Lynch 1

Amy Lynch
Mrs. Thompson
AP Lang, Block 1, Skinny A
March 30th, 2015
Bumped-Up Essay: Draft Two
Rhetorical Analysis
In Jonathon Swifts A Modest Proposal, Swift sarcastically states that selling babies as
food products would take away a burden from parents and would economically sufficient. Swift
uses pathos, ethos, and logos when he sarcastically suggests that marketing babies would be an
excellent solution to Irelands famine crisis.
In his proposal, Swift uses pathos when describing how poor and hungry the families in
Ireland are. He describes their despair when he says, It is a melancholy object for those who
walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and
cabin doors, crowded with beggars, of the opposite sex, followed by three, four or six children
(Paragraph 1 ). Swift uses this rhetorical device in order to alter peoples opinions about this
cruel government that Ireland has.
Ethos is used when he states that most children are a burden to parents anyways. Swift
explains childrens unimportance when he says, we can neither employ them in handicraft or
agriculture and that they will most likely pick up a livelihood by stealing, till they arrive at six
years old (Paragraph 6). Ethos is used to provide evidence of why children are not vital
members of society.
Swift uses logos when providing logic on how the children would be divided up. He
calculates there may be about two hundred thousand couple whose wives are breeders, and that

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there are around one hundred and twenty thousand children of poor parents born (Paragraph
6). Swifts logic is that a majority of these children would grow up living and poverty and would
be better off sacrificing themselves to better the community. In addition, Swift states that the
children will most likely go sour anyways when he says, who as they grow up either turn
thieves for want of work, or leave their dear native country to fight for the pretender in Spain, or
sell themselves to the Barbados (Paragraph 1 ). Swift uses this strategy to persuade readers why
selling babies would be logical and successful for Ireland.
Swifts tone throughout the proposal is sarcastic and ironic. Although it may seem like he
really supports the selling of babies, he doesnt. Instead, he is making fun of how corrupt
Irelands government is and how unethical the class divisions are. Swift implies that Irelands
lower class division is so poor that selling their own new borns would not even amount to the
misery they are put through. When stating his proposal, he uses pathos, ethos, and logos to shape
his readers opinion on the proposal.