Swift Essay Research Paper A comparison of

Swift Essay, Research Paper

A comparison of the major changes in American enterprise

indicated in the writings of

Jonathan Swift (pre-20th Century) and Herman Melville (20th Century).

Abstract

The authors of the selected works, Jonathan Swift’s essay "A Modest

Proposal" and Herman Melville’s "Case: Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story

of Wall Street", the reader can imagine the poor working conditions in the

early time of our industrial growth. In Swift’s proposal it was apparent that

the poverty of Ireland was of major concern during the 1700’s. Swift, in his

satire reflects on the class distinctions of the very wealthy and the extremely

poor. In Herman Melville’s essay it is apparent that life on Wall Street,

although the character Bartleby was apparently bankrupt in more than financial

ways, business life has considerably change for that time era to the typical

businesses of our modern time.

Assessment of Jonathan Swift’s essay, "A Modest Proposal"

Jonathan Swift was a satirist writer and at first when reading this proposal,

the reader is appalled by the perverse and cruel idea that he was proposing. The

reader would have to know that this was a satire to understand that he has taken

the proposal to an extreme. Swift was considered to be an intellectual and

philosopher and attempts to enlighten the reader of the problem of the poor and

desolate of Ireland. Swift criticizes the false values of society of that time

by exaggerating his possible solution of the problem in his perverse proposal.

The criticism of the rich was the suggestion that they would enjoy the delicacy

of eating yearling children as food. He infers the extremely wealthy would

rather eat the problem than solve the problem by coming up with another feasible

and acceptable solution. Swift brings to light the fact that the poor was

society’s problem and not the unfortunate state, an accident of being born to

the wrong side of humanity, or the unfit for life people in Ireland. His satire

makes you wonder how ignored by the wealthy and people of status were this

problem. He sees the wealthy as the consumers of life and resources and their

prosperity makes them responsible to find ways to help this social problem. The

suggestion that the wealthy would raise, market and eat human kind was an insult

and enlightenment to the wealthy. I believe his intent was to bring awareness of

the lack of the prosperous to address this problem. The sad part is that there

were probably many who actually thought it would be a good way to alleviate the

problem.

Assessment of Herman Melville’s essay,

"Case: Bartleby the Scrivener: A story of Wall Street"

Melville’s essay "Bartleby the Scrivener" dramatizes the mechanical

and inhumanity of the business world was. Symbolism to convey the feeling of the

mechanization and demoralizing atmosphere of big business was used. Bartleby was

like a robot and although he was doing his work at first lacked any social

graces. He does his work like a machine, pushing on until it was turned off. The

employer was perplexed in how to deal with this person. His compassion or his

inability to lead allows Bartleby to rebel against authority. Bartleby becomes a

mindless shell and demonstrates mental illness either cause by his life

situation or the business. Bartleby stares at a brick wall outside the window

for long periods of time and again while in prison. The walls represent big

business and paint a dull, dark, dreary, lifeless, cold and incapable to

feeling. Bartleby seems helpless to change his plight in business. His other

job, we learn was dealing with dead letters suggest that Bartleby was dead

inside already. There was no mention of family or friends, just the job. The

frequent use of the word "prefer" becomes a joke to co-workers. Most

people would prefer not to do things requested in business but do them anyway.

Bartleby completely shuts down mentally, eventually physically and dies. Did big

business kill him or was it suicide cause by a deeper mental problem. That is up

to the reader to decide.

Comparison

Historically, Swift’s essay shows how the culture in Ireland was of the

"have and have not". Prosperity in the 1700’s in Ireland was of

extreme wealth or extreme poverty. The wealthy were people of means and likely

to be the businessman and socialites of Ireland. Business was not available to

the poor. Jobs were not plentiful and wages, if you had a job was meager. Those

who could not support themselves resorted to begging, stealing and other

dishonest means of survival. The wealthy regarded them with disgust and wish

them away rather than deal with this social problem. Swift’s essay brings to

light the inhumanity of regarding the poor as less than human, a common faulty

social va

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