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Use Of Misogynistic Tone In A Modest Proposal

493 Words2 Pages

An author, no matter what his or her purpose, cannot belittle a group of people in his or her audience. In A Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift, the misogynistic tone disempowers his criticism of society. As Swift writes, he uses a misogynistic tone that weakens his argument. This piece would be much more effective if Swift did not include misogynistic language. Misogyny is the dislike of, or prejudice against women. Jonathan Swift uses a misogynistic tone in his piece, A Modest Proposal. This misogynistic tone thoroughly disempowers his criticism of society. Swift writes, “...crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags…” This quote explicitly places the blame of Ireland’s conditions on women. Further, through using misogynistic language, Swift is unable to effectively deliver his argument. As Swift places the blame on the female sex, he refuses to mention the responsibility that must be placed on the males. The males were equally involved in creating these beggar children. Therefore, Swift including a line on the equal blame between the sexes would be a viable argument. Seeing that Swift did not decide to include such a line, his criticism of society was weakened overall. …show more content…

Swift states, “Then as to the females, it would, I think, with humble submission be a loss to the public, because they soon would become breeders themselves…” This quote exemplifies Swift’s complete misunderstanding of society as a whole. Also, a woman reading this particular line may feel as though Swift lacks knowledge on the role of women in society. A reader, as a member of Swift’s audience, may see this discrepancy in his argument and deem him an unreliable source. Consequently, Swift’s lack of understanding of the female sex disempowers his criticism of society as a

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