Reflection on "A Modest Proposal"

Anna Dillard

Honors English 105

Final Paper

December 2, 2013

An Analysis of Jonathan’s Swifts A Modest Proposal

Jonathan’s Swifts essay A Modest Proposal was written to rally the public into solve to problems of failing Ireland. Swift does this by making the case of how infanticide would pull Ireland out of the rut and continue it on to grow and flourish. Swift;s argument of how infanticide will be the cure, is an excellent example of how rhetorical defines are to support and defend the argument. Because Swift’s essay is so far fetched, it shows how well the decides work to make the idea one to be considered, if ethics were not involved. Also, the use of satire to catch the attention of the public is beneficial for a student to study because the unethical idea was not an actually idea to fix Ireland, but was to induce the movement of solving the issues. The way Swift developed his essay is a prime model to study to understand how the use of rhetorical devices can support an argument, despite it being absurd to consider the argument. Swift’s A Modest Proposal is a qualified candidate to be studied in the classroom because it shows how pathos, logos, and ethos are used to defend an argument and the essay also shows how satire can be used to form an argument.

Swift’s essay was published in 1729 and was originally titled For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being Aburden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public. At this time, Ireland was being controlled by England and was suffering from poverty and over population. The country was filled with starving families, whose mothers and children would beg for food and work, while the wealthy did nothing to improve the conditions. Over population had become a major problem because as the population increased, the state of Ireland did not. There was only more mouths to feed and nothing was being done to resolve the issues. So to catalyze a solution, Swift wrote...