1. Swift wants his readers to interpret his speaker as a kindhearted, sensible gentleman with a sincere concern for resolving problems for the Irish people. In the first eight paragraphs, the reader meets an affectionate man with precise insight into the predicament he will shortly address. By doing this, the speaker establishes himself up as someone who would not make an outrageous proposition. This makes his words even more effective.
2. 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
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In the first 7 paragraphs, Swift is using qualification. He starts of by saying “female sex” rather than saying women. This promptly reveals a clinical and technical perspective. This statement is also dehumanizing because it is very offensive to women. It makes them sound more like a material in a lab rather than a human being. He then talks about the problem of poverty through numbers, which reveals his overall qualification. He questions the “computation” of “projectors” which continues his technical diction. In the fourth paragraph he refers to a mom as a “dam” which could imply domestic animals. Paragraph 6 provides a model of exposition, supplying evidence and logical explanations. He then discusses some of the costs to sell children into slavery. Through all of the examples that were just provided, it shows the qualification through his …show more content…
Swift appeals to patriotism in the first paragraph when he references to the disloyalty of defending “the pretender of Spain”. He does this again by stating that anyone who can fix the issue of poverty will “have his statue set up for a preserver of the nation.” This feeling of patriotism continues in paragraph 17 with the statement “very worthy… country”. He uses the patriotism appeal because the speaker wants to show the readers how the plan will build a sense of national pride. Swift then switches to thrift when he speaks about the economy and effective use of resources. He points out how his proposal will have money of their own and the economy will get better. He also uses the thrift appeal in paragraph 15 where he actually says the word “thrifty”. In this example he is talking about the skin. The purpose of him using the thrift appeal is because it shows the readers about how his theory will help the economy and the citizens of Ireland.
7. Rhetorically, Swift uses an outrageous argument expressed in a serious and sincere tone to point out an atrocious plan. The thought and rhetoric behind this is that if you present a claim more intense than your own, it may not sound as extreme He is also expressing the attitude of the other countries towards the Irish famine. This makes the essay such a valuable influential document, because it slams the other countries through their own unresponsiveness to the
How does Swift want the reader to view his speaker? That is, how would Swift want his reader to describe the persona he adopts? Swift wants the reader to view the speaker as a reasonable, compassionate and rational person who has a genuine interest in solving the problems of the poor Irish. In the beginning of the essay, the speaker appears to be a concerned person who demonstrates a keen insight into the issues he addresses. However, this is contrary to the fact that the speaker predominantly relies on random and absurd statistics and logic to present his solution. By acting as someone compelled to solve the plight of the poor Irish, the unknown speaker makes his words more effective and establishes himself as someone who would never make the outrageous proposal that follows.
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.
In Swift’s satirical essay he stated the main issue to be the hunger and starvation of Irish country and their lack of money to support oneself. He said the complication was they themselves don’t have food, to many families in poverty, and that the Englishman took their land and charging high prices for rent. Swift makes this argument because he too is an Irish men and he struggles to see his fellow men parish in the streets. He desires his people to stand up against England and take back what’s theirs. He argues that the Irish...
His proposals purpose is to mock policies trying to fix all economic issues with thoughtless proposals. As a result Swift has his own proposal by imitating someone proposing to fix the economy by selling children for food. The author explains, “I Profess in the sincerity of my Heart that I have not the least personal Interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary Work having no other Motive than the publick Good of my Country, by advancing our Trade, providing for Infants, relieving the Poor, and giving some Pleasure to the Rich” (Para 33). He deliberately exaggerates his proposal of selling children as food to point out how outrageous policies to uplift the economy have become. In sum, exaggeration helps Swift prove his
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
Therefore, before an analysis 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. One of the other voices that is present throughout the entire story is that of sarcasm. In order to understand this further, a reader has to comprehend that Swift, becoming infamous after Gullivers Travels, was a member of the upper-class. Right from the first paragraph, Swift attempts to fool his readers by the sarcasm of the dreary scene that Swift presents. For example, he mentions that it is a melancholy sight to see beggars and their children on the street.
The issue is that there is a growing number of poor and starving women and children living on the streets of Ireland that are a burden to the public and the country. The context is that these homeless and starving women and children are left to fend for themselves on the streets. Jonathan Swift is making the argument from the point of a concerned citizen who has spent years among the poor in Ireland studying the situation and trying to come up with a solution. Johnathan Swift used the example that those who visit Ireland and see the streets crowded with women and children that are beggars conclude that Ireland is a very poor, overpopulated country full of beggars and that they look down upon their country that is in such poor shape. His bias is that as a citizen living in Ireland, he does not want to be looked down upon by other countries. His targeted audience seems to be the citizens of the country and those in higher up positions who ...
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 ... ...
Swift’s modest proposal includes multiple instances where Swift proudly declares that “I can think of no one objection, that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged, that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom” in the face of potential objections to his plan (Swift 187-199). While Swift “can think of no one objection,” the reader can definitely think of millions of reasons why his plan will wipe Ireland off the map. In fact, Swift himself uses this phrase sarcastically in an attempt to get the reader to empathize with the Irish. Because the reader begins to pity the Irish, Swift ensures that he gets the message across that current conditions in Ireland are unlivable. Moreover, Swift ends his plan by vainly proclaiming that “I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country” (Swift 234-236). The narrator clearly does not have any “sincerity of heart” with his intentions, proving that Ireland cannot survive in its current position with people like the narrator in power. Additionally, Swift’s sarcastic remark about promoting “the public good of [his] country” underscores the horrifying effects of his ghastly proposal, solidifying the horrifying fate of the Irish if
Swift's opposition is. indirectly presented in the report. The author uses satire to accomplish his objective not only because he is able to conceal his true identity but also because it is the most effective way to awake the people of Ireland into seeing their own deprivation. Firstly, the narrative voice begins the essay by describing the horrible conditions in which the Irish peasants live. He demonstrates there is a serious problem with a great need for a solution.
Swift begins his argument by stating his view on the situation and displaying his annoyance. He states, "It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country when they see the streets, roads, and cabin doors crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for an alms" (Swift 1). He uses melancholic imagery for the readers to sympathize with the suffering children and to understand their situation. Similarly, Swift displays his disgust for the wealthy by stating that "There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children… which would move tears in the most savage and inhumane beast" (1). He talks about abortion and shows how ghastly and disheartening the practice is. Clearly, Swift makes use of pathos to slowly gain the reader’s confidence in preparation for his appalling proposal. He knows that many will be emotionally affected by his proposal because no one would want their own c...
In the first few paragraphs of the Proposal, Swift characterizes the proposer as a sophisticated, civilized, and educated gentleman to relay the ostensible purpose of the proposal. The first few paragraphs manipulate syntax and are entirely devised of long-winded sentences explaining the situation in Ireland. The proposer presents his proposal of importance that he deserves “his statue set up for a preserver of the nation” (Swift 2633). Swift is emphasizing the proposer’s pompous tone; this proposal, according to the proposer, is a revolutionary solution to the problems of “the kingdom” (2633). Swift’s creation of the proposer’s opinions towards the “melancholy object” (2633) of the beggars of Ireland, mainly of Catholic religion, mirror those of the absentee landlords, causing an identification with the proposer and...
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.
Swift uses sarcasm to make his argument that the Irish should not be ignored by the English. In 1729 Ireland was hit with a potato famine and the commoners were the ones who suffered the most. The elite were never left hungry and did not suffer like the rest; therefore, they took little or no importance about what happen to the commoners and how they lived. He states, “It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the...
Swift desires for his readers to see his speaker as a reasonable, egalitarian man with an evident desire in fixing the mess of the present time. Obvious examples of this man’s good nature can be discovered in the first eight paragraphs. He not only quantifies but also observes and does this with a manner that is somewhat logical. This presentation serves to make the ironic nature of the proposal that arrives in paragraph 9 all the more outrageous, and all the more effective.