Analysis Of Jonathan Swift's Essay: Errors Of Capitalism

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

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.”

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.

Think of a summer afternoon, you are having a barbeque, your family is preparing for a feast, your father is taking good care of the baby, then he slowly places it on the grill, the sizzling sound makes everyone’s mouth water. Well, that is a very immoral example, but in that era, it was all Johnathan Swift could suggest. To clarify, this idea of eating babies is what Jonathan Swift proposed in his satirical pamphlet “A Modest Proposal.” The pamphlet was written centuries ago after the events of the potato famine in Ireland. Lower Class citizens became poor quickly and were dying of starvation. Ireland’s closest neighbor, England, did not help Ireland with this problem, so in need of a solution Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal.” In Swift’s pamphlet, the author addresses the major concern of poverty with satire using pathos, logos, and ethos to motivate his country to resolves the issue.

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.

Throughout this piece Swift uses ethos, pathos and logos to further prove his point of children being a burden to their poor parents and country and by getting rid of them great things can come out of it such as food, clothing and accessories for people. He uses the rhetorical devices to add logic, emotion and credibility to his plan. Johnathan Swift’s purpose for writing “A Modest Proposal” is to inform the public of a solution to Ireland’s poverty in a comedic way.

Whether it is to someone who does not fully understand the purpose behind it or someone who understands what he is actually trying to do. The emotional appeal is what really shocks the reader because he is talking about killing mass numbers of poor infants and then eating them because it will make the economy run smoother. I am certain that would pull some sort of emotion out of anyone; however, by doing this he is also talking down to the Irish, treating them like they are tools and cattle; sizing them up by whether or not they are healthy and a good dish to eat. One would assume that he is in no way credible because he is suggesting extreme and taboo methods; however, Swift establishes his credibility by enforcing that he has lived in Ireland for many years and would know the state of the economy. The amount of people he sees roaming the streets and begging for cash could probably lead to his supposed proposition, but also lead him to his actual proposition, for drastic change. Despite how sinister the proposition is, in a way it could be viewed as logical and extremely practical. He demonstrates this by using a series of statistics and mathematics to calculate exactly how many people he would have left to turn into meals, which could be used as a form of credibility, because he comes off as smart. Swift is actually a lot smarter than one would assume by first reading this article. His purpose was to establish a sense of awareness in the Irish and a feeling of guilt in the British by focussing on a “rich feeding off of the poor” stance. The rich being the British feeding off of poor

He tries to make them understand that once this proposal is approved they will be free of the weight of raising these children once they reach a year old. Plus, they’ll have eight shillings per annum. It's very apparent that Mr. Swift has little regard for the Irish peasant, even though Swift seems to include them in this great idea, but this is part of the satire, and he is showing us how the people from Ireland are being

In 1729 Ireland was overpopulated and riddled with poverty. Women and children lined the streets begging for food or money. In his disturbing satire, A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggests a unique solution to this dire situation. Swift uses specific language and calculated arguments to vent his anger with the Irish government and to create an effective argument that makes readers aware of the severity of the situation. Swift takes a cold and distant approach to his argument.

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;

A Modern Proposal – A Satirical, Persuasive, MockeryPeople will always have an opinion. It is easy to judge and express our distaste to specificsituations but very few would actually offer solutions to the problem. Jonathan Swift not only offered several solutions but he did it in such a way that others couldn’t help but listen, or in this case, couldn’t stop reading. Born in Ireland in 1667, Jonathan Swift was an Anglican priest. He was best known for his use of irony, exaggeration, and humor, often addressing the English and their never-ending exploitation of the Irish. During a time of terrible poverty, Swift wrote A Modest Proposal in the form of a pamphlet in 1729. Meant as a way to show people that they had not come up with relevant or effective solutions to solve the most prominent social issues of overpopulation, poverty, and abortion. Through a horrifying sarcastic idea of cannibalism, Swift is able to get his point across by presenting inhumane and unethical “solutions” to the Irish. Set in the poverty stricken Irish countryside, A Modern Proposal is filled with sarcasm, vivid imagery, and irony from the very beginning. Swift immediately addresses the problem of poverty by talking about the begging mothers with multiple children on the street. He vividlyportrays for the reader, the melancholy that runs through the streets by seeing all the women and children dressed in ragged clothing. He also mentions them begging people as they pass by. He sees a problem with the

Jonathan Swift used rhetorical strategies to create a satire that achieves his purpose. Jonathan Swift wrote this essay to address the issue of poverty in Ireland at that time. Swift demonstrates that he has put in research time, creates hyperbole, and sarcasm to create a satire that achieves his purpose.

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

There only remain a hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents who are annually born”(5). By Swift including these statistics shows that he has well thought out this plan, and Swift has done plenty of research before coming to his conclusion. Swift later gives credibility to his friend from London by saying, “a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food”(9). All three rhetorical devices that he used were great ways to persuade the people of Ireland ,that were in poverty, that this was the best option to help them prosper.

The sun of the Eighteenth century shines brilliantly on the era of British wealth and power, filling every part of great British life with pride and confidence. British literature, no longer stoic and medieval is revitalized and reclassified. As in the early Renaissance days Restoration authors think highly of Classical literature. Unlike their predecessors however, they are freer with classical style and prose. In one such restoration work, patterned after early Greek and Roman Cynics, author Jonathan Swift Calls the British Isles to action with an unprecedented solution to the problem of poverty; and exemplifies neoclassical literature in satirical style, sordid subject, and solid structure.