A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Within the essay “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift, Ireland is poverty stricken and it’s residents are suffering, especially those who make virtually no income. Swift proposes a plan to contribute to the economy and all those who are affected by poverty, including the wealthy. Although his plan does seem ridiculous, it is meant to bring awareness to those suffering due to the ignorance of politicians, wealthy, and landowners.

Jonathan Swift’s “A modest Proposal” (1729), constructs a solution for Ireland(A solution for what). He illustrates the poverty, and horrendous states of the social classes of Ireland. Mothers are out on the street begging for money or food to support their families. Swift proposes that all the children of the poor will “contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands” to help stimulate the economy and standard of living in Ireland. He thinks of this idea since mothers are unable to provide for their families, stating that these children will benefit the country. Swift blames government officials for the horrendous conditions these families are forced to live in. Swift uses sarcasm to as a way to show his annoyance of the politicians and citizens of the poverty-stricken Ireland.

Overall Jonathan Swift doesn’t believe that the poor conditions are the fault of the poor people, instead he blames it on the government and the English for not paying enough attention to the common folk.

Swift goes on to give an example that once an infant passes the dangerous years of childhood, they would “leave their dear country to fight for the Pretender in Spain” or “they would sell themselves to the Barbados” as indentured servants. He insinuates that the people who did leave their country have no sense of nationalism, nor do they have any pride in their country and have lead it to it’s

demise.

The author also shares a sort of resentment toward Roman Catholics, referring to them often as “papists”. Swift mentions that more Catholics have babies nine months after lent and flood the markets with new borns. He also reveals that by reducing the number of Catholic children, it will reduce the number of overall Catholics. Since Swift was an ordained Anglican priest, the reader can sense a conflict between the Catholics and Protests, making it possible that the Catholic Church could’ve influenced Ireland’s economy at the time.

Jonathan Swift supports his claims with statistical evidence, explaining how many people live within Ireland and approximately how many children of those residents will become criminals at some point in their lives. He continues his proposition with explaining that if a good healthy child is sold for ten shillings, the mother would profit about 8, this helping support her own family while helping stimulate the economy. These statistics help the readers visualize the amount of people living in poverty and those would be desperate enough to sell their children to support the rest of their family.

Overall Swift provides personal experiences with the poor. He has seen first-hand how desperate a mother can be, begging on the street, just to find a way to support her children. These families of six or more children, will often all be out on the street begging for money or once the children are old enough, stealing from other residents. The reader's can’t help but trust his judgement because he has witnessed all these horrendous things in person. Although Swift’s tone is sarcastic, he never fails to show his annoyance of how the government and wealthy decide to ignore the poverty issue and pretend that all is well.