Tentative Thesis Paragraph

Johnathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” is a satirical and ironic essay that attempts to persuade the people of Ireland to take action against the poverty and overpopulation problems that they are facing. He is directly speaking to the wealthy and the politicians, but he is also attempting to motivate the poor and take action themselves. He suggests that the children of Ireland should be sold and eaten in order to keep the population down and the poverty levels at bay.  Swift manages to effectively argue his point by using a combination of vivid imagery, emotional and ethical ploys, and a large amount of irony. 

Here is a link of the reading:   http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1080/1080-h/1080-h.htm

And a visual:

 Attribution:  See page for author [Public domain], <a href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AInternational_Mag_Jonathan_Swift.jpg">via Wikimedia Commons</a>

Response to Swift

1.       What is the problem Swift identifies in his society? What does he want to do about it?

Swift begins by discussing the problem of poverty in Ireland, especially that in relation to the children of the country. He discusses how the parents of Ireland are constantly worried about what and how they are going to feed their children. He talks about how this issue has been weighing heavily on his mind for some time, but that he thinks that he has found a suitable solution. The solution that he has come up with is to simply kill the children and sell them to rich land owners to eat. He has thought of a detailed plan that he believes is the perfect solution to help Ireland recover from poverty.

2.       Is his suggestion serious? If not, what is the purpose? What is he making fun of?

Luckily, his solution is not serious, he is being highly ironic. He does not really want to kill innocent children and sell them as food. He uses this approach to shock the reader and grab their attention. He also wants his audience to realize the severity of the situation; poverty in Ireland. He wants them to realize that while his suggestion is absurd and horrifying, there does need to be a real solution. He is making fun of the wealthy in Ireland who do nothing to help those in need. This is also his target audience, as the rich are more likely to actually read the piece than the uneducated poverty stricken members of society.

3.       Is his solution logical? What kind of evidence does he give to support his position?

No, his solution is not logical as no sane parent would actually sell their own child as food. In fact, these parents struggle daily in order to provide their children with some kind of sustenance; no way would they willingly sell their children in such a terrible manner. He has a well thought out plan when it comes to how this will logistically work. He says that only one hundred thousand children will need to be sacrificed in order to make a dent in the issue. No more, no less. He discusses specific recipes and methods in which the children can be cooked. He also describes the perfect weight the child so be in order to be desirable as food.

Here is a picture of Jonathan swift. Link of the picture: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jonathan_swift.jpg

And here is a link to the reading: http://art-bin.com/art/omodest.html

Rhetorical Analysis

I chose an Geico insurance company commercial to use for this assignment. In the commercial, the gecko lizard is the spokesperson used, along with the Roadrunner from the Looney Tunes cartoons. This commercial was ineffective for me as it failed to convince me to want to switch insurance companies. The company failed to use ethos in this ad as the gecko as a spokesman is not trustworthy or a notable figure as he is a cartoon character. Who wants to take any advice from any type of fictional character? While I found this ad to be unconvincing, I do have to say the one strong point comes from the company's use of logos. They used the figure of you can save up to fifteen percent or more on your insurance to draw the viewer in. While this is a positive point in the ad, I still am not tempted to call them for a quote.

What I'm working on

After reading Herman Melville's story "Bartleby the Scrivener" I decided to write my essay based on the first optional thesis statement provided to us. This thesis says that Bartleby is a hero that refuses to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society. Here is some of the things I wrote so far:

Herman Melville’s short story, Bartleby the Scrivener discusses the relationship between the workplace and society and how this particular relationship affects Bartleby. Bartleby is the hero of Melville’s story in his refusal to participate in a workplace that represents the sad, dreary atmosphere of a bureaucratic, industrialized society. He is the only one standing up to a society that is increasingly oppressive to workers. There are many examples of Bartleby behaving in a nonconforming manner throughout the piece, such as his constant use of the phrase, “I would prefer not to”, as well as his complete and total isolation from everyone around him that eventually leads to his death.

            The office where Bartleby works is described as being bleak, sterile and cheerless. Bartleby’s window faces a wall, and even if it did not, Wall Street is also described as being in a sad and depressive state. Melville wrote, “Of a Sunday Wall Street is deserted as Petra; and every night of every day it is an emptiness.” The description of the environment where Bartleby works is extremely oppressive and stifling. Bartleby himself is affected by this environment as he is described as being pale, cadaverous, ghost like, and passionless. At one point, a green screen is erected to further separate Bartleby from his coworkers after they begin to complain about him to the Lawyer. He is literally blocked out from his fellow office mates for being different from them and not conforming in the way that they do. This makes everyone around him uncomfortable, but Bartleby does not seem to care; in fact he seems indifferent about everything.