STARTER
Class Biz
JUSTICE MONOLOGUES (45 minutes)
**************************************************************************************************************************** Ashley will go over important context on "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift (Thanks Wikipedia!) 1. WHAT IS SATIRE? the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. 2. CONTEXT "A Modest Proposal" is a satirical say written and published anonymously by Jonathan Swift in 1729. The essay suggests that the impoverished Irish might ease their economic troubles by selling their children as food to rich gentlemen and ladies. This satirical hyperbole mocked heartless attitudes towards the poor, as well as British policy toward the Irish in general. In English writing, the phrase "a modest proposal" is now conventionally an allusion to this style of straight-faced satire. Swift's essay is widely held to be one of the greatest examples of sustained irony in the history of the English language. Much of its shock value derives from the fact that the first portion of the essay describes the plight of starving beggars in Ireland, so that the reader is unprepared for the surprise of Swift's solution when he states: "A young healthy child well nursed, is, at a year old, a most delicious nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."[1] George Wittkowsky argued that Swift's main target in A Modest Proposal was not the conditions in Ireland, but rather the can-do spirit of the times that led people to devise a number of illogical schemes that would purportedly solve social and economic ills.[2] Swift was especially attacking projects that tried to fix population and labour issues with a simple cure-all solution. Watch "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift (12 minutes) FINAL JUSTICE ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW: "An Immodest Proposal" --> Who would like a printed copy of this document? Note from Ashley #Empathy #TryitBeforeYouTeachIt I did this assignment over the weekend. It took me about 6 hours to do everything from brainstorming and choosing a topic through Part 4. I haven't done Part 5 yet, but I think that will take me 30 minutes. So 6.5 hours in all! You all will have at least 13 class days, almost entirely devoted to work time with the exception of some peer critiques and mini-lessons. That's at least 20 hours of work time in class alone. If you are using your class time well, you SHOULD NOT have homework.
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Ashley CarruthHumanities teacher at Animas High School Archives
May 2021
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