Stating direct facts isn’t always the best way for an author to call attention to certain realities of society. Through the use of satire and irony, a writer can convey meaning to his readers that would not otherwise be conveyed. One such author who expertly knew how to use satire and irony in his writing was Jonathan Swift. In his book Gulliver’s Travels, especially in the section “A Voyage to Lilliput,” and his essay “A Modest Proposal,” Swift is able to use the aforementioned literary techniques to prove how the governments of two different nations are flawed. Political irony and satire are essential to both texts under review. Swift knows that people in a country are always prone to look at the problems they see in their political leaders …show more content…
To make his displeasure with the crown well known, he used irony to propose a solution to the problems: a solution that no sane person would actually bring to fruition. What was Swift’s proposition? To end hunger through eating children, of course! He postulated that this would both feed the starving people of Ireland through monetary gain and appease the English with an irresistible delicacy. Mothers would be able to make an eight pence profit from selling their young, which would be “a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled…” (A Modest Proposal). Swift was not actually suggesting that the people of the world raise and eat human babies for their meat: he was pointing out how the current political climate was not benefiting the people. Because the majority of Irish land was owned by protestant Englishmen, the only thing that the Irish had room to raise and grow was a human baby. Swift desired the exact opposite of cannibalism: he wanted the Irish to be able to sustain themselves monetarily and nourish themselves through honest means, which was impossible with the current Irish-English …show more content…
He describes the conflict between an individual and a government in “A Voyage Lilliput.” The government of Lilliput is very quick to change and judgment. In Gulliver’s case, he is praised for his victory against Blefuscu when he takes the whole Blefuscudian naval fleet back to Lilliput. He is soon after impeached: “…Skyresh Bolgolam…in conjunction with Flimnap the High Treasurer…Limtoc the General, Lalcon the Chamberlain, and Balmuff the Grand Justiciary, have prepared articles of impeachment against you…” (Gulliver’s Travels 61-62). This quick change of heart on the part of the government is done for no reason other than personal distaste for Gulliver that certain officials have. This is ironic because one would not expect for Gulliver to be impeached for all he is doing to help the Lilliputians in their homeland, like measuring their border, and defending against the Blefuscudians (Gulliver’s Travels 34). This reflects what happens in an actual government: personal vendettas can be used to ruin the political careers of
The main rhetorical challenge of this ironic essay is capturing the attention of an audience. Swift makes his point negatively, stringing together an appalling set of morally flawed positions in order to cast blame and criticize
The point where you see that Swift’s proposal is meant to be satiric is when he starts to talk about the economic gains of selling poor children. It is meant to be a point to address the exceeding amount of poor children that are being sold to slavery rather than an indication to cannibalism. A modern audience
The issue that Swift is addressing is the fact that there are too many poor children in Dublin and that they are becoming such a huge burden for all the poor mothers or parents of the country. Swift then creates his own solution to the problem. He proposes that all poor children who are around one year of age, be cooked and eaten by the people of Dublin, preferably the poor. With this solution, he argues that it will eventually put an end to the overpopulation of the poor young children and it will satisfy the hunger for all the other people. Crazy right?
One of the voices that is present throughout the story is that of irony. The story itself is ironic since no one can take Swifts proposal seriously. This irony is clearly demonstrated at the end of the story; Swift makes it clear that this proposal would not affect him since his children were grown and his wife unable to have any more children. It would be rather absurd to think that a rational man would want to both propose this and partake in the eating of another human being. Therefore, before an analyzation can continue, one has to make the assumption that this is strictly a fictional work and Swift had no intention of pursuing his proposal any further.
...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 defined satire as; 'A sort of glass wherein the holders do generally discover everybody's face but their own, which is the chief reason for that kind of reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended with it. " Swift presents his "Proposal" as an entirely reasonable suggestion to aid the Irish, he enumerates the many benefits, counters the objections many may have, uses rhetoric reasoning and proves his humanitarianism views. Swift has written in considerable detail over the degree of poverty in Ireland, he draws attention to the causes of it obliquely and proves in great detail that his "Proposal" will work and in which ways it does work. Ireland was a colony of England; it was economically, politically and militarily dependent on ... ... middle of paper ... ...
It is a great contradiction and absurdity that a husband and father proposes the idea of cannibalism. The narrator does not want the reader to agree that the solution to overpopulation and poverty in Ireland is to eat babies; he wants the reader to see it. needs to be a practical solution. Although something seems one way to the narrator, Jonathan Swift wants. the reader to see it in the opposite light.
...ture the attention of the audience by means of “political pamphleteering which is very popular during his time” (SparkNotes Editors). The language and style of his argument is probably why it is still popular till this day. By using satire, Swift makes his point by ridiculing the English people, the Irish politicians, and the wealthy. He starts his proposal by using emotional appeal and as it progresses, he uses ethos to demonstrate credibility and competence. To show the logical side of the proposal, he uses facts and figures. By applying these rhetorical appeals, Swift evidently makes his argument more effectual.
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.
This essay by Jonathan Swift is a brutal satire in which he suggests that the poor Irish families should kill their young children and eat them in order to eliminate the growing number of starving citizens. At this time is Ireland, there was extreme poverty and wide gap between the poor and the rich, the tenements and the landlords, respectively. Throughout the essay Swift uses satire and irony as a way to attack the indifference between classes. Swift is not seriously suggesting cannibalism, he is trying to make known the desperate state of the lower class and the need for a social and moral reform in Ireland.
There are two vastly differing works of literature that employ similar elements of satire, whether the story is long or short, essay or novella. In these two works, the authors bring light to ongoing social, political, and philosophical issues of their time and age. The two works I am referring to are Jonathan Swift’s satirical essay, A Modest Proposal, and Voltaire’s novella, Candide, or Optimism. In both A Modest Proposal and Candide, there is a portrayal of irony, cold logic and reasoning rather than emotion, and misguided philosophy. Exploring the issues within these texts can implement a better understanding of not only the literature itself, but also the historical context and the issues of the time. By delving even deeper into these works, one will begin to see the connection that can be made between these texts.
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.
...h some way to fix the blight of the country in a manner that was beneficial to its entire people. He wanted the Irish subjugation to end and the English to take pride in the land they ruled. Swift went on to become the Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, where he funded a charitable house for poor women and Saint Patrick’s Hospital. He did not, in fact, want to eat babies; he wanted to help put an end to the awful things happening in the country that he loved.
“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.
In Gulliver’s Travels, Swift uses multiple examples of political, religious, intellectual, economic, and social satire to exhibit the faults of Europe during the eighteenth century. This story, however, also has contemporary connections. The high and low heels of Lilliput, for example, can represent Democrats and Republicans in the United States. Swift’s use of satire allowed him to criticize what was happening in Europe at the time without being too obvious about it. Whereas many other novels were being burned for criticizing governments, Swift was able to mask his criticisms through satire. He was still able to inform the readers of the faults of Europe without angering any leaders. Ultimately, Swift is able to use satire to comment to serious societal issues of the eighteenth century while still providing an entertaining novel.