What is Swifts claim in A Modest Proposal?

Q: What does Swift claim as his purpose in writing this essay?

The purpose of Swifts satirical essay is to call attention to the problems that were being experienced by the people of Ireland. He wanted the English (who ruled Ireland) to realize what they were doing and to put in place reforms that would solve the problems they had helped to cause.

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A Modest Proposal and Other Satires
What is Swift real message in A Modest Proposal?
What does Swift claim as his purpose in writing this essay?
What was the speakers thesis in A Modest Proposal?
What does Swift satirize in A Modest Proposal?

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A Modest Proposal and Other Satires

You might asy that Swift is making two arguments here-te literal argument of the oiece and the underlying argument that is his "real point." Examining his literal argument can help eludicate his underlying point. Conduct a Toulmin analysis of swift's proposal-what is his claim? What are his reasons to support that claim? What are his warrants?

I need this by tomorrow, please help me! Thanks!!

Asked by on 2/19/2016 4:36 AM

Last updated by Jenny Thy H #925691 on 9/24/2019 12:10 AM

Answers 1

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Answered by judy t #197809 on 2/19/2016 5:16 AM

The literal argument is that Ireland is overpopulated because the Catholic population is reproducing too many children. Therefore, by using children as a marketable commodity (for meat and for other income-producing enterprises), the children would be less of a drain on the Irish economy and would, in fact, increase the economy. His real argument is that the English are treating the Irish so badly that they are literally cannibalizing the Irish people.

1. In his “A Modest Proposal” (1729), Jonathan Swift claims that Ireland is experiencing debilitating social issues because of England’s unjust policies. Swift indirectly exposes the social issues that exists in Ireland by proposing a satirical solution to them. Swift surfaces these issues in order to promote helping the poor and making them become beneficial members of society. The author uses a satirical frame to address public issues, thus he mostly is directing his essay towards the general public in Ireland, the victim, and England, the culprit. 2. When one considers the satirical frame of “A Modest Proposal,” Swift’s persona implicitly mimics an individual who is serious and knowledgeable on the burdens Ireland is undertaking…show more content…
Swift dehumanizes poor mothers in paragraph six, which details how he calculates the number of poor children in Ireland. He starts by estimating the number of women capable of producing children, claiming that there are“two hundred thousand Couple whose Wives are breeders” (Swift, 6). Notice that Swift labels these women as breeders, a title that is regularly used to address animals. In the following paragraph, Swift transitions to dehumanizing children by stating that children are too worthless to be a “saleable Commodity” (Swift, 7). In this statement, he implies that children’s value can be measured in beans, apples or any other consumer product. This helps prepare the audience for Swift 's proposal that children should be eaten. Later, he quantifies Children by giving them a dollar amount: children “will not yield above three Pounds, or three Pounds and half a Crown at most on Exchange” (Swift, 7). This further prepares the audience for upcoming proposal because the quote suggests that human consumption holds financial benefits. When Swift finally makes his proposal to eat children, he lowers the value of human life by comparing their worth to that of “Sheep, black Cattle, [and] Swine” (Swift, 10). As the essay progresses, Swift continues to devalue children, and although these devaluations explicitly support the author’s proposal, they are mainly used to highlight the living conditions in Ireland. For instance, Swift calculated the number of poor families in order to

What is Swift real message in A Modest Proposal?

Presented in the guise of an economic treatise, the essay proposes that the country ameliorate poverty in Ireland by butchering the children of the Irish poor and selling them as food to wealthy English landlords. Swift's proposal is a savage comment on England's legal and economic exploitation of Ireland.

What does Swift claim as his purpose in writing this essay?

The purpose of Swift's satirical essay is to call attention to the problems that were being experienced by the people of Ireland. He wanted the English (who ruled Ireland) to realize what they were doing and to put in place reforms that would solve the problems they had helped to cause.

What was the speakers thesis in A Modest Proposal?

First, there is the thesis of the speaker. The speaker presents the problem that Ireland is overpopulated by children whose parents cannot provide for them.

What does Swift satirize in A Modest Proposal?

In the essay, Swift offers a satirical solution to the problem of Irish poverty and oppression. He suggests that Irish parents raise their children to the age of one year (after all, the first year doesn't cost too much) and then sell them to their English landlords as food.