A Modest Proposal, to save the country’s image: Examining the oppression toward the Irish poor
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 was published in 1729 by Jonathan Swift. It was published during an economic crisis and a period where the English developed a great dissatisfaction toward the Irish. The Irish were facing a devastating economic crisis during the 1700s. The Irish faced starvation and Swift wanted to expose the misfortunate lives of the poor in order to have the country striving for change in the lives of each. The English were aware of everything occurring and were not satisfied with how awful their state was turning out. Swift wanted change; he wanted to save the county before the oppression toward the poor reached the extreme. Soon, Swift took action and announced his proposal to the Irish in order for them to come up with better alternative solutions. The proposal was to eat babies in order to help the devastating economy the poor were facing. In his proposal he mocks the authority of the British officials as being an oppressive regime responsible for the suffering of the Irish, and also tries to find a way to evoke a sense of sympathy to his audience with the use graphic imagery and mockery. Swift uses graphic imagery to get his audience attention in order for them to develop alternative solutions rather than his own proposal.
With the use of graphic imagery Swift makes cannibalism very outrageous, causing a strong emotional appeal in order to have the Irish and the English react more maturely toward the situations. Swift was aiming toward helping eliminate the dreadful plight in t...
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...st not abuse what is given to them, which in this was power and wealth.
Work Cited
Swift, Jonathan. "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." 1729. Rpt. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston, MA: St. Martin's 1996. 111-117.
Bone, Martyn. "Ireland Historical Summary 18th-19th Centuries ." Our Family History. Martyn Bone , 11 Mar. 2006. Web. 17 May 2010. .
Swift, Jonathan. "A Modest Proposal." Great Literature Online. 1997-2010
http://swift.classicauthors.net/ModestProposal/ (17 May, 2010).
Wikipedia contributors. "Jonathan Swift." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 May. 2010. Web. 18 May. 2010.
Jonathan Swift is the speaker in the story, A Modest Proposal. He is also the author of many other books and stories. In the text of A Modest Proposal, Swift addresses what he believes to be a big issue in the magnificent country of Ireland, Dublin to be exact. Therefore, he proposes a solution to the problem, however, the solution is not what we would call humane, orthodox, reasonable, or even one that we would consider performing today. Swift wrote this piece for anyone that can read and comprehend what the text implies.
“A Modest Proposal” was written in 1729 by a satirical author by the name of Jonathan Swift. Swift studied at the University of Oxford and was also know for his popular writing in Gulliver’s Travel. The purpose for his satire “A Modest Proposal” was to enlighten the citizens of Ireland about their hardship and suffering. He informed them about their scares of food, money, and property, but provided a possible solution to their problem. To persuade the people Swift adopts a comforting and friendly tone to his audience for the people to react to his solution.
In the time frame that Swifts’ A Modest Proposal was written Ireland was going through political, economic, and religious struggles. In 1729 England had contrived, with the help of Irish venality, to wreck Ireland’s merchant marine, agriculture, and wool industry. Prostitutes in Swift’s paper are having kids like senseless people, but yet they can’t afford to feed them. Jonathan Swift proposes that his people should sell the babies and eat them. He thinks this would help solve the problem of over population. Swift tried to give his people pamphlets on how to fix the problem that was plaguing their country, but they ignored them. Swift says “These mothers, instead of being able to work for their honest livelihood, are forced to employ all their time in strolling to beg sustenance for their helpless infants.”(1) Swift proposes that the mothers sell the babies for 8 shillings; the rich would find the child to be a delicacy and the extra money would go to the landlord. So everyone would benefit from this proposal. He does this as a way of making his people aware of what is going on in their
A “Modest Proposal” is written by a man who had been exiled from England and forced to live among Irish citizens for many years during which he observed major problems in Ireland that needed a solution. The writer of this piece is Jonathan Swift, and in his proposal, “The Modest Proposal,” Swift purpose is to offer a possible solution to the growing problem of the homeless and poverty stricken women and children on the streets of Ireland. Swift adopts a caring tone in order to make his proposal sound reasonable to his audience, trying to convince them that he truly cares about the problems facing Ireland’s poor and that making the children of the poor readily available to the rich for entertainment and as a source of food would solve both the economic and social problems facing Ireland.
Jonathan Swift is a well-known author and satirist who graduated from Oxford University in England. He is very educ...
A Modest Proposal, written by Jonathan Swift, proposes both an outrageous idea and real solutions for helping Ireland manage their overpopulated country and eliminate poverty in 1729. Swift incorporates this idea to capture the attention of the people in Ireland and England, and prove to them they need to take action. He adopts a serious yet sarcastic tone in order to convince the citizens and readers their country needs change.
Jonathan Swift says that the people, politicians, and English are all at fault for the terrible state and poverty of Ireland. Swift states that if a poor infant passes the dangerous years of childhood, they would “leave their dear native country to fight for the Pretender in Spain” or “they would sell themselves to the Barbados,” as indentured servants.
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.
...ture the attention of the audience by means of “political pamphleteering which is very popular during his time” (SparkNotes Editors). The language and style of his argument is probably why it is still popular till this day. By using satire, Swift makes his point by ridiculing the English people, the Irish politicians, and the wealthy. He starts his proposal by using emotional appeal and as it progresses, he uses ethos to demonstrate credibility and competence. To show the logical side of the proposal, he uses facts and figures. By applying these rhetorical appeals, Swift evidently makes his argument more effectual.
Swift, Jonathan. "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." 1729. Rpt. in Current Issues and Enduring Questions. Ed. Sylvan Barnet and Hugo Bedau. Boston, MA: St. Martin's 1996.
This essay will have no value unless the reader understands that Swift has written this essay as a satire, humor that shows the weakness or bad qualities of a person, government, or society (Satire). Even the title A Modest Proposal is satirical. Swift proposes using children simply as a source of meat, and outrageous thought, but calls his propo...
Swift, Jonathan. “A Modest Proposal.” The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Gen. ed. Stephen Greenblatt. 9th ed. Vol. C. New York: Norton, 2012. 2633-39. Print.
Jonathan Swift in his essay, "A Modest Proposal" suggests a unique solution to the problem concerning poor children in Ireland. Swift uses several analytical techniques like statistics, induction, and testimony to persuade his readers. His idea is admirable because he suggests that instead of putting money into the problem, one can make money from the problem. However, his proposal is inhumane.
A Modest Proposal is undoubtedly one of the most recognized works of satire. This essay was designed to shock its readers in Ireland. Swift’s goal was to show the people of Ireland just how ridiculous their situation during the famine was. He also showed a great deal of disgust in relation to control. Swift was displeased with England’s control over his country, and how the dominance was being used. However, he showed a greater level of disgust with his own people. This is exemplified when another author writes about A Modest Proposal that
McCann et al. Belfast: Institute of Irish Studies, 1994, 95-109).