A Not So Modest Proposal

704 Words2 Pages

In the 1720’s Ireland and its people suffered through decimal harvests and famine spread quickly spread throughout the land. In “A Modest Proposal”, by Jonathan Swift, the main objective was to draw attention to the plight of the Irish people and motivate readers to find a workable solution. Jonathan Swift’s not so modest proposal was to eat children at the age of one, and although it was an extreme of what should be done, it was a way to gain alert readers of the rising problems in Ireland. He accomplished this task not by criticizing the English, but instead by making a humorous and inspirational proposal; using a persuasive writing technique called satire. Swift was able to strongly influence readers by using various logical, emotional, and ethical appeals which helped to amplify his “modest” proposal.

Reasoning is often used as a way to convey an idea. Swift’s use of logical appeals was no different; and by using facts and statistics he was able to support his position very well throughout his proposal. One example of this persuasive technique is “The number of souls in souls i...

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