Rhetorical Analysis Essay: A Modest Proposal Dr. Jonathan Swift places himself as a villain who is willing to do evil deeds to answer hard questions. What pushes Swift to write the essay “A Modest Proposal” is Ireland's economic and social problems. In this satirical essay Swift highlights the problems in Ireland and gives a sarcastic solution to make people feel guilt. Swift’s use of dehumanizing language is used to make the reader oppose Swift’s modest proposal. For example on page 2 Swift says “so as to render them plump, and fat for a good table. A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends.” statements like this make Swift’s proposal even more outrageous. This is a sarcastic attempt by Swift to make the proposal look attractive, but his statement has an underlying meaning of making the idea look repulsive. Additionally on page 2 Swift states “That a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food.” Swift’s use of food imagery is an attempt to lighten the mood but gives off a abhorrent effect. This is exactly what Swift wants; Swift starts the sentence by saying, “a young healthy child well …show more content…
For instance when Swift says on page 1 “But my intention is very fat from being confined to provide only for the children of professed beggars.” The persona Swift puts on in the introduction is a persona of a goodhearted person of society. This use of this specific persona contributes to the suspense towards the reveal of the proposal. A shift in Swift’s persona can be found on page 2 “that a young healthy child well nursed, is at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food.” This statement shows that Swift has put on a new persona. The new persona Swift puts on is a cold-hearted person who gives mixed messages. The personas Swift puts on make his modest proposal seem more
Throughout “A Modern Proposal,” Swift makes it a point to use ideas and terms that dehumanized people and their children. This causes the essay to make the reader feel uncomfortable and slightly detached from the world. It appeals to the moral side of people. Many people use this kind of method when writing in order to make the readers feel more sentimental. When people feel more sentimental towards a cause, they are more likely to stand up and stop being so
There are so many ways to take everything and there are multiple responses to them as well. Responses, while they may be normal, can also challenge the status quo of the time period. In the essay “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift challenges the status quo of the time and place in which it was written by coming up with outrageous ideas, using sarcasm and satire, and coming up with actual ideas that would change life forever. During Jonathan’s time, no one would ever think about children being the economic problem or even eating the children. He threw out these ideas that were completely different but could solve the problem.
A mode of persuasion Swift used a number of times in his essay was ethos, which is used to convince the audience of an author’s credibility. For example, Swift used this element in his essay by stating “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, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust” (Swift 2). The credibility in this context is associated with Swift’s American acquaintance who assures that infants are quite nutritious. In the past, the world viewed Americans as corrupt people, so when the author states this, he is trying to convince that
Mohammed Ismail AP Language Composition Lyons, William December 9, 2014 Rhetorical Devices Used in Jonathan Swifts Modest Proposal The essay Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift perhaps known better for his novel Gulliver’s travels wrote this piece, because during his time he addressed solutions to many contemporary social issues by writing them on pamphlets. Swift’s main purpose in writing this essay is to avert children from being less of a problem to their parents and the public. The author tries not addressing his subject directly, children, instead Swift introduces the concept of a market, livestock, breeders, etc., to address the overcrowding and poverty stricken children in Dublin, Ireland.
Of the six advantages Swift enumerates, one might consider the sixth as the most sardonic since it is absurd for a mother to breed their own child to a heavy weight for economic gain. Also, the description of the relationship between husbands and wives improving since men would no longer beat their wives because they view them as cattle raising their profit. Moreover, Swift’s ridiculous proposition that an advantage would be the competition between parents to produce the “the fattest child to the market”. Swift uses the essay to satirize both his subject and his political proposal by using irony to resolve the issue of the Irish people’s economic struggle. His immoral proposal shocks the readers and forces them to think about the issues Ireland was facing specifically the tyranny of the upper class.
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 using their skins as a fashion accessory; however, ultimately this proposal was not his true goal. Jonathan Swift skillfully used different styles of writing, such as imagery and irony, to show why the
He gives one example by saying, “...we are told by an eminent French physician, that fish being a prolific diet, there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries nine months after Lent than any other season.” Here, Swift compares the number of children and fish that are present during a certain time. He does this to further prove his case in hopes of convincing people that they should buy into his train of thought because there are a numerous amount of babies compared to foods we regularly eat. Later in the passage, Swift compares eating children to roasting pigs by saying, “... I recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife as we do pigs.” This quote is added to appeal to his audience in order to compare the kids to a commonly eaten dish.
This will bring much more success than any of the other proposed existing measures that have been published. A Modest Proposal excellently uses rhetorical strategies to model satire. In showcasing its use of irony, humor, and exaggeration, this speech also utilizes these ideas to criticize politicians when Swift denotes this speeches absurdity. Swift obviously does not sincerely want the people of Ireland to sell their children as food for profit. His satirical approach makes overtures to his exceedingly successful argumentative strategies.
The article gives appeals to the article emotionally, “their helpless infants who, as they grow up, either turn into thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country, to fight for the Pretender of Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes” (1). He aims this at the thoughts of the audience by trying to make them feel sorry for the children by saying they will not be good for anything. Not only does Swift use various rhetorical devices, humor, and emotional appeals to appeal to the audience, but also an ethical appeal. He says, “…that it will
Swift uses a speaker to portray the message he was trying to relay. Swift, as the author, does not believe in the words that are in A Modest Proposal, whereas the speaker is confident in his
At the time when Swift’s proposal was made, Britain’s dictatorial reign in Ireland had left the nation in poverty and disarray. Criticising a nation was much easier to do in a joking tone or be harder to read rather than direct and upfront. Swift wanted to discuss these issues and found by writing in satire he could have the readers’ attention in way that a seriously written piece could not reach. Satire is present when Swift convinces the audience that he is an empathetic individual introducing the proposal with a sophisticated and compassionate manner beginning in the sentence, "I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection (1)," luring the reader into a sense of false trust as he begins the descriptions of the poor in Ireland. The reader is led to believe at first that this is a serious essay however it is not until deep into the proposal the reader can see how Swift uses satire to propose his thoughts found in the sentence, “a young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled;” continuing on that, “no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricasie, or a ragoust (1).”
Swift utilizes irony again in the title of his essay “A Modest Proposal.” Proposing that society should turn to cannibalism as a solution to poverty is anything but modest. However, by asserting from the beginning of the essay that the proposal that he presents is a modest and logical solution, the reader is encouraged to recognize the irrationality of Swift’s suggestions and reevaluate what would indeed be a politically acceptable solution to the
Jonathan Swift is an enlightenment thinker that uses satire in his writings to bring awareness to the political power and mistreatment of the people of Ireland, ‘‘he was angry or in a fit of despair over Ireland 's economic condition’’(DeGategno). Swift uses satire throughout his proposal, by suggesting to the people of Ireland that they should harvest the little children of the poor. Swift stated that by making ‘‘Them Beneficial to the Public", Ireland would be in a better circumstance. Swift proposed that the poor children 's guardians should give birth to however many number of children as would be possible and offer them for sustenance. Instead of Swift addressing the issue straightforward, Swift used Satire ¬¬¬¬which employs irony sayings- one thing while meaning its opposite—in order to present an argument.
Swift insulted the British government, society, and other important matters within England. Swift used satire to expose the shortcomings within England. He did it this way so he wouldn’t be put in jail. Although some may argue Swift used too much satire, in this case, he was able to point out wrongdoings of the English. Swift did not go overboard in his use of satire because it was his way of using speech to speak out against policies.
Critical Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” In the work entitled “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, the theme of social injustice is enhanced by the use of verbal irony to convey a charged message. The ambiguous title and introduction to Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece does little to prepare the reader for shocking content revealed later in the text. Swift’s work is powerful, poignant and persuasive because it strikes at the heart of the modern readers ethics, as it likely would have done for the author’s contemporary audiences. Jonathan Swift’s 1729 masterpiece is a satirical metaphor centered around the pervasive assertion, “the English are devouring the Irish.” Jonathan Swift gives a more comprehensive exordium concerning his work stating that is it “a modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents and country, and for making them beneficial to the public (Swift 1199).