Cannibalism is Always the Answer

     Never before did I ever think that someone could make child cannibalism seem like a good idea.  In his article A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift proposes that eating children would end extreme hunger and poverty, increase positive family relations, and diminish population during the time of the Irish Potato Famine.  When I first read the title, I believed it would be a bland essay on the economy or government.  This article was about the economy, but in a different way than initially perceived since it encouraged cannibalism.  However, Swift never intended for this article to be taken seriously and wrote it as satire.  Satire is the use of irony and sarcasm in order to discuss and critique society or a specific person.  By adding ethos, pathos, and logos into his argument, his satirical proposal can almost seem like a legitimate idea.
     Swift is able to appeal to ethos by using outside sources in order to make himself seem credible.  He pulls on information given to him from his American friend, making it seem as though even people outside of the country deem cannibalism a credible idea.  This American friend could potentially be a member of the Donner party, which were a group of cannibals who began to eat their own family when running out of food as they were moving west.  Since the American friend spoke from experience, stating that the food was nutritious,  Swift is established as a well informed and believable person.  He had a perennial account of the idea he was proposing, so people began to take him seriously.
      Continuously, Jonathan Swift pulls upon logos as well.  He gives specific counts, percentages, and weights.  His child cannibalism proposal seems the most logical when when displays information on the population count and how cannibalism would benefit all classes.  Swift also appeals to logic when he provides the specific numbers that reveal how the population would continue if babies were to be eaten.  20,000 children would be spared so they would become the next generation of breeders.  Because he conceders the consequences for child cannibalism, he seems logical since he does not claim that all children should be eaten.  
     Establishes a sense of community when he addresses the community as "our city of Dublin."  This provides a sense of camaraderie since the problem effects them all.  The use of "our" makes it seem as though they are in this together and the solution can only be found through cooperation among all of them, appealing to pathos.  Swift also appeals to pathos when he states that child cannibalism will also protect wives in abusive relationships.  Men will not hit their wives if there is promise of a child to eat.  Also, Jonathan Swift makes it seem as though cannibalism will end poverty and ensure that all people will live happily.  This is especially true when he claims that children between the ages of 12-14 should also be eaten.  Swift writes that these children would never have to endure the hardships of poverty, pulling on the heartstrings of the community.  The people wish to protect children from poverty, and if some children are eaten, there is some security that those who live are not impoverished.
     Because Swift appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos, his satirical writing seems plausible.  It makes it even more comedic once one is aware that he is being satirical, but if one does not know that then the argument seems crazed but logical at the same time.  I enjoyed this writing once I realized it was a false proposal, but prior to I was disturbed and confused.