Analysis "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift
A Modest Proposal’ is a sarcastic leaflet that inspects the disposition of the rich towards the poor starving youngsters in their general public. Jonathan Swift uses various explanatory gadgets adequately. He utilizes consistent errors in reasoning, rhetorical devices, repetition and parallelism just as amusingness, mockery, and satirical tone to feature these negative mentalities. Swift effectively persuades the audience that the English landlords are making use of the penniless Irish by using the the rhetorical triangle that consists of ethos, logos and pathos to make a good argument in the writing.
Swift uses fallacies to make his argument in this writing. His way of argument and thinking is incorrect and absence of validity in what is proposed. This is evident in this pamphlet, ‘[T]hat a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled, and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout'(Swift 757) .
He notes down that a youthful sound of a child is a delectable nourishment to be simmered, stewed and bubbled to be served and eaten. Besides, he has figured twenty thousand youngsters to be saved for rearing.
This dehumanizes the kids to resemble creatures. He further overstates by saying that the youngsters will be simmered like pigs. Swift knows that this proposition will influence numerous in light of the fact that no individual would need their kid to be butchered. ‘[P]revent those voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children'(Swift 757). This is a terrible conduct that is being contradicted wherever in the world.
A rhetorical device that Swift uses in his work is irony. He says, ‘[I] calculate there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders[…] how this number shall be reared and provided for’ (Swift 757). This suggestion is ironic because it compares women to animals. Additionally, this makes a decent contention since people do not breed and can’t be raised. He dehumanizes individuals and makes satire in this statement.
Swift in his plan of supporting his contention, he is sarcastic that specific body portions of a youngster are a great idea to eat. He further explains that on certain occasions, the body parts will be on request. ‘[T]hose who were more thrifty[…] may flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for ladies’ is extremely disturbing and sickening, but still makes people imagine wearing babies as an accessory or an item of clothing (Swift 758).
He also brings many things that the audience is passionate about and associates them to his argument. Jonathan Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal, ‘ uses ethos, logos, and pathos to effectively convince or persuade the audience that the English landlords are using the poverty-stricken Irish. Swift shows the effects of emotional reasoning and how it plays with the reader’s mind.
