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A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

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1. In the satirical essay, A Modest Proposal (1729), Jonathan Swift implies that Ireland is overpopulated because the Catholic population is reproducing too much children and therefore by using the children as a marketable strategy it would increase Ireland’s economy. The author supports this by stating that since the kids are delicacies and delicacies don’t come cheaply, not only will the parents make a good profit out of their young ones but this will also make Ireland a hot spot for tourists. The author’s purpose is to satirically argue that Ireland’s children can be raised as food for the wealthy in order to show how the English are treating the Irish so badly that they are literally cannibalizing the Irish people. The intended audience appears …show more content…

-Evaluative: Would the Irish government actually permit their people to do that? Would they even think of it as an option for their people if everything else fails?
3. “There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their babes, I doubt, more to avoid the expense than the shame, which would move tears and pity in the most savage and inhuman breast.” (pg. 1114)
The main reason for Swift’s proposal is to boost Ireland’s economy as well as decrease its overpopulation, but there are also other advantages that he states would come with his proposal. One advantage would be that mothers would no longer have to get abortions when they cannot support their babies as the proposal would boost Ireland’s economy. If Ireland’s economy improves that means that the mothers would no longer have to get abortions because they would have money to support their children well if they aren’t sold off, that is. In Swift’s perspective, his proposal is the change that Ireland needs if it wants to

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“A Modest Proposal “ is an example of Juvenalian satire. Jonathan swift uses irony and satirical techinques to denounce how Ireland was run during his time by making a mokery on politics. Using a serious tone and scientific data swift elaborates his proposal which is ironic from the tittle itself as it includes de word “modest”. His explicit, exaggerated and repulsive proposal arguing that by selling newborns Irish as food would reduce the number of catholics in Ireland, provide farmers a way to pay their landlords, increase domestic revenue, ease the financial burdens on lower class families and provide a delighful cuisine for the wealthy, metaphorycally represent how the government preys on its less fortunate population. Therefore, Swift's

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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Swift's Political Proposal

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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.

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In fact, he refers to “A very worthy Person, a true Lover of his Country, and whose Virtues I highly esteem, was lately pleased, in discoursing on this matter, to offer a refinement upon my Scheme”(17). As a result, Swift shows that even the most patriotic person to both Ireland and Britain (since Ireland was under British control at the time) realizes that within this current situation of poverty, this proposal is a solution and can be acted out in many different

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Analyzing The Essay 'A Modest Proposal' By Jonathan Swift

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Imagine living in 1700 Ireland with no modern technology, no running water, no electricity, nothing. Now visualize being neglected by the English tyranny, thus living in poverty and starvation; struggling to make ends meet. Unfortunately, this horrible event occurred back in 1729, and to bring awareness to the difficulties that Ireland was facing, author Jonathan Swift wrote a satirical essay called A Modest Proposal. To prove his theory, Jonathan Swift creatively incorporated modes of persuasion into his writing to convince that the Irish were being treated poorly by the English.

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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

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Use Of Satire In Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

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In the essay Swift portrays himself as a statistician who provides analytical data to back up his hypothesis that the selling of Irish infants as food would solve the problem of poverty and starvation in Irish communities in England. Swift uses different forms of satire including overstatement, understatement, and irony to provide the residents of England a form of comic relief during a time of extreme abuse. Swift himself was in a peculiar situation being both a Protestant and a native of Ireland, but he believes both the Irish and the Protestant can benefit from selling and consuming Irish infants. Swift’s use of understatement is apparent when he describes his proposal as “fair, cheap, and easy.” When he states that his proposal would end abortion, Swift uses overstatement because abortion would no longer be necessary since an infant would cost little to feed and would bring maximum profit to the rich English landowners looking to sell the children as an decadent dish.

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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).”

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Jonathan Swift uses rhetorical devices, logical, ethical, as well as emotional appeals to highlight the difference between Swift’s satirical attitude and the narrator’s serious attitude concerning poverty and starvation. These various articles and different exerts from “A Modest Proposal” show the misleading content of the proposal in order to save Ireland and help them become a free country

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Rhetorical Devices Used In A Modest Proposal

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While the poor people of Ireland continue to breed, the rich will have elaborate feasts and dinner parties with the meat of peasant’s children. The idea of the poor raising food for the rich as a solution to poverty is ludicrous as well as highly ironic. The rich will continue to enjoy the luxuries of the upper class such as wealth, power, and fine dining, while the peasants raise their meat for them. The upper class is undoubtedly the British that rule over Ireland, and by eating their oppressed they show their power and superiority. Swift is commenting that British control in Ireland is as treacherous as people eating their own babies as means to survive.

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Reasons In Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

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In this essay, Swift uses irony, slight humor, and sarcasm (Smith, 2011). The author does not wish for his proposals to be carried out. The absurdity of his proposals clearly shows his displeasure with Ireland’s state (Smith, 2011). In his piece, it urges readers to be aware of how dire the situation is, and that people must come up with a proper solution. His way of writing this essay should not be taken literally, but it should be carefully assessed and understood (Lovin,

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A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

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Swift calculates the population of Ireland, how many children are born per year, and how much money is spent to raise a child for one year. Swift convinces the poorer families on the streets that if every mother had two children and made 10 shillings per child at the end of that year by selling them to the local tavern, the money earned would be 20 shillings total, 4 for the cost to raise the infants and 16 profit. Swift uses the idea of homelessness and starvation to convince the public to consider the pamphlet so that families can afford homes, pay off debts, and live comfortable lives. Swift wants not only to convince the general public of the "Proposal," but Swift also his intelligence. The audience wants to understand the reasoning behind the source backed with statical data.

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A Modest Proposal Ethos Pathos Logos

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“… I calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders; from which number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children…” (Swift 357) to convince anyone to do something they must give them many reasons to make their audience follow you. This quote gives numbers to convince the English showing that not many parents in Ireland can even take care of their own children. Logically Swift make a flawless point, he intrigues everyone reading this with his research. It makes his audience think about what he is saying and if he is being serious or

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Swift 's writing still has relevance to the modern world. Even through his ideas are absolutely ridiculous they can be argued as being logical. Using statistics of this plan, such as the cost of raising a baby for a year, average number of child bearing women and the price that a child sold into to slavery would be, Swift 's arguments for his proposal can be seen as logical and well supported by statistics. This technique of persuading people by using statistics, could be used by politicians to get supporters to side with a ridiculous idea.

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867 Words | 4 Pages

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/or using their skins as a fashion accessory; however, ultimately this proposal is not his true goal. Jonathon Swift skillfully used different styles of writing, such as imagery and irony, to show why the Irish should sell their children to the rich to eat.

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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).

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