Preview

Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
289 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
If Swifts ‘Modest Proposal’ is satire, as everyone seems to think, then I am even more repulsed in the writing than I was before. Everyone at the webinar the other day thought the little baby was such a cute, darling, little thing, and I agree, life is beautiful. To find humor in, or joke about, killing and eating babies is quite disgusting actually. Finding humour in something so disturbing, grotesque and violent, is quite assaulting to human dignity. The fact, that the author distanced himself from the piece by writing anonymously points to the fact he knew of its graphic assault, whether satire or not.
Back to whether Russell and Swift agree - Both writers, whether satirical or not, seem to have a bleak view of human virtue, and both seem
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    Jonathan Swift establishes credibility through rewording few of his acquaintances: “…a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London… a grave author, an eminent French physician… a very worthy person, a true lover of his country, and whose virtues I highly esteem… the famous Psalmanazar, a native of the island Formosa.” However, because the information he gathers are from people that others would not know of, his credibility is questionable. Nevertheless, he also gives very detailed and specific facts that help support his argument. Basically, Swift appeals to his audience through rhetorical literary techniques—logos, ethos, and pathos. The entire proposal is a measurement of Swift’s ethos and logos. The way he presents…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory 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

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Swift's A Modest Proposal
    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of Swift's A Modest Proposal

    The tone of this essay by swift is ironic because he talking about his proposed plan to eat baby’s.…

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

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    I've read many articles in my day, and I am known to be a very sarcastic person at times but this piece “A Modest Proposal” is next level insane, now I may be wrong, but what I've gathered from this piece is basically cannibalism of young children. “A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled.” Now i haven't really heard about Dr. Jonathan Swift, nor do I really know about his background, but his use of satire in this article is preposterous. I only hope this is a use of satire and that Dr. Swift hasn't actually considered doing this. Because the thought of this alone, in my eyes, is absurd. This proposal has a very diverse use of satiric devices…

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

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    In "A Modest Proposal", Swift uses several different words to create satire, one of which is the word 'breeders '. He uses the term breeders in reference to the women. In several paragraphs he talks about these breeders and their role. "I calculate there may be about 200,000 couples whose wives are breeders;"(Swift 2) The way that he refers to the women as breeders instead of mothers, wives or women creates satire. Instead of talking about them he talks about what they do. Or what they are supposed to do. This makes good artillery because referring to the women as breeders gives them a significant role and satire is created because instead of being known as women and…

    • 524 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

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    In his satirical essay "A Modest Proposal," Johnathan Swift examines treatment of the poor in Ireland during the eighteenth century: “I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London; that a young healthy child, well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food; whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled, and I make no doubt, that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or ragout.” (Swift 763) In his essay, Swift describes a repulsive suggestion for dealing with the children of the poor in Ireland. Swift describes in detail how poor children should be raised and sold to the wealthy at age one. He details how the children should be and how they should be prepared for the wealthy to consume. Swift's abhorrent proposal for the poor children not only points out the awful treatment of the poor in Ireland during the eighteenth century, but also Ireland's inability to devise a more desirable plan for the poor. His use of statistics and graphical depiction of the poor children's lives adds to the credibility of his essay.…

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

    Rhetorical Analysis
    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis

    The Price of Gas is Outrageous – And It is Going To Get Even Higher…

    • 1261 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal
    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal

    An Anglican priest known for his political pamphlets, Jonathan Swift, in his essay, “A Modest Proposal”, suggests that the infants of poor mothers should be sold as food on the market. Swift’s proposal is to call attention to the horrid living conditions in Ireland to convince the English to stop exploiting the Irish. He accomplishes this by encouraging the audience to believe he’s creditable, using statistics and the advantages of his proposal to appear logical, appealing to the emotions of the reader.…

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

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    “A Modest Proposal” is accurately called one of the most effective satires in the English language. There are a few key moments of satirical success that should be mentioned. Swift’s decision to put off the actual suggestion of eating babies until several paragraphs into the piece makes his idea all the more arresting when it does come. Also, naming population decrease as the one potential objection to his proposal, Swift heightens the irony of an already ironic piece. The reader is expecting this objection to be that it is morally wrong to kill babies, but Swift subverts our expectations once again, suggesting that there are people so cold to reality that they could be swayed by merely practical economic arguments and cannot even see the outrage of…

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

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 697 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    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".…

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

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis
    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages

    A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

    (Swift, 1729) He goes so far as to suggest different ways of preparing the children as meals. (Swift, 1729) He claims that this is the only answer for all the children born into poverty. (Swift, 1729) He claims that under their present day conditions, it is impossible to solve the problem by any other means. (Swift, 1729) The poor cannot be employed in handicraft or agriculture, or build houses and cultivate land. (Swift, 1729) Children can’t make a living as thieves until around six years of age so that isn’t an option. Nope, all that can be done with them is to eat them. (Swift,…

    • 943 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better 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

    A Modest Proposal vs Candide
    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Modest Proposal vs Candide

    As seen through both A Modest Proposal and Candide, both Jonathan Swift and Voltaire were committed to exposing the problems inherent to their societies, but instead of making bold proclamations about these issues, they wrote entertaining texts that used irony, especially in terms of characterization, to point them out. For example, the speaker in the essay A Modest Proposal can coldly discuss the economic and social benefits of killing and eating children without ever giving much thought to the moral problems. The essay is certainly a satire that is aimed at making his contemporary readers recognize the kind of cold, calculating inhumanity of blunt rationalism when used to address social problems such as poverty and overpopulation. Like Voltaire, Jonathan Swift presents this irony through characterization—in this case, the speaker of the proposal. Although Voltaire tends to present many problems of the Enlightenment by having multiple ironic characters, the effect is the same since the audience is drawn in and made to recognize the flaws of certain ways of thinking. The irony of the narrator of A Modest Proposal though, is that he can go on to criticize the moral weakness of mothers who have immoral abortions or commit infanticide. In addition, at one point he speaks of the selling of babies as food, saying, “I grant this food [children] will be somewhat dear, and therefore very proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children” (4, Swift). Like the philosopher, Pangloss in Voltaire’s Candide, the speaker in A Modest Proposal turn a blind eye to other ideas or options and by doing so, represents the worst kind of politician or social planner. This ironic character can make a statement that would seem to be purely economic without seeming to realize the awful nature of it. The powerful statement above is disguised as a blind following of the speaker’s philosophy when in fact it addresses the…

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

    Rhetorical Analysis
    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis

    Well-known Sci-fi writer, Ray Bradbury, in his novel, Fahrenheit 451, illustrates that relationships reflect who individuals are and who they want to be. Bradbury’s purpose is to promote the idea that a person should have the courage to listen to their own beliefs and thoughts of happiness rather than to blend in with society. He adopts a disoriented and poetic tone in order to appeal to similar feelings and experiences on a non-realistic scale in his young adult readers.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics