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Rhetorical Devices In A Modest Proposal

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Most people would agree that we should do whatever we can to get rid of poverty and starvation, but what if one of the solutions is unusual? Jonathan Swift does just that in “A Modest Proposal” where his narrator proposes the idea to eat one-year old babies as a solution to get rid of starvation and poverty. This literary work shocked the people of Ireland in 1729, just as Swift planned. The actual purpose for this gruesome essay, however, was too allude to England’s poor treatment of Ireland. In “A Modest Proposal” the narrator’s proposal and attitude, and Swift’s purpose and attitude are contrasted using rhetorical devices and the appeal of logos. Ireland in 1729 was not only struggling through an economic depression but a famine as well. …show more content…

The narrator makes himself seem more formal by using such word choice as “breeders” (Swift 3). This makes them appear less human and more like they are just products or animals. The objective is to dehumanize the people as much as possible to make it like slaying animals for food. Another example of the narrator using word choice is when he states, “I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection” (Swift 4). By using the word “humbly,” he appears more businesslike and proper. This sentence also sets him up for getting his point across, while staying objective towards the topic. Although the narrator’s proposal is outlandish, his formal attitude helps to make it seem more reasonable, but what was Swift’s actual purpose for writing “A Modest …show more content…

Swift is satirizing Americans by saying that is where his narrator gets the idea from. It makes it seem like Americans have been doing these monstrous acts and are okay with it. Swift and his narrator do share some beliefs, for example the narrator states, “For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of Papists, with whom we are yearly over-run, being the principal breeders of the nation, as well as our most dangerous enemies” (8). Swift and his narrator both agree here with their feelings towards the Papists, whom they satirize due to their disbelief in birth control. This proves that Swift is not just trying to call for reform from the English, but to call for reform from his country. Swift’s attitude throughout “A Modest Proposal,” although satiric, is for the soul purpose of achieving his goal of reform for his

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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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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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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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What was the point of writing the essay “A Modest Proposal?” Jonathan Swift wrote this essay to describe the poverty issue of Ireland in 1729. During this time many of the people of Ireland that could not support the raising of their children so they was sold for money. In “A Modest Proposal” the narrator describes his proposal and attitude while Swift calls for a change of the conditions in Ireland while using shocking and exaggerated statements.

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A Surprise Ending In his "Modest Proposal" Jonathan Swift has given an amazement to the peruses toward the end. Be that as it may, Swift's astonishment ought not to be viewed as an amazement at all because, intelligently, he has rendered careful endeavors (through the method of parody and incongruity) to set up his peruses for the astounding end. In his, work Swift has accentuated on the lamentable and curious financial state of Ireland under the frontier control of Britain. Furthermore, it is for challenging the insensitivity of the legislature towards the people which has upheld Swift to give such an astonishing and answer for the persevering financial issues.

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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

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When a social challenge begins to face a country, it tends to have a negative effect on the individuals residing there. This exact situation happened to Dublin, Ireland during the early 1700s, where poverty was the country’s current downfall. Jonathan Swift, a current resident of the country, attempts to help them recover by writing a proposal to England officials in hopes that it will get them to do something about the situation. When the England officials didn’t take notice of his proposals, Swift decided to take a different, satiric route in which would be an extremely, immodest proclamation. “A Modest Proposal” was a written proclamation created by Jonathan Swift that tries to handle the issue of poverty through an explicit, articulated scheme.

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