Thursday, April 21

In-Class:

• Journal:  Look at the picture on page 204. and write how this sketch reinforces ideas that Swift has expressed in his essay.  Cite details from the picture! Then, look at the two cartoons at the bottom of this post and write what they are satirizing.
• We got in to groups and did a 35 point group assignment answering questions about the second half of, "A Modest Proposal."  Each question is worth 5 points and everyone in the group must take turns writing.  All parts of each question must be answered. See worksheet below.

A Modest Proposal: Part 2

• Group Members Names: ________________________________________________________________
  Please answer in complete sentences. Make sure you answer ALL of the questions in each prompt.  Read the passage out loud FIRST; then, go back and answer the questions.  Each person in the group needs to write at least one of the answers (pass the paper around as you go). 
  Irony: the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

  Stereotype: A sweeping generalization about a group or institution
  1.       Read lines 124-158. Based on the narrator’s reference to his American acquaintance in lines 71-74 (pg. 201) and in this passage, how did European people view Americans in 1729?  How can you tell?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  2.       Read the story about Psalmanazar in lines 145-158.  What are Swift’s feelings about the wealthy or favored people in society? How does this passage illustrate that?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  3.       Read lines 159-185.  What is the irony in the statement that the Irish “stay at home on purpose to deliver the kingdom to the Pretender”?  How does the narrator’s tone convey irony specifically in lines 182-185?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  4.       Read lines 186-203.  Please summarize what the narrator says about the cost-benefit of his plan in lines 186-196.  What is Swift Satirizing here?  In other words, what is he implying about how the English view the Irish?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  5.       Read lines 204-232. What is the stereotype the English have of the Irish? What details in the writing show that?  How could this stereotype be used by the English to justify their behavior towards the Irish?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  6.       Read lines 257-265.  Swift expresses his ideas through the narrator, but at times, we can sense his own voice and true feelings.  Where are two places where Swift’s voice comes out through the narrator?
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  7.       Read the rest of the essay.  The last paragraph is the narrator’s last chance to convince the readers to accept his proposal.  What does the narrator say about his motivation in making this proposal? Why is this in and of itself a satire? 
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