A Modest Proposal

In Jonathan Swift's article, "A Modest Proposal" the author proposes an idea to relieve the country of Ireland from the burden of poor people on its society (Swift, 1729). He suggests opening up a market to sell one year old children from poverty-stricken families and allowing them to be sold as a food commodity. Swift succeeds in making his satirical argument via Conger's steps outlined in the article "The Necessary Art of Persuasion", by "establishing credibility" with his readers, showing the benefits of his plan, providing evidence on how his plan could work and by writing in an satirical tone that shows the state of affairs for the poor people in Ireland at that time (Conger, 2000).

Swift "establishes credibility" with the reader in stating that his wife is too old to have any more children and the kid he does have is nine years old therefore he will not profit from his plan (Conger, 2000). At the end of the article, Swift announces that in suggesting his plan he has "no other motive than the public good of my country" (Swift, 1729). Stating this at the end of the article enables the full audacity of his plan to