...Assignment 1: “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift In “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, the surprise ending happens when the author indicates that he believes that the young children of Ireland should be fed until they are plump and sold to the wealthy in order to feed them. He states that this would solve the economic and social difficulties that Ireland has faced for so many years. It would also rid the country of the massive number of children that are not being properly cared for. Swift states that Ireland has been enduring significant problems for many years. This has forced people around the country to speculate on solutions, some of which have seemed fairly extreme and complex. The surprise of this story comes at the end and follows a lengthy and highly rational argument in favor of making some radical changes to the country. Swift says that he has realized after going through many of these complicated solutions that the best one was the simplest. This represents a major surprise for the reader, who would have no way of anticipating such an insane solution after a very rational and logical argument. While I was reading I wondered if there was going to be a sudden switch in tone, but I had no way of recognizing that it would be so dramatic. I knew that there was probably an important reason that this text is so important. While reading through the carefully crafted argument that comprises most of the essay, I believed that there would probably be some sort of...
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...Margaret Hazell ENG 2850 9 April 2013 What is satire, satire is a particular genre of literature that sometimes makes use of graphic and performing arts with the intent of ridiculing society into self-improvement. With social criticism being its main goal, it utilizes wit and dark sarcasm as its main tools to illustrate its point. Satire influences individuals to reevaluate themselves in order to modify senseless thoughts and behaviors. Various techniques are used in order to deliver a satirist effect, those of which house wit as their main weapon. These methods harmonize the mastering of coexisting trivial and serious matters as one sarcasm, showing praise but meaning the contrary to demonstrate irony, and asking questions rhetorically. Additionally, the author might understate an issue in order to maneuver the audience towards the true importance of the topic, adversely; exaggeration is used to lower the impact of an issue to its lesser value. Collectively, these techniques are exercised to bring out the human follies and vices in society. In Molière’s Tartuffe and Jonathan Swift’s essay A Modest Proposal, that both obliquely criticize and burlesque human behavior and the perception we have towards others. Through a satirist delivery, these authors offer an insight past the seemingly obvious, and aim to improve this faulty custom of one sidedness rather than eliminating it. Although these pair of literary pieces illustrates satire, it is Molière’s play Tartuffe that generates...
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...To write satire is to perform a miracle. One must hate the world so much that one’s hatred strikes sparks but one must hate it only because it disappoints one’s invincible love of it; one must write in denunciation of ugliness and put the thing down in unmistakable black and white, yet keep this, as all written things, within the sphere of beauty. (Schorer 23). This quotation of Rebecca West interprets the significance of satire and satirist. Sinclair Lewis, the first American to be awarded the Noble Prize in literature, was one of the superb satirists American literature has produced. His novels highlight the vital issues of the contemporary society and are suffused with convincing characters, realistic dialogues and down-to-earth...
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..... .. | | . |A Modest Proposal | |By Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) | |A Study Guide | |Cummings Guides Home..|..Contact This Site | |.. | |Type of Work | |Purpose | |Historical Background | |Summary | | ...
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...Assignment #1: Surprise Ending in The Modest Proposal A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift is a satirical story with lots of sarcasm. This proposal was written to shock or force the government into a reaction. As the government read his proposal it should bring about a response. This proposal suggests a “barbaric solution” that amounts purely to cannibalism. Mr. Swift’s idea is to help end poverty and decrease the amount of women beggars by eating babies of the poor. He devised a plan where he would take 20,000 babies and decide how many would be sold, how many would be breeders thus creating a balance between rich and poor. Mr. Swift’s plan would give the poor a means of income and the wealthy would get a fine and delicate meal. He stated that feeding on Irish babies was a treat and the English should be honored to feast on the babies. Swift based his proposal on facts and figures of many years of analyzing the situation. He does seem well educated and well versed on his proposal. He noted several benefits and advantages to his proposal. Some of those benefits included women being more loving towards their children. Another benefit would be more marriages happening with men catering to their wives while they were pregnant. Swift also quoted a friend that was a modern day swindler. The friend was supposedly from Formosa and told a story where 18,000 young boys were sacrificed to the Gods’ and Priests’. The Gods’ dined on the hearts and the Priests’ dine on...
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...Reader Response Journal Entry – Satires In class, we went over the definitions of a satire and began to talk about what elements of a satire are seen in Huck Finn. A satire is described as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices. As I began to think more about what a satire means, I realized that in modern day TV shows, politics, and other sources of entertainment, elements of a satire are often brought in. For example, Family Guy, Tosh.0, Saturday Night Live, Chelsea Lately, and the Simpsons are all television shows that could be considered satires, since they all mock people, exaggerate, and use comedy to expose people. I’m surprised that it was so easy to find TV shows that are satires; it’s almost bad in a way, since so many popular shows are making fun of people. Satires aren’t only used to make fun of people though. Often, the use of sarcasm and amplification on their own, create a satire. In chapters 17-18 of Huck Finn, it is clear that Mark Twain is satirizing something in particular. I believe that Mr. Twain is mocking the Civil War through the feud between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords. This feud has been going on for so long that these two families can’t even remember how it all started. They say that they only way that the feud will end is when everyone has killed everyone else, because there will be no one left to fight; “a feud is this way: a man has a quarrel with another man and kills...
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...Is Mac Flecknoe a lampoon or a satire? At a time when fiction from Grub Street hack writers (whom he called the “multitude of scribblers, who daily pester the world with their insufferable stuff ”) was becoming widely read, courtly poets and dramatists like Dryden felt a need to play the public role of arbiters of literary taste. Dryden was actively engaged in contemporary debates which sought to lay down standards of what was considered high and low art. He published his “Essay of Dramatic Poesie” in 1667 and “Discourses on Satire and Epic Poetry” in 1692. Both of these served as prescriptive texts for what passed muster as “good” art. In an age of a revived interest in the classics, many of the instructions on good satirical writing are based on the works of Horace, Persius and Juvenal. While he did not think highly of Horatian verse which used word-play like anagrams and “ackrosticks” and was favoured by Francophiles poets, he admired Juvenal and Persius for their unity of plot and their use of Wit, which he saw as a more masculine device than lampooning or raillery. In MacFlecknoe, Dryden’s definition of good art also comes to be strongly associated with class. When he says that bad poetry laden with “Pure Clinches” or puns is inspired by the “suburban Muse”, his implication is that it is only the genteel circles of London that produce and read good poetry – thus, Bun-hill and Watling Street are down-market parts of London which by virtue of their economic demography...
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...that his offer will have a positive impact on the economy, society, and marriages. This essay is a proposal because the author suggests a concrete solution. We can consider it modest when we read the last sentences of his work, "I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive then the public good of my country, by advancing our trade, providing for infants, reliving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich" (838). Swift ends his essay stating that "I have no children by which I can proposed to get a single penny; the youngest being nine years old, and my wife past childbearing" (838). Undoubtedly, Swift provokes outrage. His satire evokes extreme emotions and feelings. It is both shocking and controversial....
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...• Theme o Symbolism Fiction is any form of narrative which deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and invented by its author(s). In contrast to this isnon-fiction, which deals exclusively in factual events. Elements of Fiction • Plot o Exposition o Rising action o Conflict Man vs Man Man vs Society Man vs Himself Man vs Nature Man vs Fate, Supernatural, Technology o Climax o Falling Action o Resolution • Setting o Social context o Mood • Characterization o Direct o Indirect • Point of View o First person o Objective o Omniscient o Limited Omniscient • Theme • Literary Techniques o Irony Verbal Dramatic Situational o Mood o Satire Horatian • Named for the Roman satirist, Horace, this playfully criticizes some social vice through gentle, mild, and light-hearted humour. It directs...
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...Your Name Instructor’s Name Course Name Date of Submission POLITICAL SATIRE Thesis Statement Political satire does in various ways alter the political history as it strengthens and accompanies political accomplishments. Political satire aims to inform individuals about matters pertaining to the general public as well as issues interconnected to government and politics, in a lighter but educational manner. It not only acts as a curative means to entertain citizens but also has a substantial effect on the political scene of a country. Based on this, “Political satire in the 21st century has a higher impact on the public opinion than a revealing newspaper article through creating humor and simplicity." Introduction The use of satire to express thoughts, themes, and opinions has been in existence since the early ages. It was written by an old Irish bard in an effort to put his solemn contempt upon the intended target. Mostly, satire targeted leaders, their styles of leadership, ideas and actions. The satire on the king, especially during the Irish king’s regime, was liable to result in his dethronement or even death. Political satire has been used in the past periods and continues to be used to criticize the political scenes in a humorous way. The use of satire over centuries as a literary tool has made it possible for essential thoughts, themes, and ideas to be passed across and expose the malfunctions and flaws in the society in a humorous manner. Over...
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...The Onion The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is a newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national and local news. Most of its humor depends on presenting everyday events as newsworthy and by playing on commonly used phrases. The Onions satire of brand obsession of Mac user’s gullibility may not be so effective to most PC users because of its excessively sarcastic caricature of macheads. The Onion introduces the latest of Apple’s gadgets the macbook wheel, a revolutionary laptop that does away with the keyboard. Replacing the keyboard is a huge button like the ones seen in apples iPod’s. At first glance it might seem that the laptop would fit apples modo of “simpler is better” however the onion plays with sarcasm stating “everything is just a hundred clicks away.” They also introduce Alex Zalban an apple fanatic who spent forty five minutes writing an email only about three sentences long with a vast amount of grammatical errors. The macbook geek speaks about the macbook wheel and says he likes how at the end of the email it says “sent from a macbook wheel”, that way people know you have one. This again is the onions creative way of making fun of macheads. Another way the onion excessively makes fun of macheads is by the price of the device which is just under twenty six hundred dollars for the lower end macbook wheel. Alex Zalban the machead then states, “I’ll buy anything that’s shiny and made by apple.” Shortly...
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...from ‘Scoop’ and consideration of other examples of satire that you have read, explore how ‘Scoop’ works as a satire. ‘Scoop’, published in 1938, was one of Evelyn Waugh’s earliest novels. In this novel Waugh presents a humorous and satirical view on Fleet Street journalists and their frenzied hunt of a scoop. Other novels, such as ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ by Jonathan Swift and ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell, both portray satirical messages throughout. In ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, Swift satirises human nature, and the political system and government. He uses Gulliver as a satirical device, and in order to portray the sarcasm and over-exaggeration of what Swift is satirising, he sends Gulliver on three journeys to strange lands, where he encounters odd people and thing, more tools that Swift uses. Gulliver's first journey takes him to the Land of Lilliput, where the local inhabitants of the land are six inch tall beings and he is a giant. His next journey brings him to Brobdingnag, where his situation is reversed, and he is a midget among giants. His third journey leads him to Laputa, a floating island which is inhabited by strange beings who derive their whole culture from music and mathematics. And finally Gulliver's fourth journey places him in the land of the Houyhnhnm, a society of intelligent, reasoning horses. By creating these four mysterious, ridiculous yet rather amusing journeys, Swift is able to add irony and satire of the English political system and the human ways. ...
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...Alejandro Delgado Professor Wolf British Literature February 23, 2012 A Flawed Justice System When a society has a problem and it needs to be dealt with in a fair manner, the society turns to its judicial system, which lays down the rules of how to go about the case and determine the punishment. There were many different societies that enforced a law system according to their needs and population, and this goes the same for the era. Ben Jonson and Jonathan Swift are two very popular and well respected authors of satire, who have made stories that made society question the judicial system that they carried. Ben Jonson satirizes the judicial system in his play Volpone, a story of an old but sneaky man who manipulated people into giving him things for the possibility of becoming the heir of his grand fortune. Jonathan Swift mocks the way England is carried out politically in Gulliver’s Travels, the story of Lemuel Gulliver who travels by sea to four different lands and learns of their habits whilst comparing them to England and opening his eyes to the flaws of England. One of the most crucial points in the story of Volpone would be the case of Bonario and Celia, who are being falsely accused by Corvino, Voltore and Corbaccio, who are currently competing for the position of becoming Volpone’s heir. Jonson mocks the system by simply giving full control to the men of power and portraying the avocatores as very gullible men. Before entering the court, the...
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...shower is borne aslope and it is sprinkling just like some careless quean. She flirts on you from her mop, but not so clean. You fly and invoke the gods, then turning and stop to rail. She is singing and still whirls on her mop. The dust had not shunned the unequal strife yet, but aided by the wind it still fought for life, and wafted with its foe by violent gust. That was doubtful which was rain and which was dust. Ah! Where must needy poet seek for aid when dust and rain invade on his coat at once. Dust cemented by the rain on sole coat, it erects the nap and leaves a mingled stain. I did some research online and in a web blog I found out that Dulman is a character created by Johnathon Swift to carry the most weight when he is creating satire, Dulman represent the meaning of “dull man” in his works. Dread: to regard with awe or reverence, venerate Saunter: To muse, be in a reverie Mingled: mixed, interspersed Strife: The action of striving together or contending in opposition; a condition of antagonism, enmity, or discord; contention, dispute. (All...
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...Sarcasm defined in The Oxford Universal Dictionary, as "a sharp, bitter, or cutting expression or remark; a bitter gibe or taunt." Definitions that are more contemporary often emphasize the false, mocking praise and verbal irony of sarcasm rather than its malicious or scornful intent. However, the etymology of the word "sarcasm" clearly indicates that wounding was, at least historically, the primary point. The word comes from the late Latin sarcasmus, derived from the Greek sarkasmos "a sneer, jest, taunt, mockery" and sarkazein "to speak bitterly, sneer" literally, "to strip off the flesh" or "to bite the lips in rage.” Despite smiling outwardly, most people who receive sarcastic comments feel put down and usually think the sarcastic person is a jerk. What’s more, since actions strongly determine thoughts and feelings, when a person consistently acts sarcastically it usually only heightens his or her underlying hostility and insecurity. After all, when you come right down to it, sarcasm is a subtle form of bullying and most bullies are angry, insecure, cowards. Alternatively, when a person stops voicing negative comments, especially sarcastic and critical ones, he or she soon starts to feel happier and more self-confident. In addition, the other people in his or her life benefit even faster because they no longer have to hear the emotionally hurtful language of sarcasm. Though this particular definition has a negative connotation, sarcasm can be a positive addition...
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