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A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

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A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
Vincent Reyes
December 16, 2010
English
P.3 Craven

A Modest Proposal Essay “A Modest Proposal” is a strongly written satire by Jonathon Swift. In the essay, Swift applies nearly all of the elements of satire. Some of the most obvious elements are his use of creating a persona and his exaggeration. Beginning by analyzing the title, “A Modest 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 Public”, it is a reasonable topic for the essay. However it is not at all modest. Swift absurdly creates suggestions to make the poor children beneficial. His primary goal in this essay is to shame the English, bring up the issues of poverty and motivate the Irish. …show more content…
There is a repetition of the use of words such as “computation”. This develops the statistician characteristics of the persona formed. These words refer to math equations and collecting statistics. Also there is a use of formal diction such as “it is agreed by all parties”. This develops the tone in which the persona is speaking. It gives a more political aspect of the persona; these words would usually be found in political debates, political speeches, etc. The intentions of the author can be found in the title of the essay itself, “Preventing…from Being a Burden…Making Them Beneficial”. This is misleading yet literally correct. The persona is well intended, giving a proposal to solve the issue of poverty even though it is not very humane. The persona created is strongly developed and
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