'A Modest Proposal' By Jonathan Swift And William F. Buckley, Jr.
Despite the many issues worth complaining about in the world today, most people are reluctant to complain. However, when problems are not confronted, they cannot be solved. In their respective essays, Jonathan Swift and William F. Buckley, Jr. discuss the idea that a society that is apathetic toward its problems cannot advance. In the satire "A Modest Proposal," Swift mockingly suggests a "modest" solution to improve the economy and address starvation in Ireland in 1729 because at the time, the government had not done anything to solve the dilemma. He proposed that the Irish citizens start selling and eating their own children. "Why Don't We Complain" is a politically-focused article written in 1961 in which Buckley, one of the most influential
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Anaphora builds a clear path for this argument. Tracy G Mehan III, an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law, describes how in his time, Buckley was an extremely influential conservative writer in America due to "his sparkling wit and trenchant analysis." Buckley's essay is effective in argumentation because its syntax highlights his wit and analysis. Buckley begins the essay by complaining that the temperature on his train is far too hot. He comments that his annoyance would be remedied quickly if the heat would just be turned off. As Buckley points out in his essay, the underlying issue is much greater than it initially appears: "All of this is so obvious. What is not obvious is what has happened to the American people. It isn't just the commuters [...] it isn't just they who have given up trying to rectify irrational vexations. It is the American people everywhere" (Buckley 65). The repetition of "it isn't" builds the climax that eventually resolves in the next sentence. Through this rhetorical device, Buckley expresses that it is not that people are unconcerned with societal problems; it is that few in America are willing to complain about problems and formulate solutions. Through anaphora, Buckley conveys that the issue of Americans reluctantly speaking out against problems is significant. His argument takes a clear path, and the issue that Buckley points out becomes progressively more prominent through the syntax. Anaphora reinforces his point that when societies do not confront their problems societies will not
Anaphora builds a clear path for this argument. Tracy G Mehan III, an adjunct professor at George Mason University School of Law, describes how in his time, Buckley was an extremely influential conservative writer in America due to "his sparkling wit and trenchant analysis." Buckley's essay is effective in argumentation because its syntax highlights his wit and analysis. Buckley begins the essay by complaining that the temperature on his train is far too hot. He comments that his annoyance would be remedied quickly if the heat would just be turned off. As Buckley points out in his essay, the underlying issue is much greater than it initially appears: "All of this is so obvious. What is not obvious is what has happened to the American people. It isn't just the commuters [...] it isn't just they who have given up trying to rectify irrational vexations. It is the American people everywhere" (Buckley 65). The repetition of "it isn't" builds the climax that eventually resolves in the next sentence. Through this rhetorical device, Buckley expresses that it is not that people are unconcerned with societal problems; it is that few in America are willing to complain about problems and formulate solutions. Through anaphora, Buckley conveys that the issue of Americans reluctantly speaking out against problems is significant. His argument takes a clear path, and the issue that Buckley points out becomes progressively more prominent through the syntax. Anaphora reinforces his point that when societies do not confront their problems societies will not