Rhetorical Analysis Of A Modest Proposal

Words: 567
Pages: 3

• (Strategy) In “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift creates an authoritative persona that establishes credibility amongst his readers while enhancing the extreme satirical prose of this essay. Swift’s persona presents multiple mathematical examinations that he calculated along with mentioning several associates that agree or have similar views towards his personal proposal. Through those ideas, Swift’s persona connects to his audience in a respectable manner that allows them to believe and possibly follow their proposal. However, this essay is largely satirical as morally, no one would ever follow these ideas; hence this uptight persona helps to establish this perception.
• (Strategy) Throughout Swift’s essay, he appeals to several common ideals and situations that are faced by the most of Ireland, especially economics and social preferences. He explains that his solutions flawlessly fix the wide-spread poverty, famine, and overpopulation. Simply by eating and preparing children, a person would create immense financial profit for selling or buying children which in turn would fix their hunger and
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The essay is highly ironic, reflective, and cynical. Initially, the title itself is ironic as in no way this proposal is modest as it entails to eat children on a mass scale. The persona himself is not modest; he makes this idea seem that this is the only and best idea out there. Moments like in paragraph 17 again show an ironic tone as he explains how eating older children might be too cruel, even though he mentioned previously the great dishes created from younger children. Swift’s proposal is satirical: the social issues are emphasized from the reflective and cynical tone. He can present his views in a sarcastic manner that most of his audience would agree to and completely