A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
NOTES: A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
Johnathan Swift writes this satirical proposal to "prevent the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden to their parents or the country" and to make them "beneficial to the public".
Johnathan begins this proposal with a paragraph using violent and negative diction, using words such as "beg", "forced", "fight", "thieves", "helpless". Because of the alarming and intriguing nature of these words, this negative/violent diction appeals to the reader's emotions and makes us interested in reading the rest of the proposal.
"I think it is agreed by all the parties" a hasty generalization.
"fair, cheap, and easy" three words that are very appealing to humans from any country, but it is satirical because it is not a fair, cheap, and easy thing to do, eating babies. …show more content…
"professed beggar" is something that is used many times in this passage. it is a sort of oxymoron because beggars only beg because they do not have a profession. this reminds the reader that beggars do make money as well.
"demand our charity" charity isn't something that is normally demanded. Swift uses these two words together to make it seem like the government of ireland sees the begging as "demanding".
"having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject" this is very ironic, because he had been thinking about a solution to this problem for "many years", and finally decides on eating babies, out of every other possible solution. this is where the humor begins in this proposal, given through the irony.
johnathan swift compares a mother, who has just given birth to a child, to a "dam", saying that the child "may be supported by her milk for a solar year". this is intended to show how the government sees the people of Ireland equal to animals.
again, johnathan swift portrays begging as a profession, saying "lawful occupation of begging", a very humorous and satirical phrase. begging is not an actual occupation. people beg because they don't have occupations.
"feeding and partly to the clothing" Johnathan Swift begins introducing the idea and main point of his proposal: eating babies and using their skin for clothing.
in the second paragraph on the second page he uses violent diction once again with words like "abortions", "horrid", "murdering", "bastard", "tears", "pity", "savage", "inhuman" to appeal to the reader's emotion.
he is saying that his plan will get rid of all these bad things associated with abortion. this paragraph is also ironic because he is talking about how "horrid" and "inhumane" it is for these women to "murder" their children, but then he talks about killing babies and eating them. this is another example of his satirical humor.
THIS IS JUVENALIAN SATIRE.
he uses math and "computing" to be credible and logical.
"humbly propose my own thoughts" is an example of sarcasm, because these thoughts are extreme and not humble.
opposite of steal from the rich and give to the poor: steal from the poor and give to the rich these babies of "poor people"
"landlords, who, as they have already devoured the parents" is a very interesting joke in this essay. it is a hyperbole. it is interesting because this was written in the 1800s, and this is a type of humor that is still used today.
he gave infants flesh a
season.
"as i must confess the times require" this shows that ireland was going through a tough economic time. this letter could very well be used again in today's society, because our country is going through a tough economic time right now. this relates to the US right now because there is a high rate of children born to low income women who have trouble raising their children and providing for them.
Johnathan Swift's use of "convenient" is ironic because there is nothing convenient about cutting up, cooking, and eating babies.
"virtues", "highly esteem" is ironic because they are giving advice about eating babies and how to do so.
Swift then makes women becoming "breeders" sound like less of an issue than it already is, saying "some scrupulous people might be apt to ensure such a practice…. bordering upon cruelty"
Johnathan Swift writes this satirical proposal to "prevent the children of poor people in Ireland from being a burden to their parents or the country" and to make them "beneficial to the public".
Johnathan begins this proposal with a paragraph using violent and negative diction, using words such as "beg", "forced", "fight", "thieves", "helpless". Because of the alarming and intriguing nature of these words, this negative/violent diction appeals to the reader's emotions and makes us interested in reading the rest of the proposal.
"I think it is agreed by all the parties" a hasty generalization.
"fair, cheap, and easy" three words that are very appealing to humans from any country, but it is satirical because it is not a fair, cheap, and easy thing to do, eating babies. …show more content…
"professed beggar" is something that is used many times in this passage. it is a sort of oxymoron because beggars only beg because they do not have a profession. this reminds the reader that beggars do make money as well.
"demand our charity" charity isn't something that is normally demanded. Swift uses these two words together to make it seem like the government of ireland sees the begging as "demanding".
"having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject" this is very ironic, because he had been thinking about a solution to this problem for "many years", and finally decides on eating babies, out of every other possible solution. this is where the humor begins in this proposal, given through the irony.
johnathan swift compares a mother, who has just given birth to a child, to a "dam", saying that the child "may be supported by her milk for a solar year". this is intended to show how the government sees the people of Ireland equal to animals.
again, johnathan swift portrays begging as a profession, saying "lawful occupation of begging", a very humorous and satirical phrase. begging is not an actual occupation. people beg because they don't have occupations.
"feeding and partly to the clothing" Johnathan Swift begins introducing the idea and main point of his proposal: eating babies and using their skin for clothing.
in the second paragraph on the second page he uses violent diction once again with words like "abortions", "horrid", "murdering", "bastard", "tears", "pity", "savage", "inhuman" to appeal to the reader's emotion.
he is saying that his plan will get rid of all these bad things associated with abortion. this paragraph is also ironic because he is talking about how "horrid" and "inhumane" it is for these women to "murder" their children, but then he talks about killing babies and eating them. this is another example of his satirical humor.
THIS IS JUVENALIAN SATIRE.
he uses math and "computing" to be credible and logical.
"humbly propose my own thoughts" is an example of sarcasm, because these thoughts are extreme and not humble.
opposite of steal from the rich and give to the poor: steal from the poor and give to the rich these babies of "poor people"
"landlords, who, as they have already devoured the parents" is a very interesting joke in this essay. it is a hyperbole. it is interesting because this was written in the 1800s, and this is a type of humor that is still used today.
he gave infants flesh a
season.
"as i must confess the times require" this shows that ireland was going through a tough economic time. this letter could very well be used again in today's society, because our country is going through a tough economic time right now. this relates to the US right now because there is a high rate of children born to low income women who have trouble raising their children and providing for them.
Johnathan Swift's use of "convenient" is ironic because there is nothing convenient about cutting up, cooking, and eating babies.
"virtues", "highly esteem" is ironic because they are giving advice about eating babies and how to do so.
Swift then makes women becoming "breeders" sound like less of an issue than it already is, saying "some scrupulous people might be apt to ensure such a practice…. bordering upon cruelty"