Preview

Modest Proposal

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
541 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Modest Proposal
A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Essay

Jonathan Swift, “Modest Proposal” is mocking the government and the English people and seeking a change in the way Irish people are living. Jonathan Swift was effective using ethos, pathos and logos to bring attention to the bad situations that the Irish people went through. Irish people were starving and dying, while the English landlords were exporting gain. Jonathan Swift uses tones of sarcasm and irony in order for people to get his purpose.
Jonathan Swift is effective using ethos to make his proposal to the English people which were using the poor infants as food to profit the rich people. Jonathan Swift writes, “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 broiled; and make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.” (Swift 389) Jonathan is saying that by the age of one an infant will be ready to be eaten by the rich people whichever way they want it to be done. Jonathan is being sarcastic in telling the people that the infant will be ready at age one.
Jonathan Swift is also effective in using pathos to make his proposal. It states, “These mothers instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their hopeless infants: who as they grow up either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbados,” (Swift 387) He says this to make us the reader feel sorry for the poor infants because either they turn into thieves trying to survive or they will fight for the pretender or they would just sell themselves to other people to be eaten by.
Jonathan Swift is effective in using logos to make his proposal of the infants to the rich. He writes, “At a year old, be offered

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Modest Proposal

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are many different ways to write an argumentative paper. An argumentative paper is a paper designed to push a reader toward an idea or feeling an author evokes (Skywire 332). An author will try to make ludicrous ideas seem more appealing to the reader. "A Modest Proposal" is a great example of this technique.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Modest Proposal

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Today one of our most growing issues in America is teen pregnancy. Now a day’s media plays a huge role in a regular teenagers life. Television, magazines, and the Internet have been sending a message that sex is okay. Teenagers think that loosing their virginity before the age of 18 is “cool.” Many teens are put into situations where they feel they must have sex and don’t care about protection. Many teens that have sex without using protection can lead to pregnancy. Being a teenager and pregnant completely changes a teenagers life. First of all, many teens drop out of school so they can take care of the baby and work to support her baby. This causes a lack of education enabling the teenage mother to get a proper job to support her and her baby. Second, their are many health risks to babies of teen mothers. Thirdly, the teenage will grow up too fast and not have the proper childhood. Instead of being able to go and hang out with friends on a Friday night, they have to stay home and take care of their child. Not being able to live a proper childhood could cause depression for the teenage which is both bad for her and her child. In some cases teenagers make the smart decision of giving their child up for adoption, but other teenagers make the stupid choice of wanting to raise their child at such a young age. That is why I have come up with a solution to this horrible problem. My solution is that all boys should get a vasectomy at the age of 13. Before the vasectomy the doctor collects some of the boy’s sperm into a sperm bank for later use. After a man and women get married after the age of 21, they can go to the government to get a license that they are allowed to have kids. Both the husband and wife will go to their doctors with their license and passports, showing the doctor that they have the rights to have a child. The doctor will then take the sperm from the boy that was collected at the age of 13 and implant it into the women. This idea is a…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “A Modest Proposal” itself is ironic since no one can take the proposal seriously. This irony is clearly shown at the end of the story when Swift states that the proposal is not going to affect him since his children are grown and his wife is unable to have any more children. It would unfathomable to think that a human being would want to partake in eating another human being. Therefore, Swift obviously had no intention of perusing this proposal. In my opinion, the real thesis of this essay is generating attention to the poverty issue in Ireland. Swift was drawing attention to the vast poverty issue that we all face all over the world.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Swift formats his piece with heavy satire requiring the reader to dig for the complete idea of the piece. Yet the thesis statements in the opening ,with it being the “modest proposal”. The parallelism in this piece is few .The author ,in my opinion , used too much irony and satire ,so much that it made it difficult for me to read.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    After voicing his frustrations to his government to no avail, he saunters down an alternate route. While digesting his most influential and recognized piece, all readers nod along with the author’s point: a change needs to occur in order for the Irish poor to end their suffering. That is until Swift mentions his plan, which involves raising babies, harvesting them at the ripe age of one, and selling their carcasses as a delicacy to the rich. Until the man reveals the details of his proposal, a majority of the readers nod along, eager to see Swift help the poor that plague the nation. Though no laughing matter like Lichtenberg suggests of satire, the poor do not realize the “hit” against them until they are too deep in their support for Swift. Instead of “[rousing] laughter”, the satirist rouses support from those “who are hit”, as he leads the poor and downtrodden along, appearing like he possesses a true solution to their problems. “A Modest Proposal” exists to criticize the Irish government for its lack of action in helping the poor improve their status, but first, Swift mockingly hits the poor by suggesting the sale of poor…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jonathan Swift later tells the reader of how he has, “computed the charge of nursing a beggar's child (in which list I reckon all cottagers, labourers, and four-fifths of the farmers) to be about two shillings per annum, rags included; and I believe no gentleman would repine to give ten shillings for the carcass of a good fat child,” (Swift, Para. 14). This is a good thing that Swift does telling how the mother would stand to make money on selling her child to a man for dinner. Except, I do not believe you couldn’t find a willing mother to sell her child knowing that it would…

    • 1212 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Swift’s 1729 “A Modest Proposal,” definitely grasps the reader’s attention with an outrageous proposal using satire. His use of rhetorical strategies formats his article into a well-organized argument. The purpose of his argument is to raise awareness about the starving people of Ireland. Swift, being one of the most prestigious writers of his times forms a solid argument using each of the following rhetorical strategies, ethos, pathos, and logos. By using a satire, Swift hopes to grasp the attention of the English elites. Swift tries to persuade his audience by proposing a serve and disreputable solution, hoping it will bring enough awareness to the…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    On a Modest Proposal

    • 1940 Words
    • 8 Pages

    During the final years of the seventeenth century, political pamphlets were distributed throughout Ireland to promote the ideas of various intellectuals. However, the general public did not pay attention to them and through them away. Jonathan Swift, author of “A Modest Proposal,” took advantage of the ignored pamphlets, and developed a truly ridiculous proposal. His main objective was to illustrate how deplorable the state of Ireland was, and to show how the distinction between different social classes was abysmal. Swift’s main idea was for the babies of all the poor and desolate to “contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands” (Swift 868) in order to improve Ireland’s economy and living standard. His idea originated from the large number of women who kept having children even though they were not able to provide for them. Swift also states that his proposal would make the babies “beneficial to the public” (866). He also states that he is proposing this because of Ireland’s truly low living standards. Thus, he blames the politicians for the poor conditions of the country (specially because the apathy and laziness they present while making decisions to improve the conditions) In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift brilliantly uses irony, sarcasm, and rhetorical exaggeration to reveal his frustration and disapproval at the current behavior of politicians, papists, and citizens of the impoverished Ireland during the late seventeenth century. Nevertheless, there are three important factors that show the reader that Swift’s arguments are not to be taken seriously: The tone of the writing, the insincerity of the author, and the utter absurdity of the proposal.…

    • 1940 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Swift cleverly illustrates a very “humble” solution to the crisis in Ireland in his personal essay, “A Modest Proposal.” His voice urges annoyance and frustration, evoking a tone of sarcasm. Through the use of cynical language, he creates an intense and informative response. He uses language to create imagery which he intends to elicit a response of shock and moral responsibility. His intention is to mock Ireland and the economic crisis they have got themselves in.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Swift uses logos by explaining a situation where the poor people would sell their one-year-old children to the rich people of Ireland for some money. He said “I believe no Gentleman would repine to give Ten Shillings for the Carcass of a good fat Child, which, as I have said will make four Dishes of excellent Nutritive Meat.” (paragraph 14). Swift describes that Ireland is overpopulated and the economy is in bad shape with unemployment rising and other terrible issues. Swift uses ethos in an interesting way. Swift encourages us to believe him because a worthy, virtuous person gave him the idea because “so great a Number of both Sexes in every County being now ready to Starve, for want of Work and Service” Swift uses pathos when he writes, "their helpless infants who, as they grow up, either turn into thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country, to fight for the Pretender of Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbados"(Paragraph 1). Swift’s essay is intended to make the audience feel bad for the children. He makes them seem like they don’t deserve to live life and will just end up making trouble with crime. He believes these children will end up leaving Ireland…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. The persona in which Swift adopts for the modest proposal is that of someone concerned for the greater good of the land, Ireland, on the very outskirt of reading. Although as one dives into this proposal, they become bombarded with irrational means of dealing with this assumed problem; the plentiful source of beggars in Ireland. One becomes consumed with disgust yet intrigued by its soundness in reasoning. Swift creates a tone that juxtaposes its message, which further confuses the reader in his irrational yet balanced argument. On one hand he seems psychotic, on the other he appears to be a profound visionary.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As ridiculous as Swift’s proposal may be, it ends with an acutely sobering defense. Before Swift anonymously signs off, he asks one favor of his proposal’s combatants: “Ask the parents of these mortals, whether they would not at this day think it a great happiness to have been sold for food at a year old.” (CT p. 224) I believe it is here that Swift…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This author uses logos starting in part 3 “While taxes were cut, public infrastructure-like the levees- was eroding, and an already frayed safety net was disintegrating.” The author is using the taxes being cut as his appeal to get his point across about the way things were being done, before Hurricane Katrina. These are things that could have been fixed and possibly prevented. In part 4, “Complaints were voiced that the people trapped in New Orleans had only themselves to blame, since they…

    • 796 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal. (Patrick 129). The work A Modest Proposal is a sardonic piece written to expose the economic crisis in Ireland in 1729. It was to validate the dilemma of Dublin, Ireland. Swift was a political writer who was not afraid of people, of backlash, or criticism. He “ was not afraid to speak truth to power” (Kelly…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal is a short satirical literary work, in which Swift shows dissatisfaction with the political situation in Ireland during the Age of Rationalism. In this period of time, Ireland was in a great poverty and was being abused by the English and Swift wrote this piece in order to emphasize the terrible situation. He uses a cold, very objective tone to stress the absurdity of his proposal.…

    • 926 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays