Sometimes, people may not fully understand the faults of a society, or how big of an impact an event is, until they are presented a piece of satirical or dramatic literature. Two great examples of pieces of literature that were used to educate their reader are A Modest Proposal, and Journal of the Plague Year. Both pieces of literature use two different styles of writing to convey their message. Jonathan Swift uses satire to try to solve Ireland's poverty dilemma, while Daniel Defoe tried to show the great impact of the Great Plague using a more dramatic approach. Even though both pieces were written in different styles of literature, both do a very good job of delivering their message. Jonathan Swift wrote A Modest Proposal in order to
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A Journal of the Plague Year was written to show the great impact of the Great Plague on Europe. It is set in the parish of Aldgate during the plague. Defoe talks about the large pits that were used to bury the dead that measured "about forty feet in length, and about fifteen or sixteen feet broad, and at the time I [the narrator] first looked at it, about nine feet deep" (Defoe 555). Defoe also talked about how before the plague reached the parish of Aldgate, the townspeople believed that a pit that large was unnecessary and that the churchwardens were "making preparations to bury the whole parish" (Defoe 555). It later became evident that in fact the churchwardens were smart in making such a large pit because within two weeks, 1,114 bodies were buried in it. The narrator was extremely compelled at one point to go and visit these large pits, even though there was a strict order in place to stop people from going to the pits. After a sexton tells him that if he does go, "it will be a sermon to you, it may be the best that you ever heard in your life" (Defoe 556), he decides to visit the pit during the night. Defoe uses the horror of what occurs at the pits to create a vivid image to the readers of what occurred during the plague. Defoe described how the bodies were thrown into the pit casually and without any care whatsoever. Defoe also described the story of a man who witnessed his wife
A Journal of the Plague Year was written to show the great impact of the Great Plague on Europe. It is set in the parish of Aldgate during the plague. Defoe talks about the large pits that were used to bury the dead that measured "about forty feet in length, and about fifteen or sixteen feet broad, and at the time I [the narrator] first looked at it, about nine feet deep" (Defoe 555). Defoe also talked about how before the plague reached the parish of Aldgate, the townspeople believed that a pit that large was unnecessary and that the churchwardens were "making preparations to bury the whole parish" (Defoe 555). It later became evident that in fact the churchwardens were smart in making such a large pit because within two weeks, 1,114 bodies were buried in it. The narrator was extremely compelled at one point to go and visit these large pits, even though there was a strict order in place to stop people from going to the pits. After a sexton tells him that if he does go, "it will be a sermon to you, it may be the best that you ever heard in your life" (Defoe 556), he decides to visit the pit during the night. Defoe uses the horror of what occurs at the pits to create a vivid image to the readers of what occurred during the plague. Defoe described how the bodies were thrown into the pit casually and without any care whatsoever. Defoe also described the story of a man who witnessed his wife