Swifts a Modest Proposal

           In this day and age satire is all around. When we turn on the TV we see shows like The Daily Show and The Simpsons that use satire to change try and change society. We also see many short clips from sites like YouTube that have various examples of satire. All this satirical comedy is from one man who set the stage for every one else, Jonathan Swift. The question is, is this form of mockery really a effective way to target people, make them aware, and then change the ills of society? In Swifts A Modest Proposal, it does just that.

          In this paragraph from Swift, it is talking about his proposal and the benefits of it and how it will help the people of Ireland greatly, "It is exactly at one year old that 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 raiment for the rest of their lives, they shall on the contrary contribute to the feeding, and partly to the clothing, of many thousands." (Swift 1). In this paragraph Swift is talking about a plan that will help Ireland become rich and wealthy. His plan is to take all the beggar babies after one year old and have the population of Ireland eat them and use their clothes. This is a very effective piece of satire because Swift is using irony and sarcasm to expose this idea that sound so gross to change society's ills. Also in this paragraph, "And maturely weighted the several schemes of other projects, I have always found this one grossly mistaken in the computation." (Swift 1). This part of the paragraph is making people aware that England has had many ideas to help Ireland but has taken no action so this is the greatest plan. This paragraph has successfully expose England the target for destroying the foundation of Ireland. It has also made England aware that this is what the argument has come too.Lastly, made it so gruesome that England will want to change. 

          In this next paragraph Swift is using irony sarcasm and stereotypes to sarcastically make fun of the Irish people, and to show England what they have done to them, "Men would become as fond of their wives during the time of their pregnancy as they are now of their mares in foal, their cows in calf Their sows when they are ready to farrow; nor offer to beat or kick them (as is too frequent a practice) for fear of a miscarriage."(Swift 7). In this Swift is talking about the benefits of this idea and is saying that Irish men would now instead of beating there wife's treat them like a cow with a calf because they can sell the child for money. "Secondly, The poorer tenants will have something valuable of their own." (Swift 7). In this Swift is again using stereotypes that the Irish are so poor that after this plan they will finally own something. Swift is again targeting England and using stereotypes on the Irish to expose what England has left them with. Swift is saying that because England has ruled out all other ideas of helping Ireland now they have to kill there babies and this will also help the men not beat their wives. Swift has again made a effective piece of satire because he has exposed England through stereotypes and sarcasm, made them aware that they are being stereotypical and childish in not helping Ireland, and made them want to change from being childish and help Ireland. 

          In this next paragraph Swift is using sarcasm to make fun of the English people and say that he is too old and will not be able to participate in killing and eating the children.  "I have no children by which I can propose that to get a single penny; my youngest being nine years old, and my wife past child-bearing." (Swift 9). In this Swift is proposing this gross idea that he can not take part in. This is making fun of how anything that the English propose because they can not help in and it will only benefit them. We see this a lot today like on The Daily Show. In this show they make fun of a lot of politicians that want to make changes to America but can not participate in the changes they want. In this next part Swift is talking about how nothing else worked so the Irish have to kill the beggars babies. "I profess, in the sincerity of my heart, that I have nit the least personal interest in endeavoring to promote this necessary work, having no other motive that the goof of my country." (Swift 9). Swift is saying that all other plans proposed by the Irish were turned down and the English have no intention to help. Swift has again successfully used sarcasm and irony to target England, Make them aware that they have proposed other ideas to save Ireland but have been turned down, and how childish England is and how unfair they are. This makes England want to change the way they are because they feel childish and they feel exposed.
           Through many techniques like sarcasm, irony, and stereotypes. Swift has successfully used satire to change the way society is. This has also shaped the way for many comedians and writers to use these tool to expose whats wrong with the world and have the world change. Swift has also lade out the foundation on how Satire should be used. Satire can be really bad if people don't get it and feel like the party is agreeing with them. But if used correctly like in Swifts A Modest Proposal Satire can help shape a new and better world. 

The Swift Life of Jonathan Swift

1.       Jonathan Swift was born on November 30, 1667 and died October 19, 1745.

2.       His father died two months before he was born so he was raised by his Uncle.

3.       As a child he suffered from Meniere’s disease, an infection of the inner ear that made him hard of hearing.

4.       Some of the schools he went to include Kilkenny School, Trinity College, and University of Oxford

5.       5. Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin, Ireland and dies there too.

“A wise person should have money in their head, and not in their heart.”

-Jonathan Swift

“Trinity College was closed, and an ambitious Swift took the opportunity to go to England, where he hoped to gain preferment in the Anglican Church”

-David Cody 

The Satire of a Apple Store

             

                In this clip of The Simpsons it is making a lot of fun of apple. In the clip Lisa sees a "Mapple" store in the mall and the whole family goes to check it out. The Mapple store is representing an Apple store and all through this clip they are using satire to make fun of this company.  The store seems like all the products are really expensive and pretty confusing to use. At one point Lisa asks the store clerk if she can by a fake pair of headphones because she can’t afford any real products. The store clerk says yes and says they are called "Iphonies:" and cost 40 which is too much for Lisa. Another thing that happens is Homer is talking to a clerk and he asks what this product does. The clerk says "its not what the product can do for you its what you can do for the product."

                In this clip of The Simpsons we can see lots of funny satire. This satire is basically making fun of people who buy and use Apple products. The first example of satire is when Lisa asks the store clerk for a fake pair of Mapple head phones called "Iphonies". The clerk says they are 40 dollars and Lisa can’t afford them. This is making fun of how ridiculous the price of Apple products are and how much people spend on their products. Another example of satire is when Homer is learning about a product from Mapple. In the clip Homer is being helped by the store clerk so he can use the product. The clerk says what can you do for the product. this is making fun of how people get so wrapped up in their technology. It is also making fun of how Apple products are so cool and intelligent that you have to do things for them.  

The meaning of hero to me

                                  What does hero mean to you?  Do you have a hero real or fictional?
          I think that the word hero simply means someone you look up to. In comics and movies you can see that a hero is a person who saves lives and helps the world become a better place. I think that in the real world there are heroes that don’t really save lives or help the world become a better place. I think a hero is the idea of someone you wish to be. I have a lot of heroes because there are so many people in my life who I look up to. The people I look up to a lot are some of my family members like my Brother. I also look up to people who have developed and helped the world become a better place. Some of these people are world leaders that inspire me. Other people include great innovators like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. I think in a way all people want to be like Steve and Bill because they have founded this new technology that has not only made them famous but also helped the world greatly. I also have fictional heroes that I like. I don’t really want to be like them but want to have some of the same characteristics as they do. I really like the characters that have to be brave like Harry Potter and Frodo Baggins because these characters are very good about being brave when it is needed most.

Super Cool Project

             This project I though was really cool. One of the cool things was that we got to pick our own group. I think that this sometimes works better if you are with your friends because than you are comfortable sharing ideas and more comfortable talking with them about the project. This of course also has its flaws. Sometimes you will not get a lot of work done with your friends because you are distracted. I think this did happen with our group. Every day we worked on are paragraphs but didn’t really think about the design. When Thursday came we felt like we could just paste everything on the board but because we didn’t plan it out we were a little behind. Overall I really liked this project because we didn’t have to write as much and instead made the poster cool.

When people got up to share their posters I think it was really cool. Most of the movies these groups did I watched and it was cool to make that connection with the hero’s journey. A lot of the posters where really colorful and looked like it took a lot of time to make. I also liked seeing everyone’s theme and the thing in the middle of the poster. In the middle of the poster you are supposed to have a key element that was in the movie. A lot of the middle things on the poster were really cool and made well. Looking at the other groups it looked like they did plan theirs out a little better than my group. My favorite poster was probably the Hercules one because it was so well put together and colorful.