A Modest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis

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In his most famous pamphlet “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift used humor, sarcasm, and symbolism to address the poverty issue in Ireland and provided some outrageous suggestions to overcome it. Moreover, he criticized the treacherous English people and their politics in Irish society through this satire. Swift proposed that needy Irish families should fatten and sell their children as food to the rich people in society. As a result, the population in Ireland will be reduced, and the income of poor will increase considerably. Swift made the opening of the satire by describing the sympathetic scene of the streets of Dublin where poor women, surrounded by many children, are begging although they could do jobs to support their families …show more content…

It appeared to him that this enormous number of poor children could never be the hope of the country. Instead, they were an additional grievance. In this part, the author maintained a serious tone which led the audience to assume Swift as a hero who was giving his best to develop the society’s situation. So, the audience hopes that he would introduce an effective way to help the Irish out of such misery. But then Swift said (1729), “I shall now therefore humbly propose my own thoughts, which I hope will not be liable to the least objection. 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.” This was quite unexpected to the audience that Swift would give such a shocking proposal of eating and selling the children to the rich people. He was not joking at all. He remained in a serious mood to prove his “modest proposal” quite reasonable. To support the proposal, he quoted statistic figures, and he was also completely aware that a conscious mind in the society will surely oppose his idea and the audience would regard eating children as morally shameful. The audience can hardly accept to eat

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