Whether logical or illogical, solutions exist to all of society's problems. In "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift, devouring children solves society's economical downfall. "On Dumpster Diving" by Lars Eighner contrasts the satisfactory as a scavenger apart from the never sated middle class. In "A Modest Proposal" and "On Dumpster Diving," Swift and Eighner utilize irony by presenting disturbing actions to emphasize the necessity of solving society's problems.
Crafting their voices towards their attitudes on the discussion, the authors interest the reader to accept the topic. "I began Dumpster diving… before I became homeless." (Eighner, Pg. 23, ¶ 2) Eighner introduces himself as a prior dumpster diver to show that he understands what
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31, ¶ 67) Eighner details society's problems in accepting what they already have. "Students throw food away… because they do not know whether it has spoiled…" (Pg. 25, ¶ 22) Society even unknowingly determine food and possessions as trash without further consideration of whether the possessions may prove useful in the future. Eighner condemns society for not understanding that necessity is more important than desire. "These mothers… are forced… to beg sustenance for their helpless infants, who… either turn thieves…" (Swift, Pg. 857, ¶ 1) Swift introduces that children serve as a burden to not just their poor parents but also to the troubled society once they grow up. "...a child… shall on the contrary contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands." (Pg. 858, ¶ 4) Swift formulates that children should help society rather than be a burden. Eighner and Swift present the problems of society and their view of what needs to be known.
Importantly, Eighner and Swift propose disturbing solutions for society's problems to stir ideas in readers. "Even… people will sometimes find something tempting sticking out of a Dumpster…" (Eighner, Pg. 23, ¶ 8) Eighner describes dumpster diving as an art with beneficial, intriguing items. No matter how disturbing dumpster diving may be, one man's trash is another man's treasure. "I find… two rather deep lessons." (Pg. 31, ¶ 67) Eighner details that divers learn lessons about material possessions
In the esteemed collection 50 Essays, the editors recognize Lars Eighner’s On Dumpster Diving through his capability of heightening the degree and compelling concept of dumpster diving etiquette. Eighner redefines words such as “Dumpster,” by making it its own proper noun, which brings a sense of formality. He cajoles the reader’s perspective towards Dumpster diving in a positive outlook by referring it as an art and that it’s not anomalous for “respectable employed people...find something tempting sticking out of a dumpster” and “brag that they found this or that piece of trash” (108). Eighner exposes the audience the truth behind homelessness; however he also depicts that not all homeless people are winos causing trouble in the neighborhood,
Jonathan Swift uses satire and irony to convey his attitude about the situation. In the book, Satire: A Critical Reintroduction, Griffin how “A Modest Proposal is full of satire by saying, “A more famous satire whose structure from beginning to end is based on carefully reasoned consecutive argument is Swift’s “Modest Proposal” (104). In the book, On the Discourse of Satire, Simpson writes, “In fact, the first seven paragraphs of the Proposal review various schemes and recommendations, including some championed by Swift himself in the years before, to alleviate poverty and starvation and generally to improve ‘the present deplorable state of the kingdom” (143). Dr. Swift also uses an ironic tone while writing “A Modest Proposal.” One piece of evidence that proves that this is an ironic piece of writing is that Swift compares the children to animals. He says, “although I rather recommended buying the children alive, and dressing them hot from the knife, as we do roasting pigs” (97-100). Another example of having an ironic attitude is the title itself. It is called “A Modest Proposal,” but his proposal is not modest at all because it is morally incorrect to sell and devour children. Overall, Dr. Jonathan Swift has an ironic and satiric attitude while writing “A Modest
The essay creates sympathy by reminding readers that the dumpster diving is necessity for his survival without asking for handouts. And furthermore Eighners draws on the logical reality that tons of perfectly edible foods are sitting in
During the early 1700s in Ireland, there were countless people that lived in poverty. Families that had many children at that time were usually the families that lived in poverty. If they chose to sell those children instead of keeping them, at the end of every year they would make 8 shillings for every kid they did not keep. In time, it would have been more beneficial for the poor families to sell their children because they would be making money on them (Baker). In 1729, a man named Jonathan Swift believed that he found a way to eliminate some of that poverty and feed the rich with the same solution. To propose his theory, he wrote “A Modest Proposal.” He wanted the poor people to give up their children as necessary evil. In the essay, Jonathan Swift challenges the status quo of the time and place in which it was written by saying people should sell and eat children and believing that women should be breeders (Swift).
On Dumpster Diving 2a. Lars Eighner, the author of “On Dumpster Diving” describes his life of a homeless dumpster diver. He explains how it is a lot of work and certain principles to follow to be successful at the sport. One principle Eighner mentions in his personal memoir is knowing the right place and time to look for food and other things that would benefit the diver. “Students throw out canned goods and staples at the end of semesters and when they give up college at midterm” (Eighner 150).
“On Dumpster Diving” by Lars Eighner is a collective work on the issue of Dumpster Diving, in which Eighner depicts his own adventures as a “Diver.” His development of the central contention, this “way of life” is not as it is portrayed or stigmatized, is progressed through Eighner’s inclusion of the three persuasive appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos. These three devices coupled with other rhetorical devices provide an alluring argument, in which the reader sees the other side through a new lens, and their opinions on this issue is vastly differed, upon completion of the reading.
"A Modest Proposal" is a social commentary written by Jonathan Swift, he uses techniques such as irony, satire, and sarcasm to mock the Irish government of his time. After reading Swift's essay half way through, one might not believe how graphic and shocking it's been written. He wrote a letter suggesting they sell the children of the poor to the wealthy families, as this will provide food, clothing, and will decrease the population. Throughout the letter he uses remarkable details as to how they should go about eating the children, treating them as livestock. The letter ends with a completely different tone when the author explains the absurdity of his proposal and instead suggests something a bit more realistic and humane like the wealthy should give up some of their luxuries. He uses a lot of thorough, literalized metaphors, and ironic and sarcasm techniques to a devastating effect. A Modest Proposal has been judged as an excellent work of rhetorical brilliancy, and it acquires readers critical attention up until now Swift exposes all the bizarre remarks and ideas he has been discussing about are all a humorous way to make fun of the way the government is run and how they are not serving their country. Afterwards he expresses a proper proposal of taking away some of the wealthier people's luxuries in order to help their economy. this essay explains the three techniques used in Swift's proposal, such as; Irony, Satire and Sarcasm.
Other purposes that Eighner may have written this essay include: a how-to guide on Dumpster diving, a memoir of his experiences, and a look on how people’s wastefulness support the homeless.
Dumpster Diving is an essay written by Lars Eighner. The Texan and former homeless man who roamed the streets searching for food from unpleasant sites in order to help him survive the harsh times. His loss of income made him to get food from garbage sites, which he refers to as ‘Dumpster’ He wrote this essay to express his experience as a homeless and destitute person. The essay gives a detailed explanation of how people like him struggle to get food from dump sites and the dangers they face. Eighner used basic English to describe the process of scavenging and its consequences in the essay.
Dumpster Diving: Beneficial Yet Detrimental When people think about dumpsters, a disgusted image of wretched odors, tornadoes of flies, and spilled sour liquids comes to their minds. In addition, they stay away from dumpsters, fearing they would catch some type of illness. Yet, people don’t know that dumpsters has all types of treasures.
Swift estimates that there are 120,000 children of poor parents born annually. These children are a burden on society because " . . .we can neither employ them in handicraft or agriculture "(2183), they have no practical skills or uses. To deal with this problem, Swift makes his "modest proposal," using a device that is timeless in its effectiveness-shock value:
The effect of Lars Eighner’s attention to language is that it catches the audience’s attention. His purpose is to inform the reader about his profession as a dumpster diver. Since he realizes the misconceptions his profession holds, he introduces it on a lighter, technical note. As a result, instead of disgusting the audience, he engrosses them. By saying unconventional statements like “I have never heard these things called anything but Dumpsters”(87), he slowly lures the audience’s attention. The effect of Lars Eighner’s attention to language in the first paragraphs was an appeal to ethos. He was not some average wino or hobo, but established himself to be a well-informed and intelligent author. His meticulousness and sophisticated curiosity
A Modest Proposal is a satirical essay written by Jonathan Swift to raise awareness to the government about the poor and what they should do about it. Swift proposes that we should eat the children as a way to make the government to keep reading the work and understand the problem. He also named the work A Modest Proposal while his persona in the work was arrogant and prideful to show the irony in his satiric proposal. In A Modest Proposal, Swift uses the first uses the first few paragraphs to introduce the problem.
“The Open Boat” is a short story written by Steven Crane about four men stranded on a dinghy after their boat had sunk over night. The men were struggling to stay alive because it seemed as if they had no hope for survival. The four stranded shipmen were a correspondent, an oiler, a cook, and a captain. The theme of the story is that man has no control over his destinies and that nature controls everything. Naturalist themes prevail in Stephen Crane's “The Open Boat” as it demonstrates naturalist literature through the struggle that nature throws at the men. Naturalism arises throughout the men’s constant battle between their surrounding environment and keeping
His use of diction relating to livestock as well as his cold, calculated tones and constant appeals to foreign authority mirror and comment upon the elite?s absurb rationalization for their abuse and exploition of the dredges of society. He constantly likens beggers to animals, even comparing children to ?sheep, black cattle or swine? and even speaking of them interms of ?fore and hind quarter?s. His tone is so disturbingly uninvolved and methodical that he is able to calculate exactly how many meals a baby will serve and even pictures cannibalism as a socially acceptable occurence when ?entertaining friends.? Throughout the piece Swift constantly seeks to jusify his proposal by mentioning the suggestions he has received from his influential friends in foreign countries. This illustrates that the narrator?s mind is even farther removed from the immediate crisis and famine. As people read through the passage, Swift is able to sneakily encourage people to question the authority of their elitist leadership.