A Modest Proposal With A New Critical Approach

2067 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: How does jonathan swift use irony in a modest proposal to make his argument

A Modest Proposal With A New Critical Approach

A Modest Proposal, by Jonathon Swift is very much an ironic persuasive essay. He is proposing the eating of babies as a way to help with poverty. Throughout the essay he makes many thought-out yet almost unthinkable arguments that support his proposal. You do however know he doesn't really want people to start eating babies. He is just trying to show a major problem in a shocking way. His arguments for the eating of babies are as follows: it would greatly reduce the number of poverty stricken people (especially children); it would give those same people income when they sold their children; the nation as a whole will have more money because of this new income; there would be more food for everyone (baby might even become a delicacy); people would save a lot of money by not having to support their children after the first year of birth; and finally, it would help out marriages since there would be less stress on the parents.

These theories are stated and supported throughout Swift's essay. He uses the structure of the essay to help you get a good understanding of the material he is presenting. The basic structure of the essay starts out with him explaining the problem he plans to help solve, that Dublin is poverty stricken. There are too many beggars with way too many children. Next, he starts to subtly drop hints about his proposal. He explains that he is going to, "Humbly propose (his) own thoughts," and that he hopes they, "Will not be liable to the least objection."(Abcarian, 629) He continues by further explaining some of his proposal's benefits, then in a list fashion states the six main arguments for it. Swift then adds his last few reasons why people should consider h...

... middle of paper ...

...t before he is about to say something horrible. This is ironic because it is not expected. The speaker has just totally changed his tone. The biggest use of irony is situational irony. The whole proposal is absurd and the speaker knows it. He is proposing the idea to show the larger picture. That there is no solution to this problem, and no one has any useful ideas. The eating of babies is utterly outlandish which is precisely why he chose it. The speaker of this modest proposal uses irony to create a tension that helps to convey a certain message. That message is that even though this may be a totally outrageous proposal, no one can complain or judge until they have a proposal of their own.

Works Cited

Fish,Tom. "The Literary Criticism." http://www.cumber.edu/litcritweb/#

Lynch, Jack. "New Criticism." http://newark.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Terms/newcrit.html

Show More
Related

  • In a Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift, the main objective was to draw

    994 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is a great contradiction and absurdity that a husband and father proposes the idea of cannibalism. The narrator does not want the reader to agree that the solution to overpopulation and poverty in Ireland is to eat babies; he wants the reader to see it. needs to be a practical solution. Although something seems one way to the narrator, Jonathan Swift wants. the reader to see it in the opposite light.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Satire In Fahrenheit 451

    518 Words  | 2 Pages

    His proposals purpose is to mock policies trying to fix all economic issues with thoughtless proposals. As a result Swift has his own proposal by imitating someone proposing to fix the economy by selling children for food. The author explains, “I Profess in the sincerity of my Heart that I have not the least personal Interest in endeavouring to promote this necessary Work having no other Motive than the publick Good of my Country, by advancing our Trade, providing for Infants, relieving the Poor, and giving some Pleasure to the Rich” (Para 33). He deliberately exaggerates his proposal of selling children as food to point out how outrageous policies to uplift the economy have become. In sum, exaggeration helps Swift prove his

    Read More

  • A Modest Proposal Satire

    689 Words  | 2 Pages

    The essay “A Modest Proposal” written by Johnathan Swift takes a satirical view on how to solve the starvation issue in Ireland. Swift suggests an obviously satirical solution of eating children around the age of one. He used irony, ambiguity, and ethos to emphasize the satirical nature of the essay and present a captivating idea to the audience.

    Read More

  • Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning of the novel Winnie Foster is sheltered by her parents and she is sick of it, devising a plan to run away. She confides in a toad, now her friend, and adds "See? . . . That's just what I mean. It's like every minute. If I had a sister or a brother, there'd be someone else for them to watch . . . I want to be by myself for a change" (Babbitt 14). Here, we get a sense of how fed up Winnie is with her life and how badly she wants to be left alone. She desperately wants to leave the restrictions of her house and go off in to the mysterious wood and possibly change

    Read More

  • The Effectiveness of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

    2432 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Effectiveness of A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift "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" - Jonathan Swift 1729. In reading this you will discover the answer to the above question in three parts; · How effective is it as an argument · How effective is it as a piece of information · How effective is it as satire "A Modest Proposal" first appeared in public in 1729, Swift wrote this article after all of his previous suggestions had been rejected by the Irish authorities. Swift felt the English government had psychologically exiled him and this greatly added to the rage he felt over the way the Irish People were treated or rather mistreated by the English. Although Swift's highest and most prominent concerns were for his own class, the Anglo-Irish, he in the end spoke for the nation as a whole.

    Read More

  • A Modest Proposal And Let Them Eat Dog Rhetorical Analysis

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    “A Modest Proposal” and “Let Them Eat Dog” have a common argument that we are dealing with over population of humans and animals. Swift uses satire to make us think that he really wants us to eat babies. Foer tells us of people eating animals were not accustomed to. This can put an economical strain on everyone if we don’t use our resources wisely. Both of these articles may be elusive for some to read. Both papers touch on the topics of eating animals, economic issues, and culture.

    Read More

  • Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment

    1270 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dostoevsky does not like all of Raskolnokv though. He hates his aloofness. Dostoevsky cannot stand anti-socialism and believes that people should be together and not dislike “meeting at any time'; with anyone. Constantly Raskolnokov alienates himself from all his friends and family to go alone about his way, which ends up getting him into trouble because of his radical thinking, like his theory that some people can transcend the law because of some extraordinary powers. The trouble that Raskolnokov gets into is Fyodor’s way of showing that continually parting yourself from society is unhealthy for a person and that they need other human contact to be complete.

    Read More

  • The Great Depression

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    Great Depression was one of the most severe economic situation the world had ever seen. It all started during late 1929 and lasted till 1939. Although, the origin of depression was United Sattes but with US Economy being highly correlated with global economy, the ill efffects were seen in the whole world with high unemployment, low production and deflation. Overall it was the most severe depression ever faced by western industrialized world. Stock Market Crashes, Bank Failures and a lot more, left the governments ineffective and this lead the global economy to what we call today- ‘’Great Depression’’.(Rockoff). As for the cause and what lead to Great Depression, the issue is still in debate among eminent economists, but the crux provides evidence that the worst ever depression ever expereinced by Global Economy stemed from multiple causes which are as follows:

    Read More

  • The Great Depression

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    October 29th, 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a depression that forever changed the United States of America. The Stock Market collapse was unavoidable considering the lavish life style of the 1920’s. Some of the ominous signs leading up to the crash was that there was a high unemployment rate, automobile sales were down, and many farms were failing. Consumerism played a key role in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 because Americans speculated on the stocks hoping they would grow in their favor. They would invest in these stocks at a low rate which gave them a false sense of wealth causing them to invest in even more stocks at the same low rate. When they purchased these stocks at this low rate they never made enough money to pay it all back, therefore contributing to the crash of 1929. Also contributing to the crash was the over production of consumer goods. When companies began to mass produce goods they did not not need as many workers so they fired them. Even though there was an abundance of goods mass produced and at a cheap price because of that, so many people now had no jobs so the goods were not being purchased. Even though, from 1920 to 1929, consumerism and overproduction partially caused the Great Depression, the unequal distribution of wealth and income was the most significant catalyst.

    Read More

  • Hyperboles In A Modest Proposal

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    Swift’s modest proposal includes multiple instances where Swift proudly declares that “I can think of no one objection, that will possibly be raised against this proposal, unless it should be urged, that the number of people will be thereby much lessened in the kingdom” in the face of potential objections to his plan (Swift 187-199). While Swift “can think of no one objection,” the reader can definitely think of millions of reasons why his plan will wipe Ireland off the map. In fact, Swift himself uses this phrase sarcastically in an attempt to get the reader to empathize with the Irish. Because the reader begins to pity the Irish, Swift ensures that he gets the message across that current conditions in Ireland are unlivable. Moreover, Swift ends his plan by vainly proclaiming that “I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have not the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive than the public good of my country” (Swift 234-236). The narrator clearly does not have any “sincerity of heart” with his intentions, proving that Ireland cannot survive in its current position with people like the narrator in power. Additionally, Swift’s sarcastic remark about promoting “the public good of [his] country” underscores the horrifying effects of his ghastly proposal, solidifying the horrifying fate of the Irish if

    Read More

  • The Great Depression in "Cinderella Man"

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    The stock market crash of 1929 is the primary event that led to the collapse of stability in the nation and ultimately paved the road to the Great Depression. The crash was a wide range of causes that varied throughout the prosperous times of the 1920’s. There were consumers buying on margin, too much faith in businesses and government, and most felt there were large expansions in the stock market. Because of all these...

    Read More

  • Satirical Response To A Modest Proposal

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

    With all of these problems, the parents couldn’t maintain their children, so they needed a solution. Now this incredible man comes with a solution that is going to blow your mind, Swift decides to give them a proposal. It was a really uncommon one, but very helpful for them. This proposal is going to stabilize once again the country of Ireland. He established the use of the children of the poor as a source of food.

    Read More

  • An Analysis Of On Dumpster Diving By Lars Eighner

    1718 Words  | 4 Pages

    If Jonathan Swift had written a serious piece simply espousing his true beliefs he would not have received as much feedback, due to the fact that there were already informational advertisements at the time and nobody was interested in reading them. The only thing that would get the people 's attention was something that would create a lasting impression, so he wrote a satirical piece with trenchant humor and mochary. “A Modest Proposal” surprised people and got them thinking about the condition of the poor in Ireland and what should be done to solve it. For example Swift states that “those who are thrifty” can use the carcass of the infant for ladies’ gloves or gentlemen’s boots. This itself can help those reading the piece to begin to think about possible solutions to the substantial issues involving the poor in Ireland. He also proposes that children that are fourteen should be consumed as well so the poor don’t have to go hungry and that it would limit the number of breeders, in an attempt to illustrate the extremity of the circumstances. His sarcastic way of joking enlisted fear in the poor and concern in the rich, helping them realise the drastic issue present in the

    Read More

  • Verbal Irony In A Modest Proposal

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jonathan Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a shocking satire that discusses the dire poverty in Ireland. It says if one is born poor they will stay that way unless society puts them to use. Children are food to be eaten. In an economic slump children will be used to feed and clothe Ireland’s population. Swift’s purpose for writing A Modest Proposal was to call attention to the exploiting and oppressing by the English to the Irish. He wanted to shock his readers by proposing his “modest” proposal. He presents selling babies as food to reduce overpopulation. This causes the reader to disregard this suggestion. Swift wanted to raise awareness on the issue that was haunting Ireland. Throughout A Modest Proposal, Swift effectively uses verbal irony, diction, and sentence structure to achieve his purpose of making people realize that there are problems in society that needed to be handled in a reasonable manner. He also wanted to help advance the country’s trade, provide for infants, relieve the poor and help the rich. Swift ultimately wanted to get people thinking about actual solutions that could solve their current problems.

    Read More

  • Fast Food: A Revolutionary Force In American Society

    734 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nevertheless, some people insist that fast foods, such as chips, hamburgers and fizzy drinks, that are so cheap and tasty, are not a consequence of the health problems. However, I strongly disagree that fast food has no bad impact on people’s health. I believe that fast food has a negative impact on society and, therefore, people must take care of themselves and lead a healthy lifestyle if they do not want to face serious problems with their

    Read More

More about A Modest Proposal With A New Critical Approach

Open Document