A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Satire Usage Jonathan Swift uses satire in many of his works such as “A Modest Proposal”. Satire is the use of humor, irony or ridicule human vice. “The true satirist is conscious of the frailty of institutions of man 's devising and attempts through laughter not so much to tear them down as to inspire a remodeling" (Thrall, et al 436). Although he was born in Ireland, Swift considered himself an Englishman first, and the English were his intended audience. "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
eat babies. “…a young healthy child well nursed, is almost delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled (Swift, ¶9). This satire example mocks heartless attitudes towards the poor, as well as Irish policy in general. Jonathan Swift also uses verbal irony to emphasize his sarcasm. He does so by mentioning the Catholic Church while saying, “infants’ flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after” (Swift).
The people of Ireland would practice “lent” in order to be considered holy by the Roman Catholic Church, all while killing babies. Swift gives the reader his strange insight
about eating the babies. He goes into great detail about how to cure such an overwhelming epidemic. He uses a very sarcastic tone when describing what he would do with the poor children of Ireland. “A child will make two dishes at an entertainment for friends, and when the family dines alone, the fore and hind quarter will make a reasonable dish, and seasoned with a little pepper or salt will be very good boiled on the fourth day, especially in winter” (Swift). He is not only extremely harsh, but he goes into such detail it makes the reader want to cringe. Like I said in the previous paragraph, Swift is satirizing how the British are oppressing the Irish. “A Modest Proposal is a modest proposal for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden on their parent’s country” (Cummings). The poor people of Ireland could not support their families, which made them go to extreme measures. In order to survive, women and children were forced to beg for food to prevent them from starving to death. Jonathan Swift proposes a solution to this epidemic in A Modest Proposal. Swift states that the poor Irish should sell their children as if they were cattle, or better yet, eat the children themselves. Swift uses a mocking tone in order to effectively convey that he does not actually support cannibalism, but rather uses it as metaphor to describe the harsh times of Ireland. A modern day example of this type of satire is racism.
I see it happen every day. People in the hallways yell out mean words to other people. There are some teens that call their friends the “n word”, that is another name for African Americans, to people that aren’t even of that color. Racial issues in the US are becoming a big deal now because of immigration laws and past events such as slavery. “Racism is very touchy to some people. Some even argue about supporting racism” (article). When Obama was elected president, there were many racial comments. "The anger wasn 't only about President Obama and his re-election," said Keisha Bentley-Edwards, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies race, adolescence and academic and social development. "It was overall frustration at the emerging power of diverse people in this country”
(Bentley-Edwards). Swift uses diction, irony and satire in A Modest Proposal. He wrote A Modest Proposal in order to bring the attention to the problems the poor Irish were facing because of the famine. He uses his ridiculous sarcasm of killing, eating, and selling children not as a serious proposal, but to show how bad it is for the poor people. It might be said that Swift comes across as too convincing, making some readers so disgusted by the details of his proposal that they fail to recognize his point.

Works Cited
Cummings, Mns. “A Modest Proposal.” N.p., n.d. web. 15 Apr. 2013.
“Racism.” –Global Issues. 17 Apr. 2013.
Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal. New York: Grossman, 1969. Print