The Lowest Animal And A Modest Proposal Essay

“Poverty, hatred [and] war… all symptoms of The Human Virus,” according to William S. Burroughs. The use of satire in “The Lowest Animal” by Mark Twain and in “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathon Swift, criticizes mankind’s flaws, which beg for change in society. Twain and Swift work very hard to persuade their audience, using not only satire, but a diversity of rhetorical appeals in order to make their views more believable. In “A Modest Proposal,” Swift suggests that in order to end hunger and poverty, mankind should be treated like animals. “…Of the hundred and twenty thousand children, already computed, twenty thousand may be reserved for breed, whereof only one fourth part to be males, which is more than we allow sheep, black-cattle, or swine..” Swift’s purpose for this example is to convince mankind that humans are not superior and man and animal should be considered equal. The use of irony helps Swift’s readers to better understand and visualize his stand point. …show more content…
“The higher animals have no religion. And we are told that they are going to be left out, in the hereafter. I wonder why. It seems questionable taste.” Within this situation, Twain introduces sordid and an ethical appeal so that the reader may feel moral distaste and contempt. In “The Lowest Animal” by Mark Twain and in “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathon Swift, the authors use a multitude of satirical devices and rhetorical appeals to prove that the society is severely in need of change. They accomplish this feat by criticizing human flaws. By creating this image, they exhibit superiority, not to man, but to quadrupeds, in order to emphasize the need for change in