A Modest Proposal Essay

The implied thesis of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal" is that 18th century Ireland would be in a better situation if the Irish society and monarchy actually treated problems such as overpopulation and poverty, While the overt thesis is that Irish people should consider eating their children and selling them to rich Englishmen to solve the issue of poverty and overpopulation in the country. They differ form one another as one focuses on eating children, while the other focuses on giving commentary through the essay itself.

How desperate does a person have to be to resort to eating their own children? This is the way it was for the people of Ireland in 1729. Jonathan swift created ‘A Modest Proposal’, an essay written for the poor and the young. Ireland was going through financial depression during the time, and things were only getting worse as government officials did nothing to help the cause. But the real reason why Swift’s proposal was so effective was because of how it appealed to people’s Ethos with their sense of credibility, their Pathos with their emotions for the topic and Logos to appeal to the people’s logical reasoning.

Swift wants the reader to describe the persona he adopts as one with a deep understanding of the deplorable circumstances in Ireland, so that he is deemed reasonable in his proposed solution for the state of the kingdom. He successfully achieves this by incorporating thorough descriptions of his plan, such as in the explanation having 20,000 poor children reserved for breeding and the remaining 100,000 used as sustenance for the rest of the populace. Swift also forms a solid argument by appealing to pathos in addressing heartbreaking topics such as, “the mothers who, 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,” which promotes sympathy in the readers, thereby influencing them to agree with his proposal to counteract such unfortunate circumstances.

“A Modest Proposal” is a satirical essay by Jonathan Swift written in 1729. In his essay, Swift proposes that the people of Ireland eat and sell their children to help better the living conditions. To justify his proposal he explains the problems Ireland is facing and illustrates the horrible condition Ireland is in. Swift’s proposal is justified because Ireland is in a poor state, there are advantages to it, and it is the best solution. Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is an eye-opening essay that gets readers motivated.

When Swift is describing the use of children as commodities, it is ironic because his intentions are to actually explain that the English view the whole Irish population as commodities. The English landlords are the ones responsible for Ireland’s poverty. The essay shows, through sarcasm, that the English have purposely took everything from the Irish because they view them as commodities. One example of sarcasm used to portray that idea is that the utilization of infants will be “proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the parents, seem to have the best title to the children” (804). It is very apparent that Swift blames the English for Ireland’s problems. He also blames the Irish Catholics that allowed English policy to break down Ireland.

A main stressor for my client is the ending of his marriage. He declares that he wants to resume his relationship with his ex-wife. Even though he and his ex-wife have not spoken in the past 8-months, Pat asserts that they are still "very much in love" and that he is still married. Pat is focused on trying to get a letter to her, reading the books she assigns to her students, and visiting the school where she works. He asserts that they are not together because she wanted him to lose weight and now that he has lost weight he thinks that they will revive their relationship. This stressor serves to motivate most of Pat's daily activities in the hopes that performing these activities will make him more desirable to his ex-wife.

According to an article written by Jason M. Breslow, as of 2011, children had the highest poverty level with over 16 million children living in poverty. That is just in the United States. Imagine the number of children living in poverty in the entire world.

In 1729 Ireland was overpopulated and riddled with poverty. Women and children lined the streets begging for food or money. In his disturbing satire, A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift suggests a unique solution to this dire situation. Swift uses specific language and calculated arguments to vent his anger with the Irish government and to create an effective argument that makes readers aware of the severity of the situation. Swift takes a cold and distant approach to his argument.

Jonathan Swift, the writer of the satirical essay A Modest Proposal, grew up and lived in Ireland during times of famine and economic struggles (Conditions). Growing up with a single mother and no father, Swift knew what hard times and struggles were like (Jonathan Swift: Biography). His essay proposes an easy solution to the economic problems going on in Ireland for both the wealthy ruling classes and the poorer classes, although his intentions and the meaning behind his words are not what would be originally thought when initially reading the essay. Through his word choices and the description of specific events of his time, Swift uses satire to grab his audience’s attention and get his own personal ideas and opinions out about all the

Since the beginning of the 19th century, America has had to deal with the on going

Whether it is to someone who does not fully understand the purpose behind it or someone who understands what he is actually trying to do. The emotional appeal is what really shocks the reader because he is talking about killing mass numbers of poor infants and then eating them because it will make the economy run smoother. I am certain that would pull some sort of emotion out of anyone; however, by doing this he is also talking down to the Irish, treating them like they are tools and cattle; sizing them up by whether or not they are healthy and a good dish to eat. One would assume that he is in no way credible because he is suggesting extreme and taboo methods; however, Swift establishes his credibility by enforcing that he has lived in Ireland for many years and would know the state of the economy. The amount of people he sees roaming the streets and begging for cash could probably lead to his supposed proposition, but also lead him to his actual proposition, for drastic change. Despite how sinister the proposition is, in a way it could be viewed as logical and extremely practical. He demonstrates this by using a series of statistics and mathematics to calculate exactly how many people he would have left to turn into meals, which could be used as a form of credibility, because he comes off as smart. Swift is actually a lot smarter than one would assume by first reading this article. His purpose was to establish a sense of awareness in the Irish and a feeling of guilt in the British by focussing on a “rich feeding off of the poor” stance. The rich being the British feeding off of poor

To begin with, Swift intended his audience to be the beggars and rich land lords of Dublin, Ireland. By making a controversial proposal, Swift wanted to spread awareness about Dublin’s current issues of poverty and overpopulation. Swift shows this by saying,’ for their helpless infants who, as they grow up, either turn thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country, to fight for the Pretender in Spain, or sell themselves to the Barbadoes” (8). As an offspring of a beggar, that child is destined to live a life of misfortune and failure. Therefore, Swift attempt to "find out a fair, cheap, and easy Method" for converting the starving children of Ireland into "sound and useful members of the Commonwealth. By targeting the poor, Swift strengthens “A Modest Proposal” by finding a solution to a nationwide problem. Another advantage of Swift’s proposal are financial gains. Swift then began to discuss the price and meat qualities of a 1-Year old child. These children,

The author of  “A Modest Proposal” uses ethos with the intention of the readers taking his plan into consideration to improve the conditions in Ireland, by gaining credibility. Hence, Swift states,” having turned my thoughts for many years, upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors.” As well as, “ having no other motive than the public good of my country.”  The use of ethos in this particular evidence shows the author and his plan is reasonable through his expertise on the subject and has a trustworthy impression, which propels the audience towards his plan. Swift uses satire to make the audience recognize how absurd the other plans are. Consequently, the readers gain more sureness and confidence

Throughout Swift’s content, he uses rhetorical devices such as pathos, logos, and ethos. Jonathan Swift intelligently uses pathos to play a huge roll on people’s emotion in an effort to convince them of the legitimacy of his argument, “… and butchers we may be assured will not be wanting, although I rather recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs,” (689). Logos appeals to the logical thinking of the audience is introduced in support of his case. Swift gives the logical portion by using numbers to show how many unfortunate babies would meet their demise yearly, “… the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to be males… one male will be sufficient to serve four Females. That the remaining hundred thousand may at a year old be offered in sale,” (689). Ethos was shown when he talked to high authority people about the situation, “Infant's flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March... For we are told by a grave author, an eminent French physician… there are more children born in Roman Catholic countries about nine months after Lent,”