Dudas 1!

Naomi Dudas
AP Language, 1B
Ms. Thompson
March 30, 2015
A Modest Proposal Argument Essay
The rhetorical strategy Jonathan Swift employs throughout his essay creates a strong,
ironic basis for his proposal. An arguments success is often dependent on how it is introduced
and described rather than how it is supported. A pretense of what Swift proposes -Irish mothers
to sell their children as meals to the elite- makes the proposal seem reasonable even if it is not.
Swift uses imagery, hyperboles, and of course, irony, to prepare his audience for his proposal.
While his piece is largely cogent and calculated, Swift sets the mood of his proposal by
providing a vivid image of the heartbreaking poverty Ireland was experiencing at the time. He
begins his proposal by defining what the quandary evokes: It is a melancholy object to those
who walk through this townwhen they see the streetscrowded with beggarsfollowed by
three, four, or six childrenimportuning every passenger for an alms (5). The appeal to pathos
is linked to the use of imagery as it makes for a substantiated reaction the audience is likely to
experience at the sound of these words. Imagery is at the forefront of what makes his argument
more cohesive and seemingly logical. Giving the illusion of a strong argument through
illustrative means is vital in proving his argument a valid one.
Furthermore, an appeal to logos is made through the use of hyperboles. Swift uses
statistics, as inaccurate as they may be, to convince his audience of the reality of his
impoverished nation. This allows for an eloquent approach to be taken: Of these I calculate

Dudas 2!
there may be about two hundred thousand couples whose wives are breeders; from which
number I subtract thirty thousand couples who are able to maintain their own children (6).
Numbers distract the audience from its dubious proposal seem to be logical. These exaggerated
and likely inaccurate numbers allude to some sense of false truth in order to alleviate the
skeptically of those who are exposed to the argument.
More importantly, however, is Swifts use of irony because it dresses the whole argument
in an outfit of ethos when it really is a desperate attempt for attention. Swift uses irony constantly
to embellish and disguise his proposal as a solution and alternative to surrounding issues: it
will prevent those voluntary abortions and that horrid practice of women murdering their bastard
children (6). By attempting to resolve not only the issue of poverty but also the issue of
abortions, Swift justifies his proposal in effort to further prove his proposal as something to be
taken seriously. Irony, therefore controls the way his proposal is seen; for those who can see
through his irony, it becomes a mere call to awareness of Irelands situation.In the end, he has
nothing to lose in the way he is relaying his message because a shock factor is appropriate in
such desperate times; the dramatic measures Swift allows himself to take are calculated and
necessary in order for reform to take place.
Although Swift uses a number of rhetorical strategies to develop his proposal, imagery,
hyperboles, and irony are all the most effective in supporting his argument with a preconceived
notion of what the audience should be sympathetic towards. Swifts rhetorical strategies not only
support his proposal, but direct the attention to the underlying cause of his argument.