A Modest Proposal By Johnathan Swift

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English 102 26 February 2017 A Modest Proposal In the essay “A Modest Proposal” Johnathan Swift effectively uses all three essential qualities of persuasion to sarcastically mock the protestant ruling class while highlighting the hopeless position the poor endure. While the author’s outrageous proposal for the selling and eating of babies might seem to be the intended modest proposal the author described in the title, it was merely a method to condition the reader so that they may better accept the real proposals he refuses to discuss later in the essay. To establish his credibility (Ethos) the narrator is introduced to the reader as a Dr. Swift (Swift Pamplet) who quickly reinforces this credibility by presenting himself as a well-educated …show more content…

At this point the reader is emotionally and intellectually ready to accept these proposals as they are so much more palatable then the alternative described in the essays preceding paragraphs. (Swift,1) It seems incredible that while the author’s outrageous proposal for the selling and eating of babies seems to be the intended modest proposal, it was merely a method to condition the reader so that they may better accept the real proposals he discusses later in the essay. To do this the author effectively used all three essential qualities of persuasion to emotionally, logically, and ethically condition the reader to look at his real list of modest proposals with an accepting eye. Works Cited Swift, Johnathan. A Modest Proposal For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being Aburden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The PublicK. : , n.d. The Art Bin: Origo. Web. 20 Feb 2017. Swift, Johnathan. A Modest Proposal Pamplet. 1729. Monash University Library , n.p. Clayton - Rare Books Call no:RARE BOOKS SAFE 820.5 S977 A6/Mo. London: S. Harding , 1729. .

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