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Jonathan Swift Use Of Sarcasm In A Modest Proposal

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A Weapon of Change Satirical writing is effective at challenging ideas and inciting change in issues society faces. Satirical writing has a powerful influence on ethical and moral issues or flawed ideas; satirical writing is used when there is a need to point out ideas and issues. Satirical writing as seen in A child’s summer in Newfoundland by Rex Murphy and a Modest proposal by Jonathan Swift uses sarcasm and metaphor to challenge social and political issues. In a Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift satirical writing used in the form as sarcasm is challenging the issue of how Ireland’s poor are being treated. Jonathan swift uses sarcasm to ridicule the treatment of Ireland’s poor by the wealthy landlords. Swift uses of sarcasm is demonstrated in this quote, “ I grant this food will be something dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children”(Swift P.625). The use of sarcasm in the following text by Jonathan Swift highlights the effectiveness of satirical …show more content…

Rex Murphy uses a metaphor and memory of his childhood working in the blueberry patch to challenge the social issue of child labour, murphy explains this in the following quote. “What the boot blacking factory was for the young dickens, the blueberry patch was for me and thousands of young islanders.”(Murphy P.2). Murphy’s comparison between his childhood blueberries picking to the kid’s on the farm to ridicule the outrage received on the family farm and challenges the idea of child labour in this context. Murphy uses cool media to get the message across forcing the reader to critically think about this moral issue rather than presenting literal stance in, A child’s summer in Newfoundland. Rex Murphy uses metaphor to force the reader to think about their opinion on this social

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