An Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” Essay

ridicule as a form of discursive practice may be properly understood if it is contextualized at heart a circumstance culture, institution, attitude, or belief. It is only by placing the satire within a particular shot as presented by the elements mentioned above that a satire will garner the non-linguistic components covering the preceding(prenominal) preconditions necessary for the construction of satirical discourse (Simpson 70). An example of the satire as a form of discursive practice is unequivocal, for example, in Jonathan Swifts A Modest project.In the said(prenominal) work, Swift presents a situation wherein the persona of his text urges the population on acts of cannibalism in put together to lessen the problems caused by Irish overpopulation. The persona starts his proposal with an initial rendering of his surroundings. He notes, It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this spacious townwhen they see the streetscrowded with beggers of the female sex, followed by three, four, or sixer children, all in rags, and importuning every passenger for alms (Swift 52).It is important to note that such(prenominal) a description is characterized by the personas detachment towards his surroundings. stemma for example, the manner in which a two senses of the concept object is used. The aforementioned passage thereby portrays not only the personas quarry appraisal of his surroundings but also the personas objectification of the individuals encompassed within that area.Such an objectification is further evident in the following passage nearly persons of a desponding spirit are in great concern virtually the vast number of poor people, who are aged, diseased, or maimed scarce I am not in the least pained just about that matter, because it is very headspring known that they are everyday dying, rotting, by cold, and famine, and filth, and vermin, as fast as can be reasonably expected. (Swift 56)The personas use of the two senses of object, in this sense, may be understood as a manner in which Swift portrays the irony evident in the context of the text. The irony is evident if one conceives of A Modest Proposal as a text which presents a delimited view of the human being. As opposed to a satires ironic presentation of a particular situation in fact an ironic portrayal of a particular mindset, caprice, on the other hand, portrays the manner in which worldly interests are prone more credence as opposed to lofty ideals.An example of this is evident in Samuel Becketts writings wherein Beckett focuses the text to the importance of existence as well as the importance of the meaning of existence in relation to the ordinary objects. As opposed to a satire which might present a categoric ethnocentric perspective regarding racial discrimination, the emphasis on modern humor would be on the problematic construction of such concepts that enable racial discrimination to exist e. g. opposition of black and white.In line with thi s, Colebrook notes, both irony and humor play off the gap between concepts and world (241). The difference, however, lies in the difference of presentation noted above.Works CitedColebrook, Claire. Irony in the Works of Philosophy. Nebraska U of Nebraska P, 2003. Simpson, Paul. On the Discourse of Satire Towards a Stylistic Model of Satirical Humor. Philadelphia John Benjamins, 2003. Swift, Jonathan. A Modest Proposal. A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works. untried York Dover, 1996.