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Jonathan Swift Research Paper

963 Words4 Pages

In many ways Ireland in the 1700’s is like the outstanding new hunger games movies where the sixteen year old girl from District 12, Katniss Everdeen is willing to do anything for survival. Jonathan was born into a poor family. He was unfortunate not to meet his father as he died suddenly just seven months before he was born. Due to the death of his father, his mother Abigail went back to live with her parents and his sister Jane and himself were raised by relatives. In 1673, Swift went to a grammar school in Kilkenny where he perused his interests in Reading and English literature. In 1682, Swift was accepted into Trinity College, Dublin, where he received a B.A in ‘special grace’, which is an award given to students who did not live up …show more content…

Families in Ireland were living in very poor conditions; Swift came up with an idea to make the young, hungry, children of Ireland, who have their whole life ahead of them if they could escape from the poverty stricken Ireland, very valuable members of society. “sound and useful members of the commonwealth" (Swift, 1729). Swift proposes to feed the starving new-borns to the more wealthy and prestigious people in Ireland. He felt it was an idea that would not only solve hunger problems, but over population too and leading to families having a little more disposable income. Swift gives exact information on how many children should be sold to the meat market and how they should be cooked, he thinks he has it all worked out. As this is not a very appealing solution, Swift stresses throughout that all ideas are welcome. “ anyone who could devise a way to make these street children into productive members of society would be doing the nation a great service” (Swift, A Modest Proposal, 1729) Swift soon comes to the realisation that this is not a very likely solution welcoming any solutions, as long as they are relevant. As it comes about that Swift does not actually want Ireland to start promoting cannibalism, he just wants the people of Ireland to realise how the upper class are treating

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Swift does a good job using ethos, pathos, and logos to describe the Ireland’s economy and how he thinks it can be improved. All of his references to the killing of innocent children were just a way to open up the eyes of their society to how the Irish poor beggars were not being given any type of aid. He uses ethos in the best way and also does a good job using logos. Swift has ideas that are not that ethical but does an interesting way to get his ideas

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Jonathan Swift Ethos Pathos Logos Analysis

879 Words | 4 Pages

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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Imagery In Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

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However, the proposal seemed so heart-wrenching and far-fetched, it repulsed the audience by his description of when and what age to harvest the children as if he really believed his proposal was the solution. The way he described the women and children as beggars on the street in the beginning was emotionally difficult to read because, he gave the reader a vivid mental image. One part showed great imagery as he discussed how the children could be “stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled” (Swift 2), which the reader could now picture by him using terms people use when cooking animals. This piece of imagery shown indicates that the Irish government was treating its lower class no better than animals. Another strong image is created when he suggests using the children’s skin to make lady’s gloves and men’s summer boots, which is terrible and gruesome to even think about.

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556 Words | 3 Pages

In “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift informs the reader that a famine is happening in Ireland and the rich are turning a blind eye to the starving poor. Swift claims that the best way to fix the problem of overpopulation and beggars on the street is to eat the poor children. John Swift is a Protestant clergyman, so he sees what these people are going through every day due to church. Yet, he is a member of the ruling class, meaning he has never lived through these horrible conditions the families are. Since he does see these people, he has a good idea of what is going on in their lives making him a credible person on the subject of the living conditions in 1729 when he wrote “A Modest Proposal.”

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The Modest Proposal Analysis

250 Words | 1 Pages

In 1729 the conditions in Ireland became increasingly bad for the Irish. Wealthy English had purchased about 90% of the land in Ireland. The English landlords raised the rents making it harder for the Irish tenant farmers to pay rent let alone clothes and feed their family. Swift came up with a crazy proposal more as a metaphor not to be taken seriously. Swift was implying that the English was getting fatter and fatter, (wealth wise) and the Irish was getting thinner and thinner (poorer).

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Satire In Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal

805 Words | 4 Pages

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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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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Figurative Language In A Modest Proposal

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Jonathan Swift is an Irish born British writer who published A Modest Proposal in 1729. He is a satirical author that wrote during the Irish Potato famine and British imperialization of Ireland. Swift makes use of sarcastic diction and explains the rationale and result of his proposal before actually uncovering his plan in order to expose the horrors of British imperialization and force change in the British treatment and rule of the poor citizens of Ireland. Throughout A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift consciously uses sarcastic word choice to depict the dehumanization inflicted on the British.

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Jonathan Swift Research Paper

793 Words | 4 Pages

His name was Godwin Swift and chose to enroll Jonathan swift in Kilkenny Grammar School. Jonathon Swift had a very big culture shock at that particular school since he was used to the life of poverty but was going to an upper class and well known school. He did however find his lifelong friend, who is also a writer, William Congreve in Kilkenny Swift excelled greatly in literature and English. When Swift was fourteen he enrolled in Trinity College and received a bachelor degree in art. After he left Trinity College, his mother found a secretary position for an English Statesman named William Temple.

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A Modest Proposal Ethos Pathos Logos

623 Words | 3 Pages

Swifts text was effective in using ethos, logos, and satire to convince the English to do more to address the issues of Ireland. Swift used ethos by showing he was a well-educated, and thoughtful man. He shows us when reading the text, we see the way he uses his words. With the phrase “having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors…” (Jonathan Swift, 356) it shows that he thought a lot about this topic. Swift explained that selling Ireland's children would help with many problems Irelands families are having.

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483 Words | 2 Pages

Swift uses his satire as a way to draw attention to daily conditions that many families in Ireland are suffering from. His extreme plan of eating children is used as a way to draw the attention of the government towards helping improve the economy. By using irony Swift is able to help make his plan a more believable solution to invoke change. Even today Swift 's plan can be seen as a persuasive technique, using logic and statistics to convince the

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Jonathan Swift Research Paper

500 Words | 2 Pages

2.3 Life and Works of Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift, the son of English parents- Jonathan Swift and Abigail Erick was born in Dublin, Ireland on 30th November 1667. Swift’s father came to Ireland to work with his elder brother Godwin but unfortunately, he died of syphilis just seven months before Jonathan Swift’s birth and hence, Abigail Erick was enforced to depend on the financial support of Godwin. His mother went to England leaving him behind alone in the care of his uncle Godwin who looked after his nursing and schooling. At the age of six, Swift was sent to Kilkenny School where he studied for eight years and then went to Trinity College, Dublin for further education in 1682. In his school activities, Swift was an average student and

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Irony In Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

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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1083 Words | 5 Pages

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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