Argument Analysis of a Modest Proposal - Personal Statement Example

First of all, one needs to emphasize the importance of satire as a major genre of the text.  It is not necessary to read other pamphlets of that period in order to understand that Jonathan Swift does nothing, but making fun of similar pamphlets and proposals. It is obvious that Swift does not really want people to sell children as food, but he dares to use such an outrageous concept in order to attract public’s attention and make himself heard. To my point of view, this approach works pretty well.

There are grounds to assume that a seriously written pamphlet emphasizing the importance of funding solutions for economic and social crises would never become a subject of such heated discussions. Thus, at least one objective, which is to attract public's attention, was successfully achieved by the author. Second of all, Jonathan uses standard rhetoric approaches in order to be heard. He, thus, apply to ethos, logos, and pathos, in order to persuade people with different beliefs and convictions.

As for his appealing to ethos, one can notice how many times Jonathan mentions ‘a very knowing American’ that can be considered an expert of a discussed issue. By doing this, the author makes an attempt to convince those who tend to rely on professional opinion instead of composing its own.  Of course, satiric nature of the pamphlet does not allow us to consider this reference seriously. One must admit that Swift should be appraised for his mastership in this field.