Rhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal

Swift begins his essay by describing walking down a street in Ireland. He describes how you would see, “beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms” (Swift, Para. 1). This gives the reader a mental

Swift’s proposal attempted to do so with the same logic and motivation that he considered to be the cause of the melancholy that could be observed traveling through Ireland. He aims his observations and remarks as sympathetic for the people, but more importantly empathetic because, as a prosperous traveler, one does not want to see such things while

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.

At the time A Modest Proposal was written, Ireland was in a state of extreme poverty. The country was significantly overpopulated: people were struggling to make ends meet and provide for the growing population. The author of the text, Dr. Jonathan Swift, was repulsed by the Irish government’s reluctance to institute any major changes to help resolve the levels of poverty and overpopulation present at the time. In response, he wrote this text to criticize the upper class for this level of inaction, as well as their failed attempts at resolving the issue. Through Swift’s use of satirical devices -- such as irony, hyperbole, and understatement -- he was able to convey his message to the public which was criticism about the inadequate actions being taken by the government to solve Ireland’s troubles. He believed they weren’t doing enough to help the situation at the time and wanted them to see their defeat in hopes that they would decide to finally act.

The sarcastic views of Swift’s understanding of the poverty of Ireland leads him to make a proposal for a solution to poverty, where he ignores the concern of human morale by displaying the lacking efforts of England to help. Swift uses methods that work to get or help better understand a situation, for example being sarcastic in a situation where a person wants something out of the situation by satire. The undeniable effect of satire catches the attention of England to further display the poverty of Ireland which is displayed throughout Swift’s Modest Proposal with exaggeration, incongruity and reversal.

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.

The modest proposal challenges the status quo by using sarcasm. This proposal was published in the year 1729. This proposal also was published in the country of Ireland. There are several different sources of information about the “A Modest Proposal.” The modest proposal is an Juvenalian satirical essay written by, Jonathan Swift. The “A Modest Proposal”, is summed up to be about preventing the children of poor people from being a burden to their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the public. The Modest Proposal has an ironic tone. It’s also a use of sarcasm. The thesis for this Proposal is that most of all poor people should have many kids to sell for food. This is a masterpiece of irony. Times were very different back then from now. Times back then seem to be more desperate than times now. Being sarcastic wasn't a big thing till recently. Jonathan was humorless and was very sarcastic, but people in his decade weren't that way. They believed everything and were quite serious about everything. In the essay “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift challenges the status quo of the time and place in which it was written by discussing cannibalism, selling children, and giving realistic ideas.

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.

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.

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 talks about real world solutions to end Ireland’s poverty. This is near the end of his satire and his writing shifts to a more serious tone. This is a turning point in his article since he has caught the attention of his audience, he is ready to show them how they can help bring Ireland out of poverty. His purpose is to persuade the audience into listening to his ideas about ending poverty. 11.

At first glance, Swift convinced the reader of his sympathy towards poor people, “It is a melancholy... .These mothers…are forced to employ…for their helpless

In “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift provides a satirical exploration of the attitudes of the wealthy people towards the underprivileged and poor children in the society. Laymen and intellectuals during the late seventeenth century distributed political pamphlets containing different ideas throughout Ireland. In his essay, Swift utilizes some of the overlooked pamphlets during this period and develops an ironic proposal. As a colony of the British, Ireland had endured long years of prejudicial discrimination and tyrannical oppression since the twelfth century. In this regard, the British dominated the political life of the Irish people. Moreover, religious divisions within Ireland were becoming apparent. Roman Catholicism was the prominent religion in most of Ireland. With the onset of Protestantism, the number of Catholics dwindled significantly. Since the Protestants became the majority in the country, they were able to lock the Catholics out from holding any positions in parliament and government. Moreover, the parliament could not convene without a direct edict of the English King. For this reason, the people of Ireland depicted growing dissatisfaction in their political, religious, and economic lives. In particular, Swift uses his essay to illustrate how bad the socio-economic status of the Irish people was during the seventeenth century. In the essay, Swift creates a narrator who speaks from the first person point of view.

The scope of the essay is limited to the work done by Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal, a literary criticism, an online literary glossary, as well as two more sources on Ireland’s historical events. The essay concludes that Swift effectively uses insincerity, irony, and rhetorical exaggeration to reveal his annoyance of politicians, papists, and overall citizens of poverty-stricken Ireland in the late seventeenth century. Jonathan Swift states that the people, politicians, and English were all to be at fault for the terrible state and poverty of Ireland, making it clear that the main target of the essay is not the condition of Ireland, but rather the can-do spirit of the times that led people to devise a number of illogical schemes that would purportedly solve social and economic problems.

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