Preview

A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
162 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift is considered one of the highest exponents of the English literature, author of a prose characterized by a strong satirical vein that he often referred to the political and religious affairs of English society. Is best known for Gulliver's travels, a masterpiece of fantastic literature that has conquered generations of readers. Much less popular is the rest of the production of an author who is considered the greatest satirical writer in English literature. The spirit that animates A Modest Proposal is immediately clear once the "proposal" of the title is explained. The author, considering the desperate conditions in which the Irish live in their country because of the misgovernment of the English government, suggests a simple
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Summary Of A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift
    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Summary Of A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

    Jonathan Swift's 1729 satirical pamphlet, “A Modest Proposal from Preventing the Children of Poor People in Ireland, from Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Publick” under the pseudonym of Dr. Swift, has been regarded as an important historical text, exploiting the conditions of Ireland in the 18th century. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift proposes to the Irish public that to lessen the burden of poverty in Ireland they must sell their children as food and sustenance to feed the country’s wealthy. As it is a satire, Swift's approach and proposal suggests the dire economic conditions of Ireland during the 18th century, and provides a context for Ireland’s culture during this time and a framework for how people lived in all sectors of the economic classes.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    In “A Modest Proposal”, Jonathan Swift reaches out to the readers about social problems that the great town and county are going through. I believe Swift is trying to tell the readers in a satirical way that the government and political party are not doing anything in the country to solve the social problems. Swift believed the only way to catch their attention was to write the essay “A Modest Proposal”. Swift used satire in his essay to inform people of Ireland how high poverty, hunger, and death rates were not getting any help from the government.…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    Jonathon Swift uses satire to mock the politicians, wealthy, and the English. AFter reading "A Modest Proposal" attentively, the reader can assume that…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” incorporates satire in his writing that exposes England’s economical exploitation of Ireland. The full title includes, “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 Public” (Swift 558). His essay, very skillfully, brings shame to and sheds light upon the impoverishment of the Irish people at the hands of England’s greed for profits. He employed satire and irony as an effective tool to make the reader understand the state of oppression of the Irish using the most extreme statements. In his writing, although grotesque, Swift’s use of satire effectively confronts the abuses and shortcomings of the political and economic structure of the time, and he successfully uses sarcasm as a constructive method to criticize the social issues faced by the poor Irish natives.…

    • 1172 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Diction In A Modest Proposal
    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Diction In A Modest Proposal

    1. The persona in which Swift adopts for the modest proposal is that of someone concerned for the greater good of the land, Ireland, on the very outskirt of reading. Although as one dives into this proposal, they become bombarded with irrational means of dealing with this assumed problem; the plentiful source of beggars in Ireland. One becomes consumed with disgust yet intrigued by its soundness in reasoning. Swift creates a tone that juxtaposes its message, which further confuses the reader in his irrational yet balanced argument. On one hand he seems psychotic, on the other he appears to be a profound visionary.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    I have received your letter and have taken in your concerns about the assigned reading of Jonathan Swifts A Modest Proposal. I have written this letter to put your mind at ease and to inform you that the purpose of the reading was to challenge the student’s minds on understanding satirical devices. The students are familiar with the definition of satire and they understand that it is sarcasm used to convey insults or scorn. The full title of the story 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”. Jonathan Swift's A Modest Proposal is an excellent example of the sharp wit and biting sarcasm that was employed in the satire of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Swift uses an ironically conceived…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift
    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page

    A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift

    Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest proposal” is contrary to its title. The essay begins with Swift’s deep feeling of grief towards the penurious Irish people who have to beg to give their children food. Swift presents a solution that will make poor children a valuable part of the community. His compassion and seriousness changes when he proposes that the children be eaten by citizens. He argues that his idea will be a success because it will reduce the number of Paptists, improve the economy, make marriage more rewarding, give tenants and beggars money, and liberate Ireland from England. In certain cases, Swift uses testimonial evidence to prove that children make unique delicacies. For example, Swift mentions that an American friend guarantees children…

    • 246 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    I more than enjoyed myself reading Jonathan Swift’s pamphlet “A Modest Proposal.” It just blew me away the way he used such whit to create such a wonderful satirical piece such as itself. At first he seems to be totally objective to the original severe economical problem set in front of us all. Yet he shows no mercy towards the subject. Swift uses such a serious tone; if one didn’t know what type of writing was being read, one could be easily fooled to think Swift’s proposal was indeed for real. The statement the interested me the most was, “After all, I am not so violently bent upon my own opinion as to reject any offer proposed by wise men, which shall be found equally innocent, cheap, easy, and effectual. But before something of that kind shall be advanced in contradiction to my scheme…” I enjoyed reading this part because, although here…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    Jonathan Swift, a celebrated name during the eighteenth century, was an economist, a writer, and a cleric who was later named Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Although Swift took on many different roles throughout his career, the literary form of satire seemed to be his realm of expertise. Because satire flourished during the eighteenth century, Jonathan Swift is arguably one of the most influential political satirists of his time. In one of his famous essays, A Modest Proposal, Swift expresses his anger and frustration towards the oppression of the Irish by the English government. In order to gain attention from his audience, Swift proposes the outrageous thesis that the solution to Ireland’s problem of poverty is to feed children of the poor to the wealthy, aristocratic families. To whom Swift is directing his satire…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift was written in 1720 as a satirical piece to highlight the child abuse inflicted on Irish catholic children by well to do English protestants. Swifts native heritage of Ireland put him in an excellent position as an observer and, eventually, a commentator, on the extreme poverty experienced by the Irish population. This poverty mostly caused by the ‘ruling class’ … the English…and their appalling mistreatment of Ireland, its people and its land. In A Modest Proposal, Swift satirizes the English landlords with outrageous humour, proposing that Irish infants be sold as food at age one.…

    • 776 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    In Jonathan Swift 'sA Modest Proposal, the tone of a Juvenalian satire is evident in its text. Swift uses the title of his essay to begin his perfect example of a Juvenalian satire. Swift gives a moral justification to the dehumanization of the Irish and attempts to provide 'logical ' solutions to their problems. Despite Swift 's use of belittling language towards the Irish, he uses positive strategy to make his true point known. Swift declares children as the underlying cause of the parents ' inability to obtain a successful occupation. Swift 's scornful disregard for infants is one ploy in attracting the attention of the population. Swift uses a rhetorical style that causes the reader to loathe the narrator, who is depicted as a member of…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On Satire In A Modest Proposal
    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Essay On Satire In A Modest Proposal

    After voicing his frustrations to his government to no avail, he saunters down an alternate route. While digesting his most influential and recognized piece, all readers nod along with the author’s point: a change needs to occur in order for the Irish poor to end their suffering. That is until Swift mentions his plan, which involves raising babies, harvesting them at the ripe age of one, and selling their carcasses as a delicacy to the rich. Until the man reveals the details of his proposal, a majority of the readers nod along, eager to see Swift help the poor that plague the nation. Though no laughing matter like Lichtenberg suggests of satire, the poor do not realize the “hit” against them until they are too deep in their support for Swift. Instead of “[rousing] laughter”, the satirist rouses support from those “who are hit”, as he leads the poor and downtrodden along, appearing like he possesses a true solution to their problems. “A Modest Proposal” exists to criticize the Irish government for its lack of action in helping the poor improve their status, but first, Swift mockingly hits the poor by suggesting the sale of poor…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    "A Modest Proposal" begins with a description of the state of 18th century Irish life. Ireland was a place where children too often became beggars or thieves to sustain themselves or their families, women had abortions because they could not afford to raise children, few jobs were available to the workforce, and landlords abused poor tenants. In “A Modest Proposal”, Swift proposes we…

    • 761 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Pathos In A Modest Proposal
    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Pathos In A Modest Proposal

    In A Modest Proposal, Johnathan Swift creates a plan to help the unprivileged and overall help his country. Through the use of ethos, logos, pathos, and kairos a satirical tone is expressed throughout. Swift mocks the upper class throughout and helps express the problems in Dublin at the moment. Swift writes about these problems to help raise awareness and potentially help his…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell- story of an hour, desirees baby, a jury of her peers
    • 1597 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell- story of an hour, desirees baby, a jury of her peers

    Many female writers write about women’s struggle for equality and how they are looked upon as inferior beings. Kate Chopin and Susan Glaspell exhibit their views about women in many of their short stories. In the short stories “The Story of an Hour”, and “Desiree’s Baby”, Chopin seems to want to address how oppressive treatment on the behalf of men, husbands affects women, wives. In Glaspell’s, “A Jury of Her Peers”, the relationship between men and women imply the oppressive attitudes that men portray of women and their standings as people. Elaine Hedges stated that this story was known for its “challenge to prevailing images or stereo types of women” that society had on them (250). Analytically, the commonality of theses three short stories seems to be these women acting upon the unbearable circumstances, whether it is toward themselves or their oppressor. In many of their works the idea that women’s actions are driven by the men in the story reveals that men are oppressive and dominant and women are somewhat vulnerable, naive and sensitive. Louise Mallard, Desiree Aubigny, and Minnie Foster shared one thing in common: they are the wives of oppressive husbands. Theses authors seem to also show that the women of these stories undergo a transformation from dependent and weak to stronger women free from their husbands in the end. So in the end, due to oppressive male dominance, and a patriarchal society, death is the unconventional outcome for these three characters in some way or form.…

    • 1597 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More

Related Topics