A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Reflection #3
A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift, addresses the distinctions between class systems and the severity between these divisions. Within the title of the proposition itself, the title states, “For preventing the children of poor...from being a burden on their parents, or country.”(Swift) This proposition initially introduces the poor as a growing concern towards the country. An issue that if not confronted could jeopardize the stability of the country. This understanding is further embellished with negative connotations found in the first few paragraphs. For example, statements such as, “It is a melancholy object to those.”, and “they grow up, either turn to thieves.”, are introduced early to reinforce his immoral argument to come.(Swift) Within A Modest Proposal, Swift emphasizes that poverty is a

cultural concern which must be resolved in order to maintain national stability.(Swift)
The proposal reduces humans to livestock to evoke a strong response towards the pressing issue of poverty.

The logic presented in the proposition reflects the darker side of the human consciousness. While normally restricted by a moral barrier, these suggestions for reform compare the poor to simple commodities, and this extreme notion is contributed by a customary, desensitized attitude towards the lower classes.(Swift) However, this problem has intensified to the point in this country where it can no longer be ignored. For instance, the beginning of the proposal states, “that this prodigious number of children...is a great additional grievance.”(Swift) As a result, Swift argues with how such a class has so much potential in benefiting the nation as a whole, and dehumanizes them to exaggerate their depicted worth in the eyes of their own government. For example, he attempts to reason with how cost-effective cannibalism can become, by stating “a good fat child...will make four dishes of excellent nutritive meat.”(Swift) Such a barbaric proposition emphasizes the already primitive mindset that the upper class has for the impoverished, as an expendable

mass.
Swift's proposal triumphs in provoking reactions from his audience and confronts a corrupt issue with an immoral, yet rationalized plan. Poverty is a complex and inevitable product within every civilization, since multiple factors contribute towards this universal struggle. However, as depicted by Swift, if neglected all together then such a dilemma will only intensify and become an even greater burden which each coming generation.