ipl-logo

A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

726 Words3 Pages

Ireland had been going through some rough times of famine when “A Modest Proposal” was written. They had been going through a hard time in the farming, for at least three years before “A Modest Proposal” was written. Jonathan Swift used sarcasm turned into satire. He was trying to point out that they weren’t actually that bad in the famine, not good off by any means, but not that bad. He was trying to prove a point in which they won’t go to the most desperate means to survive. He challenged the status quo by saying that selling the kids into slavery, not killing them when they are in the womb, and the benefits of eating the children and how it would help both families and the economy. The first way that Swift challenges the status quo is that he says that they should sell their children into slavery to save their parents from having to deal with them and pay for them. He says that by selling the kids into slavery it would take the burden off the parents, after the first year. Swift says, “a child just dropped from …show more content…

He said, “...it would greatly lessen the number of papists…(Paragraph 10-1)”. He thought that the poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own, instead of having to give up their cattle, rent or corn, they could just barter their children off as food. He also said that it would also help the nation's stock by “... increasing fifty thousand pounds of ammun…(Paragraph 10-3)”. He also thought it would bring down the breeding in cattle and livestock because so many people wouldn’t need it as much because they would be alright on their children, that it would be enough to last on for a little bit. Swift also thought that it would “... increase the care and tenderness of mother toward their children…(Paragraph 10-6)”. He figured that the husbands would be as fond of their wives during their pregnancy as they are when their mare has a

Show More
Related
820 Words | 4 Pages

Jonathan Swift, one of the greatest writers in the world, used lots of satires in his article “A Modest Proposal” in order to criticize the disability of the ancient hierarchical society in the Ireland, the anti-human behaviors, the tyranny of the wealth English and the superior method of Irish Catholic. Although the tone and the words used in the article all show the ironies, the examples narrator used most strongly showed the irony. The title of the article is “A Modest proposal” because the article was based on the famine in the 18th century when Irish were also suffered from the high taxes made by the landlords in the Ireland. So the condition of the country was really like a disaster where “they are every Day dying, and rotting” (Swift 3), “the streets, the Roads, and Cabin-Doors crowded with beggars of female” (Swift 1).

Read More
201 Words | 1 Pages

He says by selling the children, it will take a burden off of the parents, it will even stop mothers from having abortions. Swift says that his proposal will stop the horrible things that mothers do to their children to hide their shame like sacrificing innocent children. The irony to this is Swift’s proposal would have innocent children be sold, slaughtered, and eaten by the wealthy. Which is pretty much the same thing as

Read More
698 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, in Swift’s writing, he uses logos which is the principle of divine reason and judgment. The people that were not as wealthy would run out of money and could not pay their landlords. All the people's crops and livestock would have already been acquired, but if they could use their children as a way to make a deal than they could pay the rent on their homes. “The poorer

Read More
646 Words | 3 Pages

Based on what you know about Swift and the internal evidence in "A Modest Proposal," how can you tell that the "proposal" in the essay is in fact the opposite of what the words themselves suggest? (10 Point) Swift’s use of obvious satire makes the reader infer what he is saying, is not as is actually implied. His use of satire when proposing the plan to save the town of the burdensome children, and overpopulation only helps further explain this is not one of his true thoughts. When he writes “....the poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own” he is saying they have nothing as valuable as the carcasses of the babies, which were viewed as a semi-renewable resource.

Read More
159 Words | 1 Pages

As Swift keeps saying how it would benefit people to eat the children, he decides to go a different route at the end. Although he says that he “can think of no one objection,” he gives great pointers as to how the dilemma may actually be solved. Even though he is using sarcasm while saying them, he starts it out with “Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients…” He goes on about taxing, using only what is needed, not spending as much on women, learning to love their country, getting along with each other, and more. Although his earlier ideas challenged the status quo, he derails the train of thought by saying this now.

Read More
658 Words | 3 Pages

Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” excels at displaying the purpose by using a high skill level of craft. Jonathan Swift was known for his very successful book Gulliver’s Travels; however, “A Modest Proposal” goes above and beyond that in terms of craft. “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical article mocking the ridiculous ideas on how to improve Ireland’s condition given by the English. If there are too many children and there is not enough food, why not fix both and eat the children? Swift does not just place his plan out in the open, he leads up to it in a very elaborate way.

Read More
574 Words | 3 Pages

In the seventh hundredth, Irish face an economic depression and out control population growth. Jonathan Swift saw that the country of Ireland was going to suffer the greatest economic depression because at every corner in Ireland, he would see a woman bagging for money and some woman had children with them. He decide to propose a modest proposal to how society can end poverty in Ireland. Swift believed in selling children to the rich people and ending poverty for the commonwealth. Swift is modest proposal was cheap and simple solution to help improve the economic and low Ireland is impoverished population.

Read More
1402 Words | 6 Pages

The full title of Swift 's pamphlet is "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick" It is an oddly imagined effort to "find out a fair, cheap, and easy Method" (Greenblatt, p.1200) for transforming the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the commonwealth" (Greenblatt, p.1200). Through this paper the value of goodness and appreciation for beauty, beauty as associated with humankind, will be highlighted because even though Swift’s writing is sarcastic, he draws attention to a large problem in Ireland during his lifetime. Across Ireland, poor children, mainly Catholics, are living in filth because their families are too poverty stricken to keep them properly clothed and

Read More
1594 Words | 7 Pages

Service in government or education, and the practice of religion” (Moore 689). Swift professes to “ propose to provide for them in such a Manner, as, instead of being a Charge upon their Parents, or the Parish, or wanting Food and Raiment for the rest of their Lives; they shall, on the contrary, contribute to the Feeding, and partly to the Cloathing, of many Thousands” (Swift 315). Swift attempts to show the common Irish people that if they can make a commodity for themselves then the can praise themselves out of

Read More
1276 Words | 6 Pages

Swift is extremely frustrated with the government; more specifically, he believes that the government is doing a poor job of choosing which groups of people to prioritize. This article was written during a time where Ireland was facing famine and overpopulation. He distresses over the fact that streets are “crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags” (Swift 1). However, his explanation for his proposal seems to be more beneficial to the rich people, since he brings up that the profit the poor people make from selling their babies can be given to landlords to help pay off the landlord’s rent (Swift 9). From this, readers can infer that Swift believes that the propositions offered by the Irish government do not benefit the people who need benefits

Read More
741 Words | 3 Pages

Jonathan Swift satirizes the incompetence of Ireland's politicians, the hypocrisy of the aristocrat, the heartless attitudes of the English, and the unpleasantness in poor Irish people’s living. Swift brings the social state of Ireland to the attention of selfish politicians, by suggesting Ireland's socio-economic troubles would be quickly solved by putting the children in the food market. Swift's contempt for the irresponsibility, greed and moral indifference of the aristocrats are matched only by his disgust at the failure of Ireland's leaders. Some argue that main target of the satire that people with illogical but vogue schemes that appearing to solve socio-economic troubles, but those reformers regarded poor as commodities.

Read More
1880 Words | 8 Pages

The full title of the original piece is, "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick." In that essay, Swift ironically argued that children from poor Irish families should be purchased at the age of one year, fattened for commercial sale, and then marketed as live meat to wealthy landowners. This would control the population, give poor Irish families a source of additional revenue, suppress acts of infanticide and abortion, and provide culinary adventure to the wealthy. By pushing to such extremes the indifference and cruelty that he actually witnessed, Swift created an enduring essay that serves as an historical indictment of English rule in

Read More
230 Words | 1 Pages

Satirist, Jonathan Swift in his essay, “A Modest Proposal”, argues that there needs to be a change in the economy in order to reduce and fix the problems with the amount of poor in Ireland. He develops his claim by first bringing up the number of poor children and beggar mothers, then giving his analysis of the problem, then giving his sarcastic plan of child farming in order to give these poor children a usefulness to everyone, and finally stating that he is not so inclined to his own plan that he is willing to hear the plan of others that will resolve the issue. Swift's purpose is to bring about change with his satire in order resolve the issue of the poor and hungry in Ireland. He creates a sarcastic and satirical tone for everyone in Ireland

Read More
1141 Words | 5 Pages

The author’s use of satire is superbly honed in this essay. A satirical work ridicules stupidity in other people, and through the use of ironic language implies ideas that are the opposite of those expressed. No finer example than the Proposer of this story, considering cannibalising infants, as a “modest” suggestion for curing poverty in Ireland. Swift spares no one in this essay taking every chance to have a gibe. About landlords he says “I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.”

Read More
454 Words | 2 Pages

In a Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift satirical writing used in the form as sarcasm is challenging the issue of how Ireland’s poor are being treated. Jonathan swift uses sarcasm to ridicule the treatment of Ireland’s poor by the wealthy landlords. Swift uses of sarcasm is demonstrated in this quote, “ I grant this food will be something dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children”(Swift P.625). The use of sarcasm in the following text by Jonathan Swift highlights the effectiveness of satirical

Read More

More about A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Open Document