Philip Antohi Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal,"
In his short narrative ‘A Modest Proposal,’ Swift has perfected the art of using humorous writing techniques to address the audience. At the start of the narrative, Swift brings to the fore his noble intention of helping the poor. However, as the story progresses, it becomes increasingly apparent that Swift’s solution is very ridiculous and out of touch with the modern world.
After reading the whole story once, one can easily label the story as pure comedy with no relevant topic being discussed. However, it is important to understand that use of comedy is simply a technique to make the story more appealing to the audience, and most of all keep away from criticism …show more content…
For instance, Swift exposes the gaping divide that exists between the Catholics and Protestants. A Protestant himself, Swift reveals the ridiculousness of how much they despise the Catholics; despising to such an extent that they would be willing to make a meal out of Catholic children. Swift’s initial suggestion that this would be beneficial to the beggars in a number of ways, the most important ones being financial gain, just helps to reinforce the view that Protestants were coming up with cheap and outrageous ideas, of which only they would be the main beneficiaries. As Swift puts it, Protestants would get to enjoy delicious meals at the expense of the lives of children of the …show more content…
By using humor to tackle the very serious problem of poverty and social classes in the society, Swift is able to attract the attention of the audience, who under normal circumstances would be unwilling to stomach such a topic. It is important to keep in mind that the targeted audience of the narrative is the wealthy class, since it is common knowledge that the poor cannot afford the luxury of reading literature. Therefore, in order to criticize the targeted audience in a less obvious way so as to not be outright offensive, Swift masterfully used the technique of satire.
Exaggeration is also evident in the manner in which Swift presents his proposed solution. He clearly and forcefully expresses the ideas as if they are seriously worth considering. However, the underlying theme he is alluding to is the sheer magnitude of the problem of social classes that exists in society.
The technique of parody is also evident. Swift presents the ideas in the narrative as his, yet what he is really aiming to expose is the Protestant mode of thinking and their mentality towards the impoverished Catholic people in
In his short narrative ‘A Modest Proposal,’ Swift has perfected the art of using humorous writing techniques to address the audience. At the start of the narrative, Swift brings to the fore his noble intention of helping the poor. However, as the story progresses, it becomes increasingly apparent that Swift’s solution is very ridiculous and out of touch with the modern world.
After reading the whole story once, one can easily label the story as pure comedy with no relevant topic being discussed. However, it is important to understand that use of comedy is simply a technique to make the story more appealing to the audience, and most of all keep away from criticism …show more content…
For instance, Swift exposes the gaping divide that exists between the Catholics and Protestants. A Protestant himself, Swift reveals the ridiculousness of how much they despise the Catholics; despising to such an extent that they would be willing to make a meal out of Catholic children. Swift’s initial suggestion that this would be beneficial to the beggars in a number of ways, the most important ones being financial gain, just helps to reinforce the view that Protestants were coming up with cheap and outrageous ideas, of which only they would be the main beneficiaries. As Swift puts it, Protestants would get to enjoy delicious meals at the expense of the lives of children of the …show more content…
By using humor to tackle the very serious problem of poverty and social classes in the society, Swift is able to attract the attention of the audience, who under normal circumstances would be unwilling to stomach such a topic. It is important to keep in mind that the targeted audience of the narrative is the wealthy class, since it is common knowledge that the poor cannot afford the luxury of reading literature. Therefore, in order to criticize the targeted audience in a less obvious way so as to not be outright offensive, Swift masterfully used the technique of satire.
Exaggeration is also evident in the manner in which Swift presents his proposed solution. He clearly and forcefully expresses the ideas as if they are seriously worth considering. However, the underlying theme he is alluding to is the sheer magnitude of the problem of social classes that exists in society.
The technique of parody is also evident. Swift presents the ideas in the narrative as his, yet what he is really aiming to expose is the Protestant mode of thinking and their mentality towards the impoverished Catholic people in