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Literary analysis of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal
Literary analysis of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal
Literary analysis of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal
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Johnathan Swifts "A modest Proposal" is comical in the aspect that he attempts to persuade the audience that his irrational proposal is better than what's currently established. His satirical language can be inappropriate out of context to what he is trying to exemplify. In his "A modest proposal," Swift addresses Ireland's dilemma of not being able to pay rent to English Lords, by imploring that people should consume children as an alternative system to what the English government offers. He suggests that this decision would benefit both Ireland and England. His proposal highlights the atrocities the people of Ireland face in the wake of England's negligence. Because England finds the impoverished people of Ireland to be redundant, then they wouldn't value the juvenile population any higher. Swift is conscious that he would face heavy resentment. By revealing the stark contrast of emotion against children and the Irish, Swifts proposal can help validate the reason that most people don't care about the Irish. The fact that people care more about a proposal, that was constructed to be ridiculed, more than people dying of famine and disease, is more disgusting that the proposal itself. Swift appeals …show more content…
In paragraph 29 of "A modest proposal," the italicization of this section establishes the sincerity behind his proposal. Most of the language seems to be ironic, satirical, and ridiculed, before it transitions into the italicizations. Swift had previously suggested that they need to supply more finances for their own country rather than export the wealth thats left of another country. They could do this by enhancing the skills of shopkeepers, but shopkeepers might cheat the price of what they offer. Despite this contradiction, Swift still appeals to Ethos by suggesting ethical and logical decisions that aren't categorized as being satirical with the rest of the
Jonathan Swift is the speaker in the story, A Modest Proposal. He is also the author of many other books and stories. In the text of A Modest Proposal, Swift addresses what he believes to be a big issue in the magnificent country of Ireland, Dublin to be exact. Therefore, he proposes a solution to the problem, however, the solution is not what we would call humane, orthodox, reasonable, or even one that we would consider performing today. Swift wrote this piece for anyone that can read and comprehend what the text implies.
Swift used irony throughout the essay, beginning with the title, “A Modest Proposal”. The irony of the title gives the audience a false idea of what the essay will be, later on he gives his argument and the title serves as an ironic statement. Swift also used the irony of the title to emphasize how absurd his idea truly is, by claiming the proposal is modest he allows the reader to understand how
If Jonathan Swift had written a serious piece simply espousing his true beliefs he would not have received as much feedback, due to the fact that there were already informational advertisements at the time and nobody was interested in reading them. The only thing that would get the people 's attention was something that would create a lasting impression, so he wrote a satirical piece with trenchant humor and mochary. “A Modest Proposal” surprised people and got them thinking about the condition of the poor in Ireland and what should be done to solve it. For example Swift states that “those who are thrifty” can use the carcass of the infant for ladies’ gloves or gentlemen’s boots. This itself can help those reading the piece to begin to think about possible solutions to the substantial issues involving the poor in Ireland. He also proposes that children that are fourteen should be consumed as well so the poor don’t have to go hungry and that it would limit the number of breeders, in an attempt to illustrate the extremity of the circumstances. His sarcastic way of joking enlisted fear in the poor and concern in the rich, helping them realise the drastic issue present in the
...that the author is sarcastic about his own proposal, any kind of opposing view or counterargument is in reality the voice of reason and intelligence when compared with Swift’s proposal. The argument is in a way weak or flawed because of the sarcasm at hand. Yes, it is full of satire, but in the following argument Swift builds up his proposal only to diminish the value of his argument by blatantly expressing the sarcasm in this piece. This proposal is flawed throughout the text and is in no way a rational or logical solution to the problem as Swift claims it is. In conclusion, Swift’s proposal is a satire filled piece, which he delivers in a dry indifferent style. His arguments, rationally presented, support an irrational solution to the problem and he evokes pathos in his audience by using only logos in his proposal and that is the brilliance of his piece.
Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed. The real issue being addressed in “A Modest Proposal” is the poverty that is plaguing Ireland. The piece was written at a time when the poor people were seen as a burden to their country and were being oppressed by the wealthy English government and landowners. Swift makes the argument to make the poor useful.
The Effectiveness of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift "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" - Jonathan Swift 1729. In reading this you will discover the answer to the above question in three parts; · How effective is it as an argument · How effective is it as a piece of information · How effective is it as satire "A Modest Proposal" first appeared in public in 1729, Swift wrote this article after all of his previous suggestions had been rejected by the Irish authorities. Swift felt the English government had psychologically exiled him and this greatly added to the rage he felt over the way the Irish People were treated or rather mistreated by the English. Although Swift's highest and most prominent concerns were for his own class, the Anglo-Irish, he in the end spoke for the nation as a whole.
In his satire, A Modest Proposal, Swift utilizes hyperbole and sarcasm to bring awareness of the unacceptable conditions of the Irish poor in the 18th century.
Political issues or matters concerning the well-being of mankind is not something new to us. Social and political hierarchies have existed for millennia, yet the ways in which people have voiced their concerns or opinions on sensitive topics related to these hierarchies have evolved over time. One way in which people have addressed important society matters has been through satire. Typically satirical writings are fueled by anger brought about by a political event or societal issue. Instead of voicing their anger directly to the people, Jonathan Swift and other satirical authors, have used satire as “the engine of anger, rather than the direct expression of anger” (Egendorf 40). In doing so,
To start off, the full title of Johnathan Swift’s writing is "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for making them Beneficial to the Publick." From just reading the title of the book “A Modest Proposal”, I was thinking it was a story about romance and how a gentleman proposed marriage to his female lover. His proposal, in effect, is to fatten up these undernourished children and feed them to Ireland's rich land-owners. He does this to illustrate how backwards and bad the state of Ireland is and the social classes. For these reasons, he looks at the politicians to blame for the poor conditions because of the apathy they presented while in the decision making process, to resolve the conditions.
He also wanted to help advance the country’s trade, provide for infants, relieve the poor and help the rich. Swift ultimately wanted to get people thinking about actual solutions that could solve their current problems. Verbal irony is extremely prominent in A Modest Proposal. It is used to say the opposite of what the writer means. Swift’s main argument throughout A Modest Proposal is that Ireland deserves better treatment than England.
This essay will have no value unless the reader understands that Swift has written this essay as a satire, humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of a person, government, or society (Satire). Even the title A Modest Proposal is satirical. Swift proposes using children simply as a source of meat, and outrageous thought, but calls his propo...
The author and writer Jonathan Swift, shows his influential attributes in his innovative text called A Modest Proposal. Swift’s purpose was simply to shock the people reading it with a proposal that he knew was the furthest thing from modest. During this point in time, Ireland had immense amounts of poverty along with overpopulation and biased trade with Great Britain. His immodest proposal suggested the selling of children for food which would take care of the overpopulation and poverty levels in Ireland. A proposal such as this would no doubt leave the reader appalled at such an idea, and Swift’s purpose is to enjoy these reactions from the reader. He adopts a confounded and overwhelming tone in order to persuade the Ireland citizens into actually taking notice of the existing problems in society.
In Jonathan Swift’s satirical work, A Modest Proposal, the reader is presented with a horrible concept using extremely effective language and logos; Swift uses strong speech, rational tone, and complex grammar to convince readers that eating children will solve all the problems in 19th century Ireland. Swift’s overall goal in his pamphlet, however, is not to actually encourage eating babies, which is why it is of satire, but instead to raise awareness of Ireland’s conditions for living, failing political figures, and the tyranny brought by England. Swift states in his sub-title, "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" (Swift Sub-Title). This quote is about fixing the problems in Ireland. Swift attacks where it hurts the most, which is the youth.
Jonathan Swift, a well-known author, in his essay “A Modest Proposal,” implies that the Irish people should eat children so that they can better their chances of survival. Swift supports his implication by describing how his proposal will have many advantages such as, eliminating papists, bringing great custom to taverns, and inducing marriages. He comes up with an absurd proposal to eat and sell the children to the elite so the Irish can have a brighter future. His purpose is to show that the Irish deserve better treatment from the English. Throughout his essay, Swift uses sarcasm, satire, and irony.
The main issue being addressed in “A Modest Proposal” is that the many poor people living in Ireland have nothing to live with while the few wealthy people have everything. In order to address said problem, the author describes the situation at hand. He mentions how the poor’s lifestyle is a constant struggle just to find food. Also, as an Ireland native, Swift shows a bias in favor of the poor, but who wouldn’t? Jonathan just wants to see everyone in his homeland succeed, but it is nearly impossible to do so when the rich don’t even give the poor a chance to have a successful life. Therefore, the author assumes that the rich are always taking money and opportunities from the poor, so that he can target the rich in his writing. Swift’s arguments against the rich first start out as outrageous solutions to help out the poor in order to get ...