A Modest Proposal
by Jonathan Swift
Feature Menu
Introducing the Essay
Literary Focus: Verbal Irony
Reading Focus: Recognizing
Persuasive Techniques
Writing Focus: Think as a
Reader/Writer
TechFocus
A Modest Proposal
by Jonathan Swift
How can order and civilization affect human behavior?
A Modest Proposal
Introducing the Essay
Click on the title to start the video.
A Modest Proposal
Introducing the Essay
And unless it wants to
break faith with its social
function, art must show
the world as changeable.
And help to change it.
—Ernst Fischer (1899–1972)
A Modest Proposal
Introducing the Essay
Opening Others’ Eyes
What if you had good ideas for solving a terrible
social problem, but no one would listen to you?
How would you get people’s attention?
A Modest Proposal
Introducing the Essay
Jonathan Swift faced such a situation in the late
1720s, when starvation was widespread in Ireland.
• Irish harvests had been
poor for years.
• Farmers couldn’t pay the
rents demanded by their
English landlords.
• Beggars and starving
children filled the streets.
• England’s policies kept the Irish poor.
A Modest Proposal
Introducing the Essay
Appalled by the misery in Ireland, Jonathan Swift
set out to make the English more responsive to
their neighbors’ suffering.
He wrote a pamphlet—a
shocking satire that offered
an outrageous “solution” to
the problem of famine.
[End of Section]
A Modest Proposal
Literary Focus: Verbal Irony
Verbal irony is a contrast between what is said
and what is really meant.
In verbal irony, a writer or speaker says one thing
but really means its opposite.
You overslept, forgot to feed the dog, and are
coming down with a bad cold. Someone asks you
how you’re doing, and you respond, “Just great.
I wish every day could be just like this one.”
You have just used verbal irony.
A Modest Proposal
Literary Focus: Verbal Irony
In speech, you can often
recognize verbal irony by a
person’s tone of voice.
In writing, the voice of the
speaker is revealed in the
choice of words and details.
A Modest Proposal
Literary Focus: Verbal Irony
The irony in Swift’s essay begins with the title:
“A Modest Proposal.”
• The word modest means “not bold; limited in
size, amount, or scope.”
• You’ll find that Swift’s proposal is anything but
modest. To the contrary, it is outrageous and
extreme to the point of absurdity.
[End of Section]
A Modest Proposal
Reading Focus: Recognizing Persuasive Techniques
An effective persuasive message appeals to an
audience on many levels.
Logical Appeal
An author supports a position
with evidence such as facts or
statistics.
Emotional Appeal
An author uses language and
descriptions to arouse strong
feelings.
Ethical Appeal
An author establishes himself or
herself as a reliable and
trustworthy source.
A Modest Proposal
Reading Focus: Recognizing Persuasive Techniques
Into Action
As you read, use a chart like this one to note some
of the persuasive techniques Swift uses.
Page
Example
590
The speaker carefully
calculates the number
of children born into
poverty in Ireland.
Logical
Emotional Ethical

[End of Section]
A Modest Proposal
Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
Find It in Your Reading
As you read, record details
and descriptions that illustrate
what life was like for the Irish
poor in the early 1700s.
“. . . the streets, the roads, and cabin
doors, crowded with beggars of the
female sex, followed by three, four, or
six children, all in rags. . . .”
A Modest Proposal
Writing Focus: Think as a Reader/Writer
TechFocus
Choose an ad from television
or the Internet.
Note the persuasive
qualities that you
believe make the
ad effective or not.
[End of Section]
Vocabulary
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
sustenance n.: food or provisions needed to
support life.
prodigious adj.: huge; very great.
scrupulous adj.: extremely careful in
deciding what is right or wrong.
censure v.: express disapproval of.
expedient n.: a way of getting something; a
means for achieving an end.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
digressed v.: wandered away from the
subject.
animosities n. pl.: hostilities; violent hatreds
or resentments.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Sustenance comes from the Latin word sustinere.
sustinere
literal meaning:
“to support
from below”
source of:
sustenance
How do you think the meaning of the Latin term is
related to the meaning of sustenance?
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
“I need sustenance before we go any farther!”
Andre announced. What best describes Andre’s
condition?
a. He is tired.
b. He is hungry.
c. He is bored.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
“I need sustenance before we go any farther!”
Andre announced. What best describes Andre’s
condition?
a. He is tired.
b. He is hungry.
c. He is bored.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Prodigious is often used to describe a very large
amount of something.
What might happen
if your little brother
ate a prodigious
number of carrots,
followed by a large
dinner and dessert?
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
My cousin checked out a prodigious number of
books from the library and returned them late. As
late fees go, his will be
a. nonexistent
b. very small
c. quite large
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
My cousin checked out a prodigious number of
books from the library and returned them late. As
late fees go, his will be
a. nonexistent
b. very small
c. quite large
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
babysitting . . .
accounting . . .
car repair . . .
What kind of person would
you want to perform each of
these jobs?
Each job requires someone scrupulous: someone
who is extremely careful and precise in deciding
what is right or wrong.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Which person appears to be the least scrupulous?
A
B
C
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
To censure something is to
express strong disapproval of it.
How might your community
censure a business that
created widespread pollution?
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Your new coach demands fair play on the court.
What kind of behavior would she censure?
a. deliberately tripping a member
of the opposing team
b. failing to win the game despite
your best efforts
c. completing a fantastic jump
shot
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Your new coach demands fair play on the court.
What kind of behavior would she censure?
a. deliberately tripping a member
of the opposing team
b. failing to win the game despite
your best efforts
c. completing a fantastic jump
shot
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Have you ever heard the expression, “The ends
don’t justify the means”?
This expression suggests that
some expedients—or means of
achieving an end—are off-limits
because they cause harm.
Describe both a good and a bad
expedient for reducing the number
of stray animals in your community.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Which picture shows the best expedient for doing
well on an upcoming test?
A
B
C
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
It’s fine to digress in a casual conversation—but
not in a formal essay.
For example, if you
are writing about
endangered species
you should not wander
away from the subject
to talk about your pets.
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Your debate team has made it to the state finals.
The topic is gun laws. To your horror, a teammate
has digressed by talking about
a. waiting periods for gun
licenses
b. the number of shooting
accidents last year
c. paintball as a
recreational sport
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Your debate team has made it to the state finals.
The topic is gun laws. To your horror, a teammate
has digressed by talking about
a. waiting periods for gun
licenses
b. the number of shooting
accidents last year
c. paintball as a
recreational sport
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
When you think of the
word animosities,
what other words
come to mind?
Examples:
Word:
animosities
hostility
conflict
violence
fighting
Sentence:
Personal
animosities
prevent a fair
debate.
Definition:
n. pl.:
hostilities;
violent hatreds
or resentments
Image:
A Modest Proposal
Vocabulary
Which people are showing signs of animosities?
A
B
C
[End of Section]
The End