Tuesday, December 2, 2014

A Modest Proposal

According to yourdictionary.com

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader. 
Pathos is an appeal to emotion, and is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. 
Logos is an appeal to logic, and is a way of persuading an audience by reason

ETHOS-
"As to my own part, having turned my thoughts for many years upon this important subject, and maturely weighed the several schemes of other projectors"
-Jonathan Swift not only came up with this "solution" he's thought of it for YEARS. That gives him some type of credibility. He's had all this time to change his mind, and he didn't.

PATHOS-
"It would increase the care and tenderness of mothers toward their children, when they were sure of a settlement for life to the poor babes, provided in some sort by the public, to their annual profit instead of expense."
-Maybe, this doesn't bring as much positive emotional appeal, but it sure brought out a little shock out of me- And I'm pretty sure that's what Swift wanted to do with this, bring out emotion to his readers-and that counts too. It gets worse, he then follows with this...

"We should see an honest emulation among the married women, which of them could bring the fattest child to the market."
-COULD YOU IMAGINE FEEDING BABIES JUST TO KILL THEM AND MAKE MONEY OFF OF THEM?! This reaction, I think is exactly what Swift wanted, people to be mad, or angry-especially parents of possible profitable pieces of meat. 

LOGOS-
"For first, as I have already observed, it would greatly lessen the number of papists..."
"Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own..."
"Thirdly, Whereas the maintenance of an hundred thousand children, from two years old and upward, cannot be computed at less than ten shillings a-piece per annum..."
"Fourthly, The constant breeders, beside the gain of eight shillings sterling per annum by the sale of their children..."
-Swift goes all the way to six reasons. Even though these reasons give nightmares, they all end up being some what logical- such as the fourth reasoning that says parents won't have to spend all that money in raising a child, instead they will make a profit, WHO DOESN'T WANT/LIKE PROFIT?

This made me very grossed out but it also brought out many advantages. This was just a crying call for his country. He later says, he just wants his country to be better- "...advancing our trade, providing for infants, relieving the poor, and giving some pleasure to the rich."-all seeming very logical. He hit readers with very emotion wrenching and uncensored ways- LOGOS ETHOS PATHOS - to let citizens know their country was not doing good, and to wake them up to make changes, and what better way than to strike at citizens' most prized possessions, their children.


NO BABIES WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF THE MODEST PROPOSAL.







No comments:

Post a Comment