Jonathan Swift Vain Children Rhetorical Analysis

Dr. Jonathan Swift strives to portray his character as professional and intellectual in the beginning of his essay; on top of this sophisticated outlook, the author portrays his utter determination and passion to resolve a well-known problem that lingers on the streets of Ireland: impoverished, vain children. This component appears straightforward in the first few paragraph where he emits a sign of reason as he elaborates how numerous, burdened mothers “are forced to employ all their time...for their helpless infants” who transform into criminals or Catholic crusaders. (4-7 Swift). This statement appeals to the common Irish citizen as this reality is substantially common in daily life. The audience, from these introductory paragraphs, will

perceive Swift as this rational individual, and, therefore, they will expect an astute solution to this problem, which turns out to be the complete antithesis. This contrast actual bolsters Swift’s inevitable, outlandish proposal.

Swift insists that the complication of vain children on the streets of Dublin and Ireland is so severe that a solution, with benefits to society, will be a triumph for the innovator and for society.

He proclaims that “whoever could find out a fire, cheap and easy method of making these children” useful “would deserve so well of the public” like a statue. (Line 12-13 Swift). This overstatement of the situation convinces Swift’s audience that this situation is such a burden to society, and the elimination of such scenario would be a present to every citizen; thus, by connecting his audience together under a single issue, the audience would more likely agree with Swift’s upcoming proposal since they expect a revolutionary proposal. Additionally, Swift bombarded his audience with enormous, numerical figures that not only exposes the scale of useless children in the country but also amplifies his apparent knowledge and intelligence. He apparently calculates that are a “hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents annually born”, which subtracts one hundred thousand children who either die prematurely or reside in a fulfilled setting. (Lines 34-40 Swift). These statistical figures exemplifies the narrator’s shrewd nature and the narrator’s keen research; the audience would more likely give attention to Swift since he demonstrates his willingness to research and brianstorm critically about the issue and his upcoming solution. Both of these instances, in general, bolsters the audience’s expectation for a reasoned solution, which causes Swift’s outrageous proposal to be even more

effective.

In his first paragraph, Swift emotionally appeals - also known as utilizing pathos - to his audience by illustrating the troublesome scenario for mothers and their demanding children. He vividly portrays how desperate mothers, “instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to be sustenance for their helpless infants.” (Lines 4-6 Swift). In this case, Swift captures the inner emotions of his audience by putting these helpless women who forcefully cannot reside a normal life due to burdensome children. Later on into his introduction, Swift liberally drowns his introductory piece with statistical figures - also known as incorporating logos. He lathers his essay with calculations that “about two hundred thousand couples” in Ireland, and he can “subtract thirty thousand people” due to their wellbeing. Another “fifty thousand” die in an untimely fashion; therefore, he can remove them from the count. In total, parents bear one “hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents. (Lines 34-41 Swift). The overwhelming nature of this data emphasizes the fact that Swift is an intellectual individual who comprehends all corners of this complication, all corners of this country, and all corners of his solution. While Swift utilizes both logos and pathos in his introduction, he glaringly smothers his composition with statistical and numerical appeals. He aims at the hasty generalization of the common man: if you speak like a forward individual, then you are a forward individual. This logical fallacy receives further effectiveness considering that education in the eighteenth century was not the most superb. Therefore, Swift overwhelming his audience with statistical data insinuates that he comprehends the situation thoroughly and, most importantly, more than the audience grasps, which further captures the attention and keenness of the audience.

Swift, in these lines, appears to direct horrid implications at the wealthy, aristocratic class in Ireland; utilizing words such as “devoured”, he developed an overaggerated sense that the wealthy, whom already eats adults, will happily eat children. To the audience, they instantaneously develop a sense of disgust at the wealthy individuals, but Swift innovates deeper connotations with the rhetoric he incorporates. Swift alludes to the reality of Ireland’s social hierarchy: the aristocratic on top while everyone else act as the pillars. In essence, the wealthy substantially depend on the poor to augment their opulence to the point where these individuals “devour” the working class. As a result, to depict this situation, he commences these lines by stating that the child will be quite dear or expensive. This information would then justify that only the rich would purchase children as this product is “very proper” for them. Afterward, Swift then proclaims how these individuals already gorge on “most of the parents” or adults, which, in turns, implies that the children will also be ideal candidates. This melodramatic depiction with the rhetoric captures the attention of his audience due to the abhorrent nature of his imagery, and, with the audience’s attention, Swift could integrate a moral statement that mocks the aforementioned luxuriousness of the wealthy aristocrats. Therefore, the rhetoric advance his argument through the gruel, glaring nature of these lines.

Before Swift introduces this next proposal, he references his great friend as evidence of this proposition. The author insists that this friend of his upholds high “virtues” as “a true lover of his country”, and his “refinement uphold” his scheme is something of prominent value. (Line 101-103 Swift). In this case, Swift enlarges his argument by including the words of his friend, who Swift portrays as highly credible since his friend is apparently righteous and patriotic. By publicizing his friend’s reputable nature, Swift ensures that his audience pay attention to the words of his friend, and, also, he demonstrates his knowledge in the field of marketing children as food by associating with this credible source. Swift’s friend then formulates his argument where children between twelve and fourteen would be the prime age for consumption since a great number of these children “starve for want of work and service”. (Line 105-106 Swift). To the dismay of Swift, he refutes this supplement, declaring it “the strong object against any project” since it is a cruel practice. Swift strives to augment his reputation by chastising a proposal from an allegedly reasonable, intelligent friend; the author establishes that there is some point in this proposal where various additions are immoral and against the dignities of all humans. Despite the apparent irony, Swift formulates this line to make himself appear vastly more reasonable. Of course, he exploits his friend as a scapegoat of insanity, but this usage allows Swift to enlarge his credibility, which increases the likelihood that the audience will agree to his proposal as tolerable.

“Expedients”, in this scenario, refers to improper or immoral measures attached to the end of his child cannibalism proposal, which Swift, unsurprisingly, profoundly refutes. He proclaims that he can think of no objections “that will possibly be raised against this proposal”. Afterward, Swift’s persona commences a monologue that repeats, “Of”, as anaphoras. The author swiftly counters these possible additions in order to portray the astounding reality: Ireland desires a straightforward solution. Swift implies that these expedients are too idealistic since people are never pristine; he insinuates that individuals are too merciless, or too cynical, or too slothful, or too authoritarian to utterly achieve these additional goals. The anaphoras he incorporates to describe these “expedients” allows his audience to anticipate the following series of statements, and this amplified interaction with the audience means that they will carefully read each expedient and realize that these additions deflates Swift’s proposal. In performing such action, Swift increases the effectiveness and appeal of his current proposal by proclaiming that there is a certain point where the proposition becomes immoral. With the augmented image of his current proposal, the audience would be more likely to agree with Swift’s proposal.