Agenda for Wed. 11
Objectives
for Today:
/18– 30052H
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
Cast
Away
essay
Monday
at beginning
class. irony in

Define
anddue
identify
sarcasm
andofverbal
Starbucks
test on Monday,
Nov. 23
“A Modest
Proposal”.


Define and identify emotional, ethical, and
logical appeals in “A Modest Proposal”.
Interpret how emotional, ethical, and logical
appeals effect persuasion in proposals.
“A Modest Proposal”
By: Jonathan Swift
“The cover of this week's New Yorker
magazine depicts Obama in one-piece
Muslim garb and headdress fist-bumping his
booted, Afro-wearing wife Michelle in camo
clothes with an AK-47 and ammo-belt slung
over her shoulder beneath a portrait of
Osama bin-Laden while the American flag
burns in the fireplace -- in the presidential
Oval Office.It's got everything incendiary
except a vest bomb. Which is what should
telegraph to most people that it's way overthe-top and, therefore, satire.”—LA Times


Representatives of Obama and McCain both
denounced the cover as “tasteless and
offensive.”
Eugene Kane, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel site:
"I actually understand what satire means but I'm
guessing there are plenty of Americans who
won't have a clue what the magazine cover is
trying to say."
SATIRE

A literary work which attacks human vices,
follies, shortcomings, or stupidity through
ridicule, derision, irony, sarcasm, wit, &
scathing humor.
 Satire
often ridicules a
target in an attempt to
bring about
improvement, i.e.
shaming it into reform.
Targets of Satire
a
person or a group of people
 an idea or an attitude
 society and its institutions
 a social practice
 a place (city, state, or nation)
Targets of “A Modest Proposal”
 English
People
 Catholics
 Irish People
 Landlords
 Americans
Means of Satire
 Art
 Music
 Poetry,
prose
 Drama, film
 Cartoons, comic strips
 Commentary
Tools of Satire
 Verbal
irony—words of
praise which convey
criticism and words of
criticism which convey
praise
“Great.”
 Sarcasm—a
type of verbal
irony often in the form of a
remark in which the literal
meaning is complimentary, but
the actual meaning is critical.
“Good Job!”
Anatomy of a Proposal

Proposal: the act of offering or
suggesting something for acceptance,
adoption, or performance.
 Three
literary tools used in proposals
 Emotional
Appeals
 Ethical Appeals
 Logical Appeals
Emotional Appeals

Passages that use words that arouse
strong feelings
Emotional examples
 Vivid descriptions
 Narratives of emotional events
 Emotional tone
 Figurative language

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from
Birmingham Jail”

I guess it is easy for those who have never felt the
stinging darts of segregation to say, 'Wait.' But when you
have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers
at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim;
when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick,
brutalize and even kill your black brothers and sisters
with impunity; … when you suddenly find your tongue
twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to
explain to your six-year-old daughter why she can't go to
the public amusement park that has just been advertised
on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when
she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children,
and see the depressing clouds of inferiority begin to form
in her little mental sky, and see her begin to distort her
little personality by unconsciously developing a bitterness
toward white people; … when you are humiliated day in
and day out by nagging signs reading 'white' and
'colored'; … when you are forever fighting a degenerating
sense of 'nobodiness'; then you will understand why we
find it difficult to wait."
Ethical Appeals


Passages that establish the writer’s
qualifications and sincerity
Demonstrates author's reliability,
competence, and respect for the
audience's ideas and values through
reliable and appropriate use of support
and general accuracy
Logical Appeals

Passages that use evidence such as facts or
statistics to support a position







Theoretical, abstract language Denotative
meanings/reasons
Literal and historical analogies
Definitions
Factual data and statistics
Quotations
Citations from experts and authorities
Informed opinions

"Buy this set of encyclopedias because it
has been voted “Best on the Market” for
seven years in a row, at an excellent price,
contains over 400,000 interesting facts,
and is updated annually."
Examples of Satire
 Saturday
Night Live’s Weekend
Update—satirizes TV news and
criticizes human flaws and vices
related to politics, entertainment,
and current events.
Scary Movie
 Satirizes
horror
movies by
exaggerating
the techniques
used to scare
audiences.
Austin Powers

Satirizes 1960’s
spy movies.
Tackles sexism
toward women
and ridicules
escapes by the
spy and stupidity
of the evil villain.
Political Cartoons
 Satirize
politicians and political
issues by criticizing policy
decisions and personality traits
of elected officials.
Political Cartoons
This is Spinal Tap
 Satirizes
rockumentaries
and the excess of
modern
musicians.
Weird Al’s Songs

Satirizes musicians &
music videos by
commenting on the
excess of modern
musicians as well as
simplicity and
immaturity of the lyrics.
Animal Farm
 Satirizes
Communist
Russia
Split into ‘Expert’ Groups



Number off into Five groups.
Sarcasm, Verbal Irony, Emotional Appeal,
Ethical Appeal, and Logical Appeal.
Take time in your groups to:


Come up with a group definition of your literary terms.
Find three examples in Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” of
your literary terms. (Note the page and paragraph of
example.)
‘Expert’ Groups


Now that you’ve defined your literary terms
in your own words and found two
examples, come up with a way to teach
your findings to your home groups.
**The key is to make it memorable and
creative. You could write a poem, draw a
picture, sing a song, etc.
Time to teach what you learned.

Tools
Verbal Irony Experts
 Sarcasm Experts
 Emotional Appeal Experts
 Ethical Appeal Experts
 Logical Appeal Experts


**If you can teach something that means
you know it.**
Follow Up
What is this?

Emotional Appeal
What is this?


“Yea, that girl’s really
smart.”
Sarcasm
What is this?

Logical Appeal
What is this?

Logical
Appeal
What is this?

Emotional
Appeal
What is this?

Ethical Appeal
What is this?

Emotional
Appeal
What is this?

Emotional Appeal
What is this?

Ethical Appeal
What is this?


“Grandma! You
look…beautiful!”
Sarcasm
What is this?


“MMMM! That
looks
healthy!”
Verbal Irony
Review Objectives



Define and identify sarcasm and verbal
irony in “A Modest Proposal”.
Define and identify emotional, ethical, and
logical appeals in “A Modest Proposal”.
Interpret how emotional, ethical, and
logical appeals affect persuasion in
proposals.