In his renowned pamphlet, “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift brings attention to the poor conditions in Ireland. Being a native of Ireland, Swift remained loyal to his country. Upon noticing the terrible conditions in Ireland, he took it upon himself to address the issues at hand. Among these issues, involves the sickly and insufficient children in his homeland. Incorporating statistics to support his claim, Swift attempts to persuade his readers to support his outrageous plan to solve a dire situation. As a result his “logical” and preposterous plan created mixed reactions in both the past and the present.…
Jonathan Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal’ talks about how children of poor people are a burden to their parents and how the parents should fatten up their children and then feed them to Ireland’s rich land-owners. But in the last sentence of ‘A Modest Proposal’, “I have no children, by which I can propose a single penny; the youngest being nine and my wife past child-bearing” is one example of the verbal irony in the whole pamphlet.…
“A Modest Proposal” is a strongly written satire by Jonathon Swift. In the essay, Swift applies nearly all of the elements of satire. Some of the most obvious elements are his use of creating a persona and his exaggeration. Beginning by analyzing the title, “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public”, it is a reasonable topic for the essay. However it is not at all modest. Swift absurdly creates suggestions to make the poor children beneficial. His primary goal in this essay is to shame the English, bring up the issues of poverty and motivate the Irish.…
In his satirical essay "A Modest Proposal," Johnathan Swift examines treatment of the poor in Ireland during the eighteenth century: “I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London; that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food; whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled, and I make no doubt, that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or ragout.” (Swift 763) In his essay, Swift describes a repulsive suggestion for dealing with the children of the poor in Ireland. Swift describes in detail how poor children should be raised and sold to the wealthy at age one. He details how the children should be and how they should be prepared for the wealthy to consume. Swift's abhorrent proposal for the poor children not only points out the awful treatment of the poor in Ireland during the eighteenth century, but also Ireland's inability to devise a more desirable plan for the poor. His use of statistics and graphical depiction of the poor children's lives adds to the credibility of his essay.…
An Anglican priest known for his political pamphlets, Jonathan Swift, in his essay, “A Modest Proposal”, suggests that the infants of poor mothers should be sold as food on the market. Swift’s proposal is to call attention to the horrid living conditions in Ireland to convince the English to stop exploiting the Irish. He accomplishes this by encouraging the audience to believe he’s creditable, using statistics and the advantages of his proposal to appear logical, appealing to the emotions of the reader.…
In “A Modest Proposal”, the theme of the short story is all but modest. The proposal is that the people of Ireland should start eating babies in order to dilute the population and to provide money (to, for example, the renters) for the poor who cannot afford food. John Swift uses this ironic satire in order to catch the reader's attention. It is his way of saying ‘here is a ridiculous idea, now think of an actual solution’. The solution that Swift proposes is one that would work but is deemed immoral.…
In the essay “A Modest Proposal”, the author Jonathan Swift proposes that 1 year-old infants born to impoverished Irish parents should be sold and cooked for the gourmet and luxury pleasures of the privileged people of England . Swift claims that because there are an enormous population of starved children, eating them would not only help control their population, but also contribute to the overall economic wellness of the country. This essay will be dedicated to analyzing “A Modest Proposal” by observing the claim, warrant, and support present in the proposal, as well as evaluate the overall composition of the essay.…
The late 1600s and early 1700s in particular were a difficult time for Ireland. Catholics made up most of the Irish poor who constituted 80 percent of the population and owned less than one-third of the land. As the Protestant English landowners took over in the 1700s, the Irish Catholics dove deeper into lives of famine and poverty. In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift presents several claims and supporting evidence that the consuming of the Irish nation’s growing number of children will solve the poverty epidemic as well as decrease religious enemies.…
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest proposal” is contrary to its title. The essay begins with Swift’s deep feeling of grief towards the penurious Irish people who have to beg to give their children food. Swift presents a solution that will make poor children a valuable part of the community. His compassion and seriousness changes when he proposes that the children be eaten by citizens. He argues that his idea will be a success because it will reduce the number of Paptists, improve the economy, make marriage more rewarding, give tenants and beggars money, and liberate Ireland from England. In certain cases, Swift uses testimonial evidence to prove that children make unique delicacies. For example, Swift mentions that an American friend guarantees children…
Choose a partner with whom to work. Discuss each question, finding specific evidence from the text that supports your response. Write thoughtful notes on your responses and the evidence (please cite all examples by paragraph #).…
that the Catholic population will decrease, a plus for the Protestants of Ireland, due to the fact…
“A Modest Proposal” is a satirical piece Jonathan Swift wrote to entice the Irish to break away from England. He utilized babies as his hook, talking about eating and using them for clothes or shoes. He wrote examples of how women are the ‘breeders’ and how their babies should be eaten to decrease the population. Also, he uses more examples of how the population would, and has changed. Swift took advantage of the situation at hand and used ghastly examples to get attention. When all was said and done, it was the government that attempted to take control of everything they could, population included. Jonathan wrote about the government corruption, which ties in with how China is run, as well as their own corrupt government. Ireland and China…
A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR ENSURING THAT WOMEN HAVE THE RIGHTS THEY DESERVE IN ORDER TO ACQUIRE THE SAME AMOUNT OF PAYMENT WHERE JOBS ARE CONCERNED IN CANADA.…
The art of procrastination has troubled high school kids for quite some time now. Im sitting here typing my own essay at the eleventh hour, hoping that as the deadline approaches I can piece together an essay to save my grade. “Procrastination is for the efficient at heart”, this quote captures the procrastinators only strength: the ability to make the most out of the time they have. Most students will crack as the pressure of meeting the deadline with quality work overbears them, as they regretfully wish they spent their time wiser. Few will rise up to the challenge and meet the standards, but what separates the students who succeed and those who miserably fail?…
One of Jonathon Swift’s most famous works, “A Modest Proposal” needs to be read after the reader gets a little familiar with Swift himself and why he wrote it. Once you realize the situation and the author’s unique writing ability and thought process the proposal seems a little less farfetched and less sickening. I am in no way in agreement with the proposal just more understanding of where it came from and why he did it. The meaning of the proposal takes a major hit when the situation at hand takes a twist from Swift’s personal situation.…