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Reasons In Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

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Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is an essay that intends to draw awareness to the downfall of the Irishmen and motivate readers to find a feasible solution to the problem. The essay was written in a satirical way that has been able to engage readers to read more on the topic and the essay themselves (Smith, 2011). Swift was able to establish a "love-hate" relationship with readers due to being very sympathetic towards the Irishmen in the first part of the essay (Lovin, n.d.). This was able to make readers appreciate the author for his emotions towards the Irishmen. But then, in the latter parts, the author becomes unsympathetic and directed attention more towards the problems that the society faced at the time. His disapproval of Ireland’s …show more content…

Parents will no longer be heavily burdened with the responsibly to take care of their children until early adulthood (because they will be butchered and sold as meat in the markets anyway). 5. A new culinary cuisine would be introduced and would expand the variety the cuisines that would surely bring delight to the landlords who are part of the society. 6. It is through selling children in the markets that husbands will be motivated to care more for their wives so that they can bear more children. And these said wives would have a more defined purpose to take care of the children (the better the child's condition is, the higher the profit will be). This would also address the ever growing problem of overpopulation. With the given proposals, it is clear that all of these are in an effort to boost the Irish economy. But it stops there. These proposals show that humanity could get thrown away (A Modest Proposal and Other Satires Summary and Analysis of "A Modest Proposal", n.d.). 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, …show more content…

The feeling of frustration was evident all throughout the essay. I agree with Swift's stand against abortion and cannibalism (Lovin, n.d.). As cliché as it is, violence does not solve anything. It never has and will never be the answer to any of the problems that Ireland has faced in the 17th century. The author was merely being rhetorical and sarcastic (Lovin, n.d.). Seeing the essay for the first time, my impression was that it would be difficult to comprehend and would require a high cognitive level. But as I repeatedly read through it, I was able to understand it. And with further reading, I was then able to see in in between the lines. The author's interesting choice of words were had me engaged on reading more and doing my own research on the

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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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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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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).

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Have you ever thought about resorting to cannibalism in order to solve the problem of poverty? Well, that is exactly what Johnathon Swift suggested in A Modest Proposal. In this work of satire, Johnathon Swift makes a proposal to the wealthy English landowners in Ireland during the eighteenth century. Poverty was a large problem during this time and the wealthy were feeling inconvenienced by the poor families begging for money to feed their children. Swift presents the idea that the poor Irish children should be butchered and sold for meat to feed the wealthy of the country in order to solve their dilemma.

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1729, a Papist infected Ireland was being devoured by the taxes that the British placed on them. The taxes were turning into what once was a glorious place into ruins. Jonathan Swift, an Englishman and Irish sympathizer, realized that someone had to do something to wake up the British. This lead to the creation of A Modest Proposal, a pamphlet heavy with irony and juvenalian satire, which was how Jonathan Swift planned on compelling the British to do something about the poor situation in Ireland. His use of rhetorical devices gets his point across in an effective and powerful way.

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Swift’s A Modest Proposal Timothy Blackman Strayer University In reading the article you first have to gather some type of idea what he was talking about. I understand in society we all see a lot of people that are probably considered or labeled undesirables. I spent time trying to figure out if he was ranting about the homeless kids or he was just upset. He also then talks about abortions, which is always a debate for everyone.

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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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However, one would not understand why the story was written. In fact, without knowing historical context, a work could be greatly misunderstood. In the satire A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift,

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In Swift’s short story he humorously presents an idea to solve most of Ireland’s struggle of constant deprivation and poverty, while also venting his frustrations of the wealthy and powerful. In the early paragraphs, he builds up the topic of Ireland’s problem by spending the first couple paragraphs listing the problems that conflict his homeland by eerily saying the population problem is one of the main contributors to Ireland’s deterioration. Swift has calculated and has accounted for the price and moral weight of taking care of a child, so he closes his opening points by suggesting to the reader a notion to actually consume children. The main rhetorical challenge of this ironic essay is capturing the attention of an audience whose indifference has been well grounded. Swift makes his point negatively, stringing together an appalling set of morally untenable positions in order to cast blame and aspersions far and wide as Swift explains that the rich are selling out the people for what little scrap the once great land once offered.

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943 Words | 4 Pages

He has shown concern by investigating into the topic. Swift had traveled from England to Ireland and was very disappointed with what he saw. He writes the proposal to get out his technique for solving the issue that must be solved. The tone of the essay is ironic and sarcastic for many reasons.

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay: A Modest Proposal Dr. Jonathan Swift places himself as a villain who is willing to do evil deeds to answer hard questions. What pushes Swift to write the essay “A Modest Proposal” is Ireland's economic and social problems. In this satirical essay Swift highlights the problems in Ireland and gives a sarcastic solution to make people feel guilt. Swift’s use of dehumanizing language is used to make the reader oppose Swift’s modest proposal.

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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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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’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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