Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Swiftly Moving On

Read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift and analyze/ respond to his argument.

http://www.online-literature.com/swift/947/

Look through the Swift essay "A Modest Proposal" and locate instances of each of the 3 Modes of Persuasion (Ethos, Pathos, and Logos), or if you see any of the appeals in there as well. In roughly (80-100%) a page, briefly list each one and the effect you think it has on the reader.

Second, look for things like irony, word play, and humor.

Finally, in addition to poverty, think about what other specific problems are facing Ireland. Happy St. Patrick's Day -- can you feel the irony? For these problems, only consider the ones Swift points to in his essay. As the essay was written in 1729, I do not want contemporary problems that Ireland has to deal with. To answer this, you may want to ask yourself, what problems are leading to Ireland's poverty? What policies, social orders, or beliefs cause the Irish to continue their "terrible" cycle of existence? You do not have to provide outside research, but I would like you to analyze the essay. In roughly a page record a few of your findings and analyze the way in which this mode of persuasion, appeal, or whatever is conveyed and the effect it has on the reader.

So, to clarify, for the minimum, you should write roughly a page regarding the appeals and roughly a page regarding the problems facing Ireland question, but you can always go over the minimum. If you have some good ideas then write them down!

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