Do you agree with this article?

1. Do you agree with this article? Why or why not? Respond in your journal (10 lines)

2. S.O.A.P.S. • S – subject • What is this article about? • O – occasion • Why was it written? What is going on at the time that the author is mocking? • A – audience • Who is this article aimed at? • P –purpose • What does the author hope to achieve by writing it? • S – speaker • How does the author establish himself/herself as an authority on the subject? *Find each for the Industrial Revolution article.

3. Satire – mocking or ridiculing the wrongdoings of an individual or group to teach social or moral lessons Satire mocking, ridiculing, and pointing out social issues since before the British Restoration

4. What is the point of satire? It seeks to create a shock of recognition and to make vice (sin or corruption) repulsive so that the vice will be removed from the person or society under attack; whenever possible this shock of recognition is to be conveyed through laughter or wit: think of it as one part honey/sugar and one part medicine

5. Elements of Satire • Exaggeration – an overstatement; describing as larger or greater than it really is. • Hyperbole – a figure of speech that uses extreme exaggeration to express a strong emotion or create a comic effect • Irony – a contrast between expectation and reality – between what is said and what is meant (verbal), between what is expected and what happens (situational), and between what appears to be true and what is really true (dramatic). • Understatement – a figure of speech that consists of saying less than what is really meant or with less force than what is appropriate • Sarcasm – a type of verbal irony that uses praise tauntingly in way that indicates the opposite meaning.

6. Persuasive Appeals • Logical – an author supports an argument through reason, facts, and statistics. • Emotional – an author uses moving language and vivid descriptions to arouse strong feelings in the readers. • Ethical – an author establishes credibility, sharing his or her own experiences, qualifications, and motivations, to gain the reader’s confidence and support. *Find examples of these appeals in video clips SwifferTruthTexting & Diving

8. History of the times… • The scene in A Modest Proposal is pretty dismal. You're walking through the streets of Dublin when kids come pouring out of the woodwork. They're everywhere: packed into the roads and peering through cabin doors. And don't forget the moms. For every Brady Bunch, there's a desperate mother blocking your way. Before starting in with the satire, Swift wanted this image locked into his readers' minds. • In A Modest Proposal, the people are as much a part of the setting as the Irish countryside. The narrator's whole point is that you can't enjoy your trip if every inch is clogged with children. He wants the reader to imagine walking through the "great town” of Dublin and being forced to confront poverty (1). It's everywhere, and it's not going away. • Winter is Coming • Swift's Ireland was suffering through a terrible famine in the 18th century, made even worse by crowded conditions and freezing weather. And the situation wasn't getting better. Only ten years after Swift penned A Modest Proposal, an event known as the Great Frost froze the sea and wreaked havoc on Ireland. Think of it as the winter they're always talking about in Game of Thrones.

9. History of the times… • The Rich Get Richer • In the middle of this mess, some lucky sons of guns managed to claw their way to the top of Irish society. Some of them were merchants, some of them were landlords, and all of them had their ancestors to thank for winning wars and generally rocking at life. • Of course, the poor had to exist to make life easy for wealthy landowners. Poor Irish families got paid next to nothing and had their rents increased at random by greedy landlords. At the same time, farming was out of the question because the poor Irish weren't allowed to "build houses […] nor cultivate land" (7). British restrictions on land use took care of that, making a pretty big dent in the Irish agricultural industry. • Let's add a little bit of class-based tension to the mix. Many members of the wealthy class were Protestants who lived in fear of Catholics taking power. They were particularly paranoid because former king James Francis Edward Stuart had recently been stripped of his throne due to his Catholicism. And you guessed it: the majority of the poor Irish were Catholics.

10. Open books to p. 581While reading be sure to: • Look for the different types of appeals. • Logical, emotional, ethical • Take note of SOAPS. • Write down questions you have about the text. • Record any personal connections you can make. • Fill out the worksheet when it has been specified – not during the reading.

11. What does the title suggest to you? From the title, what do you expect this essay to be about?

12. What is the problem, and to what extent is it a problem? What information leads you to your conclusion? What kind of proposal do you think he will make? How could you solve this problem? What are some potential solutions? - THINK PAIR SHARE-

13. What is the proposed solution? In what ways does it appear serious? In what ways is it preposterous?

14. What would be involved in implementing the proposal?

15. Who are the persons who appear to endorse the proposal? In what ways do their endorsements help or hurt the proposal? How do you know?

16. What are some of the principal advantages of the proposal?

17. What are the possible objections to the proposal? In what ways does Swift concede some of the objections? In what ways does Swift refute some of the objections?

18. What means does Swift use to reiterate his apparent sincerity?

19. How would you characterize Swift’s overall tone in the essay? What means does Swift use to develop his tone?

20. Whom does Swift criticize in this piece? What changes does he hope to bring about?

21. An excerpt from “Verses on the Death of Dr. Swift” As with a moral View design'd To cure the Vices of Mankind: His vein, ironically grave, Expos'd the Fool, and lash'd the Knave. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yet, Malice never was his Aim; He lash'd the Vice but spar'd the Name. No Individual could resent, Where Thousands equally were meant. His Satyr points at no Defect, But what all Mortals may correct. . . . (ll. 313-16, 459-64) What is this poem about? What is it saying about satire? Do you agree? Disagree?