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Modest_Proposal-I_Have_a_Dream_Questions (3)

The document contains review questions for Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' and Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, focusing on their meanings, writing strategies, and language use. It prompts readers to analyze the authors' arguments, purposes, and rhetorical techniques, including irony, emotional appeal, and metaphor. The questions encourage critical thinking about the texts' historical contexts and their impact on audiences.

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laura.sanford
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24 views

Modest_Proposal-I_Have_a_Dream_Questions (3)

The document contains review questions for Jonathan Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' and Martin Luther King Jr.'s 'I Have a Dream' speech, focusing on their meanings, writing strategies, and language use. It prompts readers to analyze the authors' arguments, purposes, and rhetorical techniques, including irony, emotional appeal, and metaphor. The questions encourage critical thinking about the texts' historical contexts and their impact on audiences.

Uploaded by

laura.sanford
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“A Modest Proposal” – Questions for Review Name:__________________

Period:__________________
Question on Meaning

1. On the surface, what is Swift proposing?

2. Beneath his IRONY, what is Swift’s argument

3. What do you take to be the PURPOSE of Swift’s essay?

4. How does the introductory paragraph serve Swift’s purpose?

5. Comment on the statement “I can think of no one objection that will possibly be
raised against this proposal” (par. 29). What objections can you think of?

Questions on Writing Strategy

1. Describe the mask of the personage through whom Swift writes.

2. By what means does the writer attest to his reasonableness?

3. At what point in the essay did it become clear to you that the proposal isn’t modest
by horrible?

4. As an ARGUMENT, does “A Modest Proposal” appeal primarily to reason or to


emotion?

5. What does Swift’s argument gain by his careful attention to PROCESS ANALYSIS and
to CAUSE AND EFFECT?

Question on Language

1. How does Swift’s choice of word enforce the monstrousness of his proposal? Note
especially words from the vocabulary of breeding and butchery.
“I Have a Dream” – Questions for Review
Questions on Meaning
1. What is the apparent PURPOSE of this speech?

2. What THESIS does King develop in his first four paragraphs?

3. What does King mean by the “marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the
Negro community” (par. 60)? Does this contradict King’s nonviolent philosophy?

4. In what passages of his speech does King notice events of history? Where does he
acknowledge the historic occasion on which he is speaking?

Questions on Writing Strategy


1. What indicates that King’s words were meant primarily for an AUDIENCE of listeners,
and only secondarily for a reading audience? To hear these indications, try reading
the speech aloud. What uses of PARALLELISM do you notice?

2. Where in the speech does King acknowledge that not all of his listeners were African
American?

3. How much EMPHASIS does King place on the past? How much does he place on the
future?

4. Analyze the ETHICAL APPEAL of King’s ARGUMENT. Where in the speech, for
instance, doe she present himself as reasonable despite his passion? To what extent
does his personal authority lend power to his words?

5. The DESCRIPTION in paragraphs 2 and 4 depends on metaphor, a FIGURE OF SPEECH


in which one thing is said to be another thing. How do the metaphors in these
paragraphs work for king’s purpose?

Questions on Language

1. In general, is the language of King’s speech ABSTRACT or CONCRETE? How is this


level appropriate to his message and to the span of history with which he deals?

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