Throughout history, satire has been used to mock people or things in order to have them improve. Over time, it has been in many different ways: through books, plays, tv shows, movies, essays and more. During the eighteenth century, Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal”, an essay that suggests that selling babies to be eaten would be the solution to all of Ireland’s problems. More recently, an episode of South Park titled, “Member Berries”, was released, and it is about sitting or kneeling during the national anthem, internet trolling, and the most recent presidential election. “A Modest Proposal” and “Member Berries” are both satirical works, and they both show this through their ridiculous exaggerations and political nature. In “A Modest Proposal”, the obvious satire is in …show more content…
Anyone that reads “A Modest Proposal” can tell what the essay is really about after recognizing that the suggestion of eating children is simply insane. Similarly, in “Member Berries”, Mr. Garrison’s major campaign promise is equally outlandish. At one point, during the “Commander in Chief Forum”, there are clips of Garrison saying, “Well there’s only one immigration policy that I believe in, and that’s fuck them all to death!”, “And then I’m going to take all the drug pushers in our country, and I’m gonna fuck them!”, “That’s why I will make sure that every terrorist on Earth is fucked dead!”, and “ The leaders of North Korea, I’ll fuck them all!” (Parker). Obviously, what Garrison claims he will do is physically impossible. Not only is is impossible, but it is ludicrous, and an incredibly inappropriate thing for a person running for president. Obviously, this is a satire of Donald Trump during his campaign, and “A Modest Proposal” satirizes the English for not helping the
The essay “A Modest Proposal” written by Johnathan Swift takes a satirical view on how to solve the starvation issue in Ireland. Swift suggests an obviously satirical solution of eating children around the age of one. He used irony, ambiguity, and ethos to emphasize the satirical nature of the essay and present a captivating idea to the audience.
In addition, the wit that is contained within “A Modest Proposal” is astonishing and superb. Although some have taken “A Modest Proposal” seriously and actually thought that Swift was trying to propose to boil infants and eat them. The reader cannot yield that seriously and if the reader does then it would co...
Satire, Humor, and Shock Value in Swift's Modest Proposal. Swift's message to the English government in "A Modest Proposal" deals with the disgusting state of the English-Irish common people. Swift, as the narrator, expresses pity for the poor and oppressed, while maintaining his social status far above them. The poor and oppressed that he refers to are Catholics, peasants, and the poor homeless men, women, and children of the kingdom. This is what Swift is trying to make the English government, in particular the Parliament, aware of: the great socioeconomic distance between the increasing number of peasants and the aristocracy, and the effects thereof.
Effectively ushering change in society or pointing out faults that have existed and gone unnoticed can be a daunting task for any social commentator. Often, blandly protesting grievances or concerns can fall upon deaf ears and change can be slow or non-existent. However, Jonathan Swift in his pamphlet A Modest Proposal, uses clever, targeted, and ironic criticism to bring the social state of Ireland to the attention of indolent aristocrats. He accomplishes such criticism through satire, specifically Juvenalian satire. Swift’s A Modest Proposal stands as an example of the type of satire that plays upon the audience’s emotion by creating anger concerning the indifference of the voice created. He complements such criticism with sophisticated, clever language which may be mistaken for the more docile Horatian satire. Yet, this urbane voice, coupled with irony and the substance of the proposals accentuates Swift’s motive to use anger as a force for action. Through his absurd/humorous proposals, stinging irony, and use of voice, Swift effectively portrays A Modest Proposal as a Juvenalian satire designed to stir emotions concerning the social state of Ireland.
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, is an essay that uses satire. Merriam-Webster defines satire as: a way of using humor to show that someone or something is foolish, weak, bad, etc.: humor that shows the weaknesses or bad qualities of a person, government, society, etc. “Satire may make the reader laugh at, or feel disgust for, the person or thing satirized. Impishly or sardonically, it criticizes someone or something, using wit and clever wording—and sometimes makes outrageous assertions or claims” (Cummings, 2012). Swift, best know for “Gulliver’s Travels”, originally wrote this piece as a pamphlet in 1729 under the full title ”A Modest Proposal: For preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to the publick.”
In this case, Jonathan Swift spoke up by making this modest proposal so people could acknowledge that they are focusing on the wrong things. They are giving priorities or doing nothing at all so they leave their country to ashes so when they think the time is right they will have to work the double to raise it again. He spoke the truth obviously in a sarcastic way because he needed to find a way to entertain the person’s mind. And he did, so I think this is one of the best proposals that have been made.
Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is an attempt to bring attention to horrible the condition in which the poor or destitute people in Ireland are living in. His argument that children of these improvised people should be sold to “the persons of quality and fortune” (A Modest Proposal) for consumption, is Swift’s gruesome way of saying you might as well eat the babies, if no one is going to actually try to fix the problems of the poor in Ireland.
Humor can come in many different forms. Many people are aware of the blatant humor of slapstick, but it takes a keener mind to notice the subtle detail in sarcasm or satire. In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift was able to create a piece of literature addressing the faults of the Irish culture while embedding in a humorous essay. Swift’s satire allows for the gravity of the Irish standings to be exploited under the disguise of a proposal for economic benefit.
Frazier, Cora. Kissel, Adam ed. "A Modest Proposal and Other Satires Essay Questions". GradeSaver, 30 May 2010 Web. 28 February 2017.
Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a classic piece of satire written in an attempt to draw attention to a serious problem. He does extremely well in providing proof that his solution will be beneficial and instructions as to how it would be implemented. Overall, Swift wrote this proposal to get the people of Ireland to take their predicament seriously and inspire people to come up with solutions that are sincere and will have a lasting and uplifting effect on the country.
Sarcasm and Irony in Swift's Modest Proposal. In his lengthy literary career, Jonathan Swift wrote many stories that used a broad range of voices that were used to make compelling personal statements. For example, Swift, A Modest Proposal, is often heralded as his best use of both sarcasm and irony. Yet taking into account the persona of Swift, as well as the period in which it was written, one can prove that through that same use of sarcasm and irony, this proposal is actually written to entertain the upper-class.
In “A Modest Proposal” several forms of satire are demonstrated throughout the story. Satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices. (Google) In "A Modest Proposal" Swift uses parody which is a form of satire. Parody is primarily making fun of something to create a humorous feel for it. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift uses parody to make fun of the people and children of Ireland, expressing the children as delicious food to be eaten.
“Satire is a sort of glass, wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own” (Swift). Such beholders, as Jonathan Swift astutely emphasizes, are intended, through guidance of satiric narrative, to recognize social or political plights. In some satires, as in Swift’s own A Modest Proposal, the use of absurd, blatant exaggeration is intended to capture an indolent audience’s attention regarding the social state of the poor. Yet even in such a direct satire, there exists another layer of meaning. In regards to A Modest Proposal, the interchange between the voice of the proposer and Swift’s voice introduces another medium of criticism, as well as the opportunity for readers to reflect on how well they may fit the proposer’s persona. In such as case, the satire exists on multiple levels of meaning—not only offering conclusions about moral problems, but also allowing the audience to an interpretation of their place among the criticism.
Specifically, the speaker demonstrates ridicule when explaining Ireland’s inability to capture a suitable resolution to the country’s issues. For example, the speaker argues that he is “not so violently bent upon [his] own opinion as to reject any offer proposed by wise men” (paragraph 32) since the speaker has “been wearied out for many years, with offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of success” (paragraph 31). Therefore, he argues his only option is to suggest this proposal since others lack any recommendations. The speaker further argues Ireland’s inability to provide pleasurable solutions for this issue by stating that the only recommendation that is satisfactory is his proposal that he “humbly offer[s]” (paragraph 9). The speaker then states that “whoever could find out a fair, cheap, and easy method of making these children sound, usual members of the commonwealth, would deserve so well of the public as to have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation” (paragraph 2).
Satire is a literary work of using mockery, irony, and comedy to ridicule to expose human follies and vices in the society. Most of the satirists want to express their ideas and criticism in a satirical way because they think that it is more effective to convey their message and show problems to the audience as something humorous and playful. Satirists have used satire in various forms, such as plays, essays and short stories. Moliere’s Tartuffe and Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal are two examples of writing that use satire. Tartuffe was written in France during the Enlightenment period, The story is about how it is possible for a hypocrite, Tartuffe, to disguise himself as a holy man of religious to manipulate the people around him. Moliere examines the religious figures that are hypocrite and use their religious standing in a way to manipulate people in society. A Modest Proposal was written in 1729 in Ireland; it is a satire about eating babies to get rid of poverty problem in Ireland. Jonathan Swifts reveals the audiences in Ireland and England about the