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Danielle Haneman
English 15 Section 056
16 September 2015
A Not So Modest Proposal
“A Modest Proposal”, by Irish satirist Jonathan Swift, describes a more unusual
solution to the dire situation of hunger and British oppression plaguing the country of
Ireland in the 18th Century. He suggests that the people of Ireland cook and eat their
children in order to solve hunger and eliminate money problems. Swift addresses two
main audiences in this piece: the starving Irish and the powerful but oppressive British.
Swift’s purpose is to suggest a solution so outlandish and illogical that the people of
Ireland will open their eyes and see the true problems plaguing the nation and that the
British will take note of their misconducts. He addresses both of his audiences in order
for them to realize their wrongdoings. His message of nationalism and call for action is
extremely effective due to the powerful rhetorical appeals. His use of impactful ethos,
powerful pathos and purposeful misuse of logos all plays a major role in adding to the
success of his work. He uses everyday language to make sure it is understood by all and
that all can take part in fixing their living situation. It is Swift’s ironical and cynical tone
that takes the piece over the top and alludes to the fact that he is attempting to rally the
Irish together to fight back. In his work, Swift attempts to persuade his audience to take
notice of the poor quality of life in Ireland and call them to action by proposing an
extreme and unethical solution in order to evoke emotions and hope to get others to start
thinking about actual solutions.
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The year is 1720 and the country of Ireland is in dismay due to the oppressing
English and lack of life essentials such as food and clean water. There is corruption
among the Irish Parliament and the government is falling apart. Jonathan Swift writes to
indicate this poor way of life, but he also pokes fun at the Irish people for their inability
or unwillingness to try and change this. His claim is to bring light to the starving people
of Ireland in order to show that their current living condition must be improved. His
proposal, in effect, is to fatten up these undernourished children and feed them to
Ireland’s rich landowners. Swift’s deranged ideas are displayed in this quote:
I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London,
that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious,
nourishing, and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled..
This quote suggests how delicious a young child would be, which is frightening to
audiences everywhere. This quote shows how Swift acts blind to the horrible moral
implications of his proposal and only favors increasing economic progress. Swift
proposes such an extreme and unethical solution that the Irish population cannot help but
take notice of the actual problem at hand. In this quote from Nicole Smith’s criticism of
both “A Modest Proposal” and another satirical work, she displays how Swift’s way of
writing is effective at engaging the audience:
Despite the differences in the two texts, it is clear that both authors get the
attention of an otherwise complacent audience by making their criticisms apparent
in an entertaining format so that readers are more compelled to engage with the
story and hopefully are taking away something in the end to make them
understand societal issues better (Smith).
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This quote illustrates how the context of Swift’s piece is able to make an impact on the
audience by allowing them to better understand the issues that are being presented. They
are dealing with a corrupted government, poverty and extreme injustices that must be
stopped. After analyzing the piece, the reader is able to take notice of Swift’s satirical
writing style and of the fact that Swift does not actually intend for his solution to be
considered, but to open the eyes of the impoverished Irish.
In order for his piece to make an impression, Swift uses many effective rhetorical
appeals that are able to evoke feelings of nationalism within the Irish people. He first uses
ethos. Ethics within this piece is a major component that forces the townspeople to
examine their living situation and try to think of a proper solution to fix it. Swift’s idea is
extremely unethical, but he writes it in such a convincing way that the reader can believe
his solution is completely appropriate. He even discusses the concept of abortions in this
quote: “There is likewise another great advantage in my scheme, that it will prevent those
voluntary abortions, and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard children,
alas!” Each topic that Swift brings up questions ethics. He also makes the British
question their ethics by using extreme detail to show the dire situation in Ireland. He
constitutes a fitting response by using ethos to motivate both audiences. From eating
children and making them into delicacies, to discussing abortions, all of Swift’s topics
cause the reader to question his or her beliefs and own personal ethics.
Another rhetorical appeal Swift utilizes is pathos. His whole piece of work results
in emotional responses from each reader. Swift dehumanizes children and paints them in
such a way as resembling cattle, not young, innocent babies. Everyone shares the same
paternal instinct when it comes to children, so when Swift recommends the people to
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“flay the carcass; the skin of which artificially dressed will make admirable gloves for
ladies, and summer boots for fine gentlemen”, all the Irish are hit with feelings of disgust
and sadness at the thought of losing their children. He makes the babies seem
insignificant which evokes feelings of sorrows among each and every reader. Without his
use of effective pathos, the piece would not be nearly as powerful when making an
impression on the Irish people. The emotional appeal of losing a child is one that registers
for everyone and really allows Swift’s piece to stay in everyone’s mind.
The last rhetorical appeal that Swift puts to use is his complete and utter
purposeful disuse of logos that makes this piece so effective. He uses illogical reasoning
and shows no remorse in order to get people’s attention. Just his overall solution is
completely illogical but it’s his gruesome specifics that allow the piece to be so effective.
One way is he describes infant’s meat as a sort of delicacy and that certain parts of a
child’s body are particularly good to eat, especially for special occasions. His claims are
so outrageous that you cannot help but pay attention and understand what he is trying to
say. Though his tone is one of seriousness, the reader can assume that he misuses logos
on purpose in order to really obtain his wanted reaction from each reader. He even goes
so far as to address how to prepare and purchase the children in this quote: “…I rather
recommend buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do
roasting pigs.” Comparing the children to pigs and discussing the way in which they
should be prepared takes his solution to an extreme level but makes it all the more real
for readers. His misuse of logos is so effective that it keeps the reader’s attention enough
to motivate them to make a difference.
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Swift’s piece is so effective due to the common, vernacular language he uses,
which allows his audience of the general public in Ireland and in England to understand
his piece. His simple, everyday dialect allows the Irish to relate to Swift and better
understand the message he is trying to get across. His uncomplicated jargon better
illustrates his argument of raising awareness of the starvation of the people in Ireland. He
uses money in a positive way to attract the attention of his readers with this quote: “And
the money will circulate among ourselves, the goods being entirely of our own growth
and manufacture.” By appealing to the economic side of people, his readers are likely to
stay more attentive as they hope to find a solution to gain more money. Swift puts
himself among the other townspeople, which gives the piece a more personal feel. Swift’s
language use allows him to better relate to his rhetorical audience of the Irish and British
and better get his point across. The people can understand what he is trying to say and
understand the point he is making, creating a more intense effect on his overall audience.
Swift’s piece, “A Modest Proposal”, is a great example of an effective rhetorical
work. His exigency is to raise awareness of the poor conditions and call upon the people
of Ireland to fight for their right for a better condition of life. The audience of both the
Irish and the English allow the Irish to see the wrong committed against them and the
British to see the results of their oppression. All of his rhetorical appeals, ethos, pathos
and logos, allow the work to be extremely over-dramatic but to the point that the reader
cannot get it out of their head. It is a piece that sticks. Swift’s purpose was to motivate
people to make a difference and improve the daily life of the Irish. His piece is extremely
effective and he overall gains his goal by creating such a disturbing piece that one cannot
help but understand the points he is trying to make.
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Swift’s piece, “A Modest Proposal”, is one that makes readers uncomfortable,
disgusted and overall displeased. However, it is these characteristics that make his piece
so effective and memorable. His use of rhetorical appeals evoke emotion and people to
question their ethics and what they believe in. But it is his purposeful brilliant misuse of
logos that gives the piece such power. His complete illogical solution allows people to
look past their everyday problems and realize the bigger problem that Swift is trying so
hard to highlight. He uses everyday language that allows people to better understand the
point he is trying to make clear. Through creating a irrational dramatic solution and
powerful emotional techniques, he is able to create a satire that successful calls his
audiences to action and successfully motivates people to make a difference.