202w1

Posted: March 26th, 2020

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202w1

Part One

Jonathan Swift, an Irish, wrote a piece titled, “A Modest Proposal” suggesting very radical ways of preventing the poor in Ireland from being a burden to the society and instead beneficial to the country (Debray 12). Swift blames the poor mothers in the streets form this problem. He believes that they keep giving birth, therefore increasing the population of the poor, who turn to be thieves, among other questionable characters. Swift uses satire in satire. Satire is a literature genre that uses hyperbole, irony, ridicule, and sometimes abuses in order to criticize someone or a political entity as the government, so that it may improve its actions (Griffin199). There are several examples of satire used in the internet to express ideas related to Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”. For instance, various satirical reviews of Swift’s satire seek to condemn the Irish people and the government. Satire has been used to criticize films such as Twilight, in which the reviewers are criticizing the modern day practices of teenagers. The link to the review is found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5k0eD0GXqHM

Part Two

The Declaration of Independence, the document in which it was announced that the thirteen colonies at war with Britain were regarded as sovereign states, serves a great purpose in balancing reason, power, and authority (Spalding and Meese 15). It reflects reason by declaring the colonies as independent, and ending the war, as they have lost too much in the war. With passion and authority, the elements of sovereignty and declaration, through announcement achieve it. Likewise, with Swift, his piece reflects his passion for his country through indirect condemnation of the government and rich people in society, his proposal applies reason in order to solve the problem in Ireland.

Works Cited

Debray, Régis. A Modest Proposal. Hoboken, N.J.: Melville House Pub., 2006. Print.

Griffin, Dustin H. Satire. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2015. Print.

Spalding, Matthew, and Edwin Meese. A Citizen’s Introduction to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. New York: The Heritage Foundation, 2013. Print.