A Modest Proposal Essays

  • Analysis Of A Modest Proposal

    363 Words  | 2 Pages

    A Modest Proposal is a short pamphlet written in 1729 by the Irish writer Jonathan Swift. The narrator explains the social inhumane conditions of a poverty-stricken Ireland and attacks the way the English used the Irish for their own profit. In addition, he remarks on the lack of action taken by the people or Ireland in order to cease their own exploitation. The unnamed, unknown narrator goes on to mention “beggars of the female sex followed by three, four, or six children” so as to emphasize their current living circumstances. Furthermore, the use of irony is well accompanied as the narrator tries to convince the reader of the humanity of his scheme. With a calm and straightforward tone of voice, he leads us towards his much pondered proposal,

  • A Modest Proposal Response

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    The autor of the essay “A Modest Proposal” wanted to express so many points of view. Points of views from the rich and poor people. Jonathan Swift use the sarcasm to point the problem in the society at the 18th century. In the 18th century people who needed most, because of the bad economic situation in their home, were the people that suffers most. The bureaucracy in their country was really mark. The rich people take advantage of the poor people and the succumbed to the constant abuse of the rich. The rich people in those days think that because the have money they can treat the people as they want to not respecting the rights of the poor people and using them as slaves. I will give a solution for the poor people in this essay.

  • A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    1027 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” examines the proposal of consuming human flesh in order to solve the dilemma of the Potato Famine, in which drought was exacerbated by crop failures, and this tribulation of the Irish was largely snubbed by English landowners. His ironic persona (speaker), is one of confidence, reason, and worth. In addition, this persona presents a multitude of rhetorical strategies to prepare the audience for this overly deranged proposal, ranging from juxtapositions, to using emotion, reason, and credibility, to persuade the reader. Therefore, the ironic persona in “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift illustrates a wide assortment of rhetorical devices to convey the solution to the Potato Famine, and more broadly, Swift intended this ironic platform to serve as an expository of the avarice of landowners and their gain for self-interest.

  • Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

    282 Words  | 2 Pages

    It doesn’t take long to summarize Swift’s,Modest Proposal. To help solve the problem of the poverty-stricken, oppressed, and uneducated population of Catholics in Ireland, Swift’s projector calmly and rationally proposes that thousands of the children should be killed and eaten. This will help both the overpopulated poor, who can’t afford to care for their children anyway, and the rich, who will get a good meal out of the whole process. Even in his introduction he explains the reason for his 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 Publick.” What follows is an attempt to justify such a seemingly outrageous scheme. Yet, throughout

  • Swift's A Modest Proposal

    468 Words  | 2 Pages

    In reading the article you first have to gather some type of idea what he was talking about. I understand in society we all see a lot of people that are probably considered or labeled undesirables. I spent time trying to figure out if he was ranting about the homeless kids or he was just upset. He also then talks about abortions, which is always a debate for everyone. He later talks about trying to sell children until someone corrects him. It’s almost as though he is faulting the children for being brought into this world being malnutritioned and improperly clothed. I was confused when he compared a young healthy child to wholesome food. I thought he would then start

  • Reasons In Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

    1226 Words  | 5 Pages

    Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" is an essay that intends to draw awareness to the downfall of the Irishmen and motivate readers to find a feasible solution to the problem. The essay was written in a satirical way that has been able to engage readers to read more on the topic and the essay themselves (Smith, 2011). Swift was able to establish a "love-hate" relationship with readers due to being very sympathetic towards the Irishmen in the first part of the essay (Lovin, n.d.). This was able to make readers appreciate the author for his emotions towards the Irishmen. But then, in the latter parts, the author becomes unsympathetic and directed attention more towards the problems that the society faced at the time. His disapproval of Ireland’s

  • Use Of Humor In Modest Proposal By Peacocke

    108 Words  | 1 Pages

    One point where she uses humor is at the bottom of page 305 where Peacocke writes about how taking Family Guy at face value is like taking Jonathan Swift 's "Modest Proposal" seriously. Another point where Peacocke uses humor is at the top of page 300 where she talks about how she is fascinated with the show and how her perfect high school match would be Stewie Griffin. Humor helps Peacocke’s argument in that it helps get across her point that the show makes jokes that the viewer has to know current events, as well as be more on the intelligent side, to understand completely and truly appreciate

  • A Modest Proposal By Johnathan Swift

    319 Words  | 2 Pages

    Johnathan Swift, a clergyman and a political writer for the Whig Party, wrote the problem/ solution essay, “A Modest Proposal.” Swift has been called the greatest satirist in the English language. “A Modest Proposal” is a prime example of satire because satire is using cutting humor or irony to ridicule or make fun of the vices or mistakes of a person or country. Swift decided to use satire because if he made his proposal legitimate, people would not take it seriously. At the time this essay was written, people were indifferent, so Swift took their indifference and wrote “A Modest Proposal.” The purpose of Swift writing this essay was to bring social justice for the Irish. “A Modest Proposal” begins by deploring the sad fate of the poverty-stricken

  • A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Devices

    588 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal was written in the early 1700’s and about the starving people of Ireland, by Jonathan Swift. Not only were the people who were ruling the country awful, there were people who were starving, and the gap between the rich and the poor was immense. He uses brutal satire and irony to express his irritation with the countries lack there of ideas on how to solve the problems afflicting it. Swift uses rhetorical devices throughout the essay to build support for the solution that the persona he created has stated. Which is the idea of using infants as a primary source of food.

  • Juxtaposition In A Modest Proposal

    508 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the passage, “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift utilizes satirical strategies as a tool to express his concerns to his audience. Swift does this to persuade his audience to understand where he is truly coming from. Throughout the passage, Swift protests bad behavior of the culture of poor people and the conditions of the economy. Additionally, he talks about the brutal situations of how the British are treating the Irish. Swift presents his thoughts by using logos, juxtaposition, and satirical comments in order to allow others to comprehend the current situation from his perspective.

  • A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

    230 Words  | 1 Pages

    Satirist, Jonathan Swift in his essay, “A Modest Proposal”, argues that there needs to be a change in the economy in order to reduce and fix the problems with the amount of poor in Ireland. He develops his claim by first bringing up the number of poor children and beggar mothers, then giving his analysis of the problem, then giving his sarcastic plan of child farming in order to give these poor children a usefulness to everyone, and finally stating that he is not so inclined to his own plan that he is willing to hear the plan of others that will resolve the issue. Swift's purpose is to bring about change with his satire in order resolve the issue of the poor and hungry in Ireland. He creates a sarcastic and satirical tone for everyone in Ireland

  • Analysis Of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

    1141 Words  | 5 Pages

    One hundred years after Swift penned A Modest Proposal the problem of grave robbing was rife in Scotland. Any cemetery in proximity to a University town was regularly plundered for fresh corpses. It was reported that “the persons interred did not remain in their graves above a night” (Rev. W. Fleming, 1821). There was a huge demand for dead bodies for medical students to dissect. Supply did little to meet demand, so students regularly plundered graves in the name of learning. Fortunately for students of literature there is no need to go to such macabre extremes in order to further knowledge in their specialist field. Students of English Literature need only burgle the bank of literary treasures left to us by esteemed authors. One of these authors is Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), writer, poet and Dean of St Patrick’s, Dublin. Amongst the gems Swift left for dissection by literature students, is an essay published as a pamphlet in 1729 called A Modest Proposal. Through analysis of the

  • Analysis Of Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal

    1163 Words  | 5 Pages

    Ever thought about consuming a one-year-old baby with nice plump features? Most people will not consider such an immoral act; however, desperate times may force people to make difficult choices. This is the case in Dublin, Ireland in the late 1720’s. The attainment of human rights in the fullest sense cannot be achieved so long as hundreds of millions of poverty-stricken people lack the necessities of life. As a call to reform, Jonathan Swift wrote “A Modest Proposal.” Dr. Jonathan Swift uses rhetorical devices, logical, ethical, as well as emotional appeals to highlight the difference between Swift’s satirical attitude and the narrator’s serious attitude concerning poverty and starvation.

  • Understatement In A Modest Proposal

    1065 Words  | 5 Pages

    The idea of discrimination is an odd one. A human being has to look at another human being who, in some way is a little bit different, and think “This person is of lesser value than me”. Despite how strange that may sound it has played a frightening role in the history of human beings. Most notable examples are Nazi Germany’s treatment of the Jewish during World War II and the treatment of black people in America throughout its history as a country. These are not the only example of discrimination however, during the eighteen hundreds the Irish faced discrimination against the British. In Jonathan Swift’s essay “A Modest Proposal” is about a not so modest proposal meant to ridicule the way of life for the Irish and the British control over

  • Essay On Swift's A Modest Proposal

    1402 Words  | 6 Pages

    The full title of Swift 's pamphlet is "A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Poor People from Being a Burthen to their Parents, or the Country, and for Making them Beneficial to the Publick" It is an oddly imagined effort to "find out a fair, cheap, and easy Method" (Greenblatt, p.1200) for transforming the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the commonwealth" (Greenblatt, p.1200). Through this paper the value of goodness and appreciation for beauty, beauty as associated with humankind, will be highlighted because even though Swift’s writing is sarcastic, he draws attention to a large problem in Ireland during his lifetime.

  • Enlightenment In A Modest Proposal

    490 Words  | 2 Pages

    Around the 18th century in Western Europe, a new way of thinking and writing emerged. This period, called the Enlightenment, created many works of literature that expressed the ideas society there had at them time. One of the most popular works from the Enlightenment was Jonathon Swift’s A Modest Proposal. He encompassed many of the Enlightenment’s philosophies in both a captivating and correct to the time way.

  • A Modest Proposal: A Comparative Analysis

    86 Words  | 1 Pages

    Additionally, I talk about with Sara, the laborers who act because generalizations are weary sue. Representatives who act in view of generalizations very than placing confidence in the inclination and attempt of collaborators obstructs to assemble advance. Additionally, in cooperation, stereotyping can keep specialists from requesting projection or offering it to specific laborers. A man may not approach a woman in his group for help, such as on the off-chance that he considers that she isn 't equipped of understanding the errand and ideas since she 's

  • Personal Narrative: A Modest Proposal

    86 Words  | 1 Pages

    I have been doing some thinking about our conversation a few days ago and have concluded that I will take you up on the offer! I just sold my old bike and now have some money left over that I can use to pay for those seminars. I am going to see how soon I can get this done, I am going to look at the dates and send my form in.

  • Summary Of A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

    788 Words  | 4 Pages

    In his “A Modest Proposal” (1729), Jonathan Swift claims that Ireland is experiencing debilitating social issues because of England’s unjust policies.

  • A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift: An Analysis

    1141 Words  | 5 Pages

    Supply did little to meet demand, so students regularly plundered graves in the name of learning. Fortunately for students of literature there is no need to go to such macabre extremes in order to further knowledge in their specialist field. Students of English Literature need only burgle the bank of literary treasures left to us by esteemed authors. One of these authors is Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), writer, poet and Dean of St Patrick’s, Dublin. Amongst the gems Swift left for dissection by literature students, is an essay published as a pamphlet in 1729 called A Modest Proposal. Through analysis of the text it becomes apparent that A Modest Proposal is a valuable piece of literature for study by an English Literature student. When first published it caused some minor ripples but the true value of A Modest Proposal, has been realised in later years and is now acknowledged as one of the greatest works of satire in the English language. By studying Swift’s life, the themes and characters he introduces into this work and the literary approach he adopts, it will become clear why this essay is of great value to the student of English