...A Modest Proposal is a satirical pamphlet that explores the attitude that the rich have towards the poor and starving children that dwell in their society. The author Johnathan Swift effectively uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos, as well as humor and sarcasm to shed light and highlight these attitudes. Johnathan starts off by blaming the mothers of these starving and poor children that they should find themselves work so that they can earn an honest living instead of begging and groveling on the streets in hopes to be able to feed their young ones and themselves. He also says that the children will then become thieves just to make ends meet when they are older and this is simply because their parents did not teach their children how to live a modest and honest life. Swift uses logical fallacies to make his argument in "A Modest Proposal". This is evident when he explains how a well nursed child at...
Words: 590 - Pages: 3
...And even if the person instead made a spilt second decision out of concern, but turns around and wallows in the praise and attention afterwards, Russell would probably come to the same conclusion on the person's virtue. Russell uses the this extreme case to bring to light the what believes to be a twisted morality of failed unity, perpetuated by some teachings of traditional moralists, in an attempt to suggest a different moral and more joyful mindset. While Russell see's the situation of the drowning child as a point where humanity should improve its moral mindset, Some wittings of Jonathan Swift suggest that he had a much grimmer, condemning and perhaps even unfixable view of humanity. Some propose that Jonathan Swift wrote his "Modest Proposal" in an effort shock or wake up the indolent and self-absorbed upper class through satirical exaggeration of their present state of mind. Going through the pains of describing in vivid detail a cannibal trade of children in what could be a hyperbolic suggestion that their actions are already similar enough for the plan to be quickly and easily implement, perhaps even unanimously praised and approved. It could be easily taken that he has such a grim view of humanity as to stoop to such a level of twisted thought, perhaps thinking that such language and was all they would connect to or understand. HIs finishing words give no hint of hope of a different path for humanity, only excepting himself of the grotesque actions by pointing out he...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...Gilberto Saenz Mrs. Gonzalez ENGL 1302.S58 17 Feb. 2018 Never Too Young During the early eighteenth century, Dr. Jonathon Swift constructed an absurd proposal stating a possible solution to the burden that children of destitute people of Ireland place on their parents. Many poverty-stricken people were having numerous children of which they could not afford financially to take care of properly during this time period in Ireland. In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathon Swift uses similes, tone, and diction to suggest a sarcastic solution in eating and selling babies in order to make these children beneficial to the public. To begin with, Swift first argues that the people of Ireland should eat the helpless, innocent children with a simile when he...
Words: 648 - Pages: 3
...In A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift, Swift believes that the wealthy bear a responsibility for the poor. In his proposal Swift has an idea to take the children of poor people and turn them into food for other people. Swift believes by doing this many problems will be resolved for everyone. This piece of writing is a satire but it still shows the idea that Swift was trying to get across through his writing. The main point of the satire is that the rich have a responsibility to help the poor people. I disagree with Swift’s perspective on the relationship between the poor and the wealthy, I think that they don’t have a responsibility for the poor. I believe that the wealthy don’t have that responsibility especially in contemporary American...
Words: 1098 - Pages: 5
...In the article “The Modest Proposal” written by Jonathan Swift an unreasonable solution is being presented to be seen as reasonable. The article states that a new nutritional meal shall be distributed throughout the country, the lower class will be the ones to give this meal. This meal will be beneficial to society and to the parents to the lower class, the new meal will be young infants. This seems like an excellent idea, there are many benefits to eating young infants, this can change the world for the better. With this idea of a new meal, it will better the economy. The lower class is unable to support their children, and if they sell them to be eaten it will not only bring money to the lower class families, but it will feed them as well...
Words: 357 - Pages: 2
...rhetoric to talk about the ways in which his audience may see Papists as useless, unproductive individuals. Swift's attempt behind implementing this art of persuasion is to prove that most high powers are equipped with this trite way of thinking. Swift's persuasive attitude evidently highlights reliability as a theme within his proposal. Specifically, Swift hypothesized selling these children would generate a substantial profit for the nation. The intention behind this theory was to persuade papists that they had value as a vast, but hated group. As a result, the narrative around papists being populous yet worthless would no longer be relevant. Specifically, their population will decrease as their children are eaten and their wealth will be surplus through selling their children for production. Swift stated that the earnings from a new dish, a newborn child, would boost the nation's stock by "fifty thousand pounds” per annum. (Swift 3) This use of persuasion suggested that there was a way for the Papists to contribute to the prosperity of a demanding society that expected progression instead of regression from such a dominant group. Swift framed this proposal in a convincing...
Words: 750 - Pages: 3
...Jonathan Swift's mind-blowing satire, "A Modest Proposal," [mockingly!] proposes to illuminate the staggering neediness in Ireland by offering poor children as food for rich families. Swift goes ahead to clarify how this would take care of most Ireland's issues from residential abuse to neediness. Swift 's Projector clarifies his proposition inside-out, from various perspectives regarding these children as just another kind of domesticated animals. Towards the end, however, Swift records various changes that could help the nation. This rundown rolls out an improvement in tone. However, these changes vary from Swift's "modest proposal" considering the fact that rather than the poor relinquishing their children, it would include the rich yielding some of their luxuries. Enable me to bring out two of his "so" called favorable circumstances. 1) Children will never again be an expensive weight to their folks, they will be a remarkable inverse. My considerations on this sound silly...
Words: 504 - Pages: 3
...Reading Response #4 My initial reaction to a “Modest Proposal was that it was going to be about adoption or child trafficking. But after reading “A Modest Proposal I was very surprise and start to get highly upset while reading it. I don’t understand how Jonathon Swift in his right mind thought it would be okay to make fun of killing children and eating them or wearing them as an accessory. Being a mother I would lose my mind and do life in prison if someone took or even thought about making me sell my child. Johnathon Swift went overboard with his satire because an innocent defenseless child’s life is nothing that should be played with or considered a topic for a satire. After reading the “The Rape of the Lock”, I think Pope was a bitter...
Words: 400 - Pages: 2
...In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift uses sarcasm, insincerity, and exaggeration to show how he feels about the politics and Ireland in the late seventeenth century. There are a few factors that keep his argument from being serious; the tone that Swift uses, his insincerity, and the proposal being as ridiculous as it is. Throughout the proposal Jonathan Swift does not blame the people of Ireland for what has become of it. He states that they are all at fault for the state of poverty that Ireland is in, the politicians and the people. Swift exaggerates how horrible a state that Ireland is getting into to amplify how poor and disgusting it was. He does this by using an unserious mood. He uses this to an advantage throughout the proposal because...
Words: 666 - Pages: 3
...How does one define modesty? Modesty is the behavior or manner that deliberately avoids indecency or indelicacy. Jonathan Swift illustrates a very contradicting suggestion in his work, "A Modest Proposal." His proposal is everything aside from modest as he dabbles into the notion of consuming children to end starvation within the town of Dublin. As Swift is indubitably using comical sarcasm to express his concern of the vile condition of Dublin, his message is significantly aiming to make a difference and transform the way the government treats its citizens. Jonathan Swift's approach on exposing the corrupt method that the government of Dublin administers their citizens causes an initial reaction of horror. However, once the concept is...
Words: 411 - Pages: 2
...In “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, wrote of about the starving, overpopulated, and extreme poverty people of Ireland in the 1700s. His arguments purpose is to raise awareness to the government and rich people of England to take action. Swift persuades his audience by telling the Irish to sell their children as food to reduce the overpopulation and poverty, which is totally unethical, in hopes that he will get people to think of an actual solution to this issue. Overall, Swift wants to see an end to this horrible issue going on in Ireland and his message was effective informing those reading his article by establishing ethos, pathos, and logos. Swift establishes his ethos immediately because he is a doctor and a priest of St. Patrick’s...
Words: 545 - Pages: 3
...Saving Murder with Murder; An Analytical Essay of “A Modest Proposal” “A Modest Proposal” is a juvenalian essay full of satirical techniques to display the idea that Ireland is being corrupted by England. As a result of England corrupting Ireland, Ireland has become overpopulated and poverty stricken. Jonathan Swift gives several reasons to the people as to why his ideas would work to restore Ireland. He proposes ideas such as selling babies for meat to boost the economy to further prove his point. Swift uses exaggeration, [input techniques] to show that Ireland is in debt and proposes solutions that would lower the number of people that had to be supported, how it would boost the economy, and what each age group could be used for. Swift...
Words: 384 - Pages: 2
...In “A Modest Proposal” Jonathan Swift appeals to his readers with sarcasm, and outlandish ideas concerning the problem of hunger that Ireland was facing. Swift appeals to his readers with many rhetorical devices throughout the entire short story. The tone in this essay is both, academic and intelligent. The readers get the sense that the solution to the problems that the inhabitants of Ireland are facing will be logical, well-informed, and completely reasonable. However what the reader gets instead is an maniacal amount of information on the benefits of eating children. All while suggesting that doing so will provide a substantial food supply as well as economic relief (because there will be fewer mouths to feed). Since it is comprehensible that the essay is becoming more ironic, it is the last thing that any reasonable person would have thought. One of the quotes in the essay that help illustrate the irony in this essay is, “I...
Words: 899 - Pages: 4
...In his satire A Modest Proposal Jonathan Smith uses rhetoric to present a proposal that will help the commonwealth. He first introduces the problem of how child are a burden to poor parents specifically mothers. Since they are poor the mother should work but unfortunately they are also expected to take care of the children so they only job a mother could is as a beggar. Smith also points out that children can not provide any financial stability because they can't work so they deprive there parents of money and resources. Although some children are able to work Smith estimates most children can't start a job until they are at the age of five so in order to help their parents and the nation as a whole Smith suggest that Children under the age...
Words: 326 - Pages: 2
...Vera Obi Prof Sarah Hanks ENG 1213 09/26/2015 A rhetorical analysis of “A modest Proposal”. In 1729 Jonathan Swift, author of “A Modest Proposal,” devised this proposal to show how backwards the social and general state Ireland was in. His proposal was to prevent the less fortunate children of Ireland from becoming a burden to their parents or country. As well as making them beneficial to the public. Jonathan Swift's reasoning behind this proposal is that many women were having children that they were unable to care for. He then suggested that the impoverished people of Ireland should consider selling their offspring to wealthy families as sustenance. He says that this proposal would make the infants, “beneficial to the public” (Swift). In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift uses rhetorical exaggeration, sarcasm, and insincerity to express his aggravation with papists, politicians, and the poverty-stricken citizens of Ireland at the time. In order to make his argument more effective, and to get his message across, Swift uses the rhetorical devices of logos, ethos and pathos. Swift employs the use of logos to help him throughout his proposal. Logos is defined as a clear and logical explanation, or an argument. Swift makes a very logical and persuasive argument that the people of Ireland should eat their children. Swift makes a case that by feeding on the children of the poor, the country would be solving several major issues the country is facing. By eating the...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
