Rhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal - 722 Words

A Modest Rhetorical Analysis Since its original publishing in 1729, Jonathan Swift’s pamphlet â€Å"A Modest Proposal† has endured for its rhetorical complexity (and sheer satirical absurdities). Through judicious use of ethos (ethical appeal), logos (logical appeal), and pathos (emotional appeal), Swift crafts a sarcastic, insincere, overly embellished argument to address Irelands food shortage and economic crisis meant to simultaneously entice and repulse readers. His audience is explicitly asked to accept the intentionally horrifying idea that the numerous children of Ireland’s poorest class can be made useful predominantly as food, but also as footwear, for wealthier citizens. While more limited than the other appeals, Swifts ethos†¦show more content†¦Swift goes on to number the population, in order to highlight the grave economic crises facing the country, before performing calculations that proclaim—even after allowances are made—â⠂¬Å"there will remain an hundred and seventy thousand breeders† to further emphasize the sound reasoning of his argument†¦ despite the likely arbitrary nature of his numbers and math. (Swift, 1). Pathos, however, made the bulk of Swifts proposal, in an undisguised effort to counter the (hopefully remote) possibility that his satiric mockery might be taken at all seriously. Clearly desiring to prompt the deepest disgust and revulsion, he was particularly liberal in his use of dehumanizing comparisons, repeatedly referring to women of child-bearing age as â€Å"breeders,† likening them to the bearing animals of a typical farm, claiming that â€Å"Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their† breeding stock. What’s more, Swift extended this association, boldly stating that women would choose to be breeding livestock when he specified that â€Å"another great advantage† of his proposal would be a decrease in â€Å"voluntary abortions† and filicide because mothers would be more compassionate â€Å"toward their children, when they were sure of a settlement for life† and â€Å"to theirShow MoreRelatedRhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal 1863 Words   |  8 PagesRhetorical Analysis: A Modest Proposal In â€Å"A Modest Proposal,† Jonathan Swift provides a satirical exploration of the attitudes of the wealthy people towards the underprivileged and poor children in the society. Laymen and intellectuals during the late seventeenth century distributed political pamphlets containing different ideas throughout Ireland. In his essay, Swift utilizes some of the overlooked pamphlets during this period and develops an ironic proposal. As a colony of the British, IrelandRead MoreModest Proposal Rhetorical Analysis745 Words   |  3 Pageshim to make a proposal for a solution to poverty, where he ignores the concern of human morale by displaying the lacking efforts of England to help. Swift uses methods that work to get or help better understand a situation, for example being sarcastic in a situation where a person wants something out of the situation by satire. The undeniable effect of satire catches the attention of England to further display the poverty of Ireland which is displaye d throughout Swift’s Modest Proposal with exaggerationRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal1111 Words   |  5 Pagespeople were having to live under. Jonathan Swift, an Ireland satirist, felt obligated to change the conditions that the people of Ireland and himself were living in. In a proposal, Swift uses extreme irony and exaggeration to bring attention to what he is truly trying to reciprocate to his audience. Through â€Å"A Modest Proposal†, Swift turns to the political leaders and the mistreated people of Ireland to offer his solution for the debt of Ireland, overpopulation, and general pride in one’s countryRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Swift s A Modest Proposal1076 Words   |  5 Pages Mansoon Acharya Kayla Schreiber H1003 October 10, 2017 Rhetorical Analysis on Swift’s A Modest Proposal A Modest Proposal is a sarcastic humored essay that examines the attitude of the rich towards the poor starving children in their society. Swift uses many rhetorical devices. Swift uses logical metaphors, repetition, and humor, satire and sarcasm tone to point out the negative attitudes. He starts by blaming the mothers of the children by telling them they should work hard and work honestly insteadRead MoreRhetorical Analysis of a Modest Proposal Essay1216 Words   |  5 PagesAll the Wrong Things Swift’s â€Å"A Modest Proposal† written in 1729 was his proposal â€Å"for preventing the children of poor people in Ireland, from being a burden on their parents or country, and for making them beneficial to he publick† (Swift, Title). This proposal included the selling, skinning and buying of babies at the age of one. This proposal that he has come up with is a very inhuman and controversial one when it comes to being socially acceptable. Swift begins his essay by describingRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal By Jonathan Swift854 Words   |  4 PagesA Modest Proposal† is an essay by Jonathan Swift that gives some type of a solution to the hunger problem in Ireland. Swift espouse an ironic approach that guarantee a surprise ending. At the beginning of the essay, he cornerstones his proposal that will be good for the public and diminish economic troubles. The proposal that Swift advances concerns the selling of poor Irish children to the rich, so that they could suffice as food. In addition, he points out that this will ease the pressures on theRead MoreEssay on Rhetorical Analysis of a Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift639 Words   |  3 PagesJohnathan Swift wrote Modest Proposal with the idea to better humanity.. When you first read it you miss what the true message is. You think â€Å"Man this guy is a monster!† or â€Å"He’s sick!†, but once you reach the end the true mea ning of the proposal hits you. When Jonathan Swift wrote a Modest Proposal he tried to get his audience to see the problem by taking it and providing an unethical and inhumane solution then using rhetorical devices to bring out people’s emotions. Of the many devices he usedRead MoreThe Shock Factor of A Modest Proposal by by Johnathan Swift 789 Words   |  3 PagesRhetorical Analysis of â€Å"A Modest Proposal† â€Å"A Modest Proposal† by Johnathan Swift was intended to use shock factor as incentive to get the British Parliament to come up with a workable plan to deal with the multitude of poor children in Ireland (Swift). If logic is applied to the proposal, ignoring the fact that the proposal was not meant to be taken seriously and the blatant sometimes over-the-top sarcasm occasionally used, several parts of it would cause an uproar and quite possibly a revolutionRead MoreNotes On Reading : Https1593 Words   |  7 Pagesto turnitin.com by 11:59pm on Monday, March 14th. Your answers will then be shared and discussed in groups, where you will then turn in ONE answer key per group based on specific questions from below and/or questions using your answers for deeper analysis. We will then further discuss this piece of writing. How does Swift want the reader to view the speaker? What features best describe the â€Å"persona† he adopts? Give examples from the text. Jonathan Swift wants the readers to view him as a pragmaticRead MoreEffective Persuasive Techniques Used By John Donne s `` The Flea ``1480 Words   |  6 PagesEffective Argument Techniques Effective argumentative and persuasive techniques are a course of reasoning aimed at validating or falsifying the truth in an argument. With an in-depth analysis of literature, the perplex intentions of a writer that use such techniques can be revealed. Methods such as logical fallacies, rhetorical devices, and satirical devices are three approaches that construct a piece of work on a more compelling level. Behind these elements of writing, there are a multitude of purposes