Analysis of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
In his biting political satire called ?A Modest Proposal,? Jonathan Swift seeks to create empathy for the poor through his ironic portrayal of the children of Irish beggars as commodities that can be regulated and even eaten. He is able to poke fun at the dehumanization of the multitudes of poor people in Ireland by ironically commenting on what he sees as an extension of the current situation. Swift?s essay seeks to comment on the terrible condition of starvation that a huge portion of Ireland has been forced into, and the inane rationalizations that the rich are quick to submit in order to justify the economic inequality. He is able to highlight the absurdity of these attempted explanations by presenting cannibalism as a logical (although not particularly valid or sound), mathematically calculated alternative to the current situation. In doing so Swift is able to shock the readers into defending the poor. Through his emotionless tones and clever diction, Swift seeks to stir up the readers? feelings of indignation and compassion and thus help remind them that people are human beings and deserve to be treated as such, and not treated as figures in mathematical equations or pieces of meat.
He begins by sucking the readers in through addressing a very real problem; the proliferation of beggers accompanied by malnourished children. He mentions the ?deplorable state of the kingdom? where young children?s futures are so limited that they will either turn theives for want of work? or ?sell themselves? into slavery. As soon as swift has gained the readers? attention he switches into his ironic, methodical mode. He begins to attempt to appeal to authority through his mention of having ?turned (his) thoughts for many years upon this important subject. Before even mentioning what his intended proposal is, swift begins to speak in terms of computations and statistics and use diction to give the poor a sub-human quality in order to divert the attention from the horrific nature of what he is about to propose. Swift first hints that peasants are being treated as less than human by refering to a newborn baby as being ?dropped from its dam.? He then begins to refer t owives as not mothers, but ?breeders. After having almost entirely erased the human element of the famine, he then inductively introduces his grueso...
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... recognizes that, at this point, most readers will be very open to other suggestions other than feasting on the flesh of babies. Now, only after having used the most extreme shock shock tactics is Swift able to reach his audience with his true suggestions. At this point he juxtaposes his very logical solutions with his proposal, which serves as a metaphor for the rich?s exploitation (feasting on) the poor.
Through his use of satire and irony, Swuft?s writing reaches out to the readers to expose curroption and exploitation. Johnathan Swift is able to express his true voice and win the readers support while saying the exact opposite of what he truly means. He is able to toy with the emotions of the readers to the point where they are so shocked by and eager to disagree with his proposition that they find themselves more receptive to his true thinking.
Bibliography:
Swift, Jonathan. "A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland from Being a Burden to Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public." 1729. Rpt. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston, MA: St. Martin's 1996.
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
Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is an attempt to bring attention to horrible the condition in which the poor or destitute people in Ireland are living in. His argument that children of these improvised people should be sold to “the persons of quality and fortune” (A Modest Proposal) for consumption, is Swift’s gruesome way of saying you might as well eat the babies, if no one is going to actually try to fix the problems of the poor in Ireland.
In eighteenth century Ireland, the nation was in a famine and an epidemic of poverty due to the high prices of land and food. Jonathan Swift saw a problem, so h wrote and spread what we call today, A Modest Proposal. Swift’s essay is satirical. He exaggerates and gives inaccurate statistics to deliver a thesis that runs deeper than the explicit one about eating babies. While much of the essay seems to imply that Swift’s persona eats babies, there are some instances where Jonathan hints at the ironic themes of the writing.
In the seventeenth century, Ireland faced troubles with famine and economic stalemate. Rather than accept this problem Jonathan Swift offers A Modest Proposal that is a contradiction in itself. Discussing the social problems in society without actually offering a solution but of bringing awareness to it, Swift sarcastically proposes the idea of cannibalism. He appeals to the resolve the issue by contradicting the inherent sarcasm and witty metaphors to demonstrate an inane idea. Incorporating logos with extensive use of sophisticated diction and statistical analysis for an impossible solution heightens the absurdity. Nevertheless, this preposterous preposition helps raise awareness of the economic and social problems of Ireland.
Through the creation of a pompous, highly educated and sophisticated proposer, in Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal, the targeted audience, the absentee landlords and parliament of England, and the reader naturally identify with the proposer. The proposer’s rigorous logic, serious and cynical tone deduces the ghastly proposition of cannibalism for economic, political, moral, and nationalistic gain. However, through the targeted audience’s identification with the proposer, Swift is able to propose the ironic humanity of his satirical proposal and thus indict colonial landlordism in Ireland and in Enlightenment ideals. Swift’s proposer’s tone is used for both the ostensible and actual purpose of the proposal; through the adherence to the ideals of the Enlightenment, which would be that of the targeted audience, Swift is able to critique the ideology of logic and rationality as fundamental to morality in the proposal.
The essay “A Modest Proposal” written by Johnathan Swift takes a satirical view on how to solve the starvation issue in Ireland. Swift suggests an obviously satirical solution of eating children around the age of one. He used irony, ambiguity, and ethos to emphasize the satirical nature of the essay and present a captivating idea to the audience.
In Jonathan Swift’s satire, “A Modest Proposal”, Swift writes about the starving people of Ireland in the early 1700’s. He makes a wild and absurd proposal to help remedy the problems of overpopulation and poverty. Swift wants to make a political statement by using the “children” as satire to grasp the attention of the audience - the English people, the Irish politicians and the rich – and make them aware of the political, moral, and social problems. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift’s arguments are presented effectively by using pathos (emotional appeal), ethos (ethics and values), and logos (logic reasoning and facts).
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.
...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.
This essay will have no value unless the reader understands that Swift has written this essay as a satire, humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of a person, government, or society (Satire). Even the title A Modest Proposal is satirical. Swift proposes using children simply as a source of meat, and outrageous thought, but calls his propo...
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.
During the eighteenth century, Jonathan Swift was distributing pamphlets around Ireland in hopes of promoting intellectual growth in his homeland. As he noticed this was not making an impact, he decided to address the problems in Ireland with a different approach. Jonathan Swift took to paper and constructed “A Modest Proposal”, a satirical piece that proposes a humorous solution to the social, economic, and political problems in Ireland. Swift’s proposal suggests that babies who are born to poor families become a source of food for public, which benefits Ireland by reducing the overpopulation and adding to the food supply. In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift uses satire to draw attention to his argument that the problems in Ireland are greatly affecting his homeland; in doing so, he portrays the themes of class division, suffering, and greed.
Swift wrote his proposal for those that were tired of looking at poor children of Ireland. He starts out explaining the situation in Ireland regarding single poor mothers that have three to six children and cannot afford to feed or clothe them. The children of the poor are a burden and a disgrace for Ireland. He suggests that a certain number of the kids be set aside for breeding and the rest be auctioned off for consumption when they reach a year old. Swift backs his proposal with six key points. One, there will be a reduction of "papists" in the country. Two, the poor will have some valuable assets to help them with their economic needs. Three, the new goods will burst economy. Four, the parent/s will gain money and will not have to support their children year after year. Five, "would bring great custom to taverns." Six, there would be a greater incentive to marry and better child rearing practices.
In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift employs a satirical tone to mock both the callous attitudes towards the poor and the poor themselves. Swifts “modest” solution to the fiscal and social issues going on in Ireland is nothing but the opposite, as he proposes that the impoverished should sell their infants as food for money. In using the word “modest” to describe his proposal of eating Irish infants and/or offering their flesh as a source of clothing, Swift makes the sarcasm of his story evident from the beginning. By using such an inconspicu...
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.