Research Paper on:
Analysis of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
the tone of the work is his way of generating an opinion in the readers mind about the subject matter. It is one of the most important literary devices  because how the theme is portrayed is responsible for the overall success or failure of the work in getting its point across. Eighteenth-century author and popular satirist Jonathan Swifts  masterful use of tone in his 1729 treatise, "A Modest Proposal" is what distinguished it from other works of the period. It was quietly straightforward, patterned after a politicians  impassioned speech before both houses of Parliament. It contained a shocking premise that is presented rationally and completely devoid of emotion, in keeping with the Enlightenment conviction that cold  logic was the solution to all problems. During this time, Ireland was not producing enough food to feed its ever-growing population. As a result, the number of beggars was  on the increase, and these impoverished families were causing a considerable tax burden on Irish citizens. The collective chorus of complaints that something should be done about these people  who were making no beneficial contribution to society was becoming deafening, and the compassionate Swift wanted to silence them once and for all. He knew that writing a political  text lamenting the plight of the poor would generate little interest, so in "A Modest Proposal," Swift elected to evoke a deceptively rational tone that would provide a solution not  only to the problem of overpopulation, but would also feed the hungry. In a sarcastic tone that escalated as the work progressed, Swift wrote of these babies who were  draining the economy: "I propose to provide for them in such a manner, as, instead of being a charge upon their parents, or the parish, or wanting food and