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What is being satirized in a modest proposal
Satirical analysis of a modest proposal
Satirical analysis of a modest proposal
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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.
Swift defined satire as;
'A sort of glass wherein the holders do generally discover everybody's
face but their own, which is the chief reason for that kind of
reception it meets in the world, and that so very few are offended
with it."
Swift presents his "Proposal" as an entirely reasonable suggestion to
aid the Irish, he enumerates the many benefits, counters the
objections many may have, uses rhetoric reasoning and proves his
humanitarianism views.
Swift has written in considerable detail over the degree of poverty in
Ireland, he draws attention to the causes of it obliquely and proves
in great detail that his "Proposal" will work and in which ways it
does work.
Ireland was a colony of England; it was economically, politically and
militarily dependent on ...
... middle of paper ...
...tire
Swift has successfully drawn attention to the extremely dire economic
state of Ireland and the incompetence of the British government to
solve or even begin to contemplate, in Swift's mind, these problems.
This "Proposal" should be viewed as a fictional work, designed to
entertain the upper-class whilst enlightening them upon the conditions
of poverty in their own country.
This "Proposal" could be viewed as an attempt to change the ways in
which both England and Ireland viewed the state of Ireland, which was
in a lethargic state. It is masterful in its own nature, the way in
which Swift has challenged the prospect of changing lives and living
conditions, while entertaining the audience at the same time.
The true irony in "A Modest Proposal" lies not in analysing the minute
details, but rather in the context of the "Proposal" as it is written.
Swift's opposition is. indirectly presented in the report. The author uses satire to accomplish his objective not only because he is able to conceal his true identity but also because it is the most effective way to awake the people of Ireland into seeing their own deprivation. Firstly, the narrative voice begins the essay by describing the horrible conditions in which the Irish peasants live. He demonstrates there is a serious problem with a great need for a solution.
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.
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.
Swift uses sarcasm to make his argument that the Irish should not be ignored by the English. In 1729 Ireland was hit with a potato famine and the commoners were the ones who suffered the most. The elite were never left hungry and did not suffer like the rest; therefore, they took little or no importance about what happen to the commoners and how they lived. He states, “It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the...
It was back in the 1700’s in Britain that true power struggle, rebellion, doubts in the government and extreme poverty began to take light. Thousands of people were left homeless and without clothes, forcing them to defecate on the streets, ultimately leading to disease and plight. Discrimination also played a very large role in Britain, as they treated the Irish as mere scum, leaving them without basic human needs or rights. Jonathan Swift, an Anglo-Irishman born in Dublin in the year 1667, became a key role in the digressing of discrimination and helped better the failing British nation with his satirical – yet influential – writings that easily swayed society. His writing style contained enormous amounts of irony and wit, especially in one of his most famous works titled A Modest Proposal.
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.
Being told that this is her only purpose in life. Her children, should they survive, will grow to be no better, becoming thieves, traitors for the “Pretender in Spain”(Swift, 2013), or sold off as slaves. Swift uses the word “melancholy” to describe the browbeat condition of Ireland. This is a perfect example of satire. He concocts a scheme to save Ireland....
In his satire, A Modest Proposal, Swift utilizes hyperbole and sarcasm to bring awareness of the unacceptable conditions of the Irish poor in the 18th century.
This essay by Jonathan Swift is a brutal satire in which he suggests that the poor Irish families should kill their young children and eat them in order to eliminate the growing number of starving citizens. At this time is Ireland, there was extreme poverty and wide gap between the poor and the rich, the tenements and the landlords, respectively. Throughout the essay Swift uses satire and irony as a way to attack the indifference between classes. Swift is not seriously suggesting cannibalism, he is trying to make known the desperate state of the lower class and the need for a social and moral reform in Ireland.
During the 18th century Ireland was in a very serious crisis. Jonathan Swift decides to write “A Modest Proposal” as a satirical response to this crisis. In that essay he gives a solution to each of the problems that Ireland was having during that time. The main points that he wanted to discuss were domestic abuse, overpopulation, poverty, theft, and the lack of food. This crisis led the great nation of Ireland into economic struggles.
Humor can come in many different forms. Many people are aware of the blatant humor of slapstick, but it takes a keener mind to notice the subtle detail in sarcasm or satire. In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift was able to create a piece of literature addressing the faults of the Irish culture while embedding in a humorous essay. Swift’s satire allows for the gravity of the Irish standings to be exploited under the disguise of a proposal for economic benefit.
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
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
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.
Throughout A Modest Proposal Swift uses verbal irony, diction, and sentence structure to achieve his purpose. His purpose of calling attention to all the terrible things England has done to Ireland is clearly stated throughout A Modest Proposal with the help of these three devices. His purpose of drawing attention to the problems throughout society has been described through A Modest Proposal. The dire poverty in Ireland is clearly expressed in the satire A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift.