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A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

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In the “Modest Proposal” essay Jonathan Swift uses a variety of satire and techniques to convey his message. Through the use of techniques of satire such as incongruity and hyperbole, Swift turns his message into something humorous and sarcastic to get his message across. In this essay, I will give a brief historical context for the satirical piece written by Swift, discuss the message the author was trying to convey, and how he used satire to get his message across. Modest proposal was written in 1729 by Jonathan Swift with the objective of shocking the English Society into the unjust policies towards the Irish, which gave a demonstration that the Irish were living a life of unfairness. At the time, Swift describes the town of Dublin as a place where many female beggars would be located in the streets asking passerby for money. Along with the beggars, there were children and infants who lacked the basic necessities of life such as food, shelter, and hygiene because their families could not afford to provide for them. As a result of poverty, Swift claimed that many of these children would turn into thieves by the age …show more content…

Swift’s message revolved around bringing awareness to the problem that many Irish families were facing, which was poverty. However, the government was a major issue because they were not taking the conflict of poverty seriously. Although Swift's message is intended to be serious, he conveys his idea in a satirical manner to get the attention of the readers and get his message across. Through his message, Swift proposes his idea to bake children and eat them as a source of food to minimize having to feed them and care for them. Eventually, the author wants his readers to realize and understand that the idea he is proposing is composed of satire and that he intends to make fun of the heartless and uncaring attitude towards the

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