able to find food and raiment for a hundred thousand useless mouths and backs.” By telling the people that his plan can solve Ireland's problems without hurting England and also calling Irishmen useless. Swift says these things to appeal to the citizens emotions of hatred. Swift also uses Ethos in this essay. “As to my own part, having turned my thoughts for many years, upon this important subject.” By telling the people that he has been observing what was going on in Ireland for many years it gives him credibility that he knows what he is talking about. “As I have been informed by a principal gentleman in the county of Cavan.” “I am assured by our merchant,that a boy or a girl before twelve years old is is no saleable.” In order to give himself and what he is proposing more credibility, the speaker enlist the help of other people who have either witness or are involved with what he is proposing and all of them say that the proposal has benefits.
Swift suggests that Irish women should sell their children as food and other necessities to the rich populace in order to benefit the economy and fight the problem of overpopulation. To specify, Swift proposes if the children are sold, there would be many more utilizations of the children instead of having to survive on the streets scraping for money. He uses this ridiculous example in hope that it will benefit the rich population as well as solve the predicament of overpopulation. As he states, “Those who are more thrifty (as I must confess the times require) may flay the carcass;
Beginning with an examination of the subtitle, the stance of the narrator and his views of the poor are evident immediately. “…For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland, from being a Burden to their Parents or Country; and for making them beneficial to the Public." (Swift Para.1). This example is a distinct instance of irony; in which Swift uses such long, elaborate sentence to summarize his main proposition. By referring to
Swift shows his despair from the rejection he has experienced from every caregiver or leader in his own life, just as the poor have been rejected by society, forcing them to resort to begging. He feels that something drastic will have to happen in order for things to change, otherwise the misery of being devoured by society will be upon the poor “breed for ever,” as well as himself (Swift). Perhaps this drastic change that would have to occur is already too late for Swift. Perhaps his unresolved childhood complexes are too far past that they can never be resolved, but he is still trying to resolve them through his proposal that is trying to resolve society’s large problem of poverty.
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
With his pamphlet, Jonathan Swift addresses the problem of the poor, the needy, and how they should be taken care of in a sarcastic and unimaginable way. He writes, “A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland, from Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public” to address the problem of how the poor are being treated. Swift is a political journalist, clergyman in the Angelical Church, and Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin who uses strong satire to communicate his opinions on how he disagrees with how the poor are being treated. Swift uses his satire when explaining his opinion that many of the rich only care that the poor are not being a burden on them and not