My Modest Proposal

            There are a few issues in the world that need to be addressed. The biggest issues in America seem to be gas prices and obesity. Statistics shows that 63% of Americans are either overweight or obese. When more than half the country is plus sized, the issue needs to be taken care of. Obesity starts at a young age now-a-days. Another huge problem in the United States is the price of gas. In San Francisco, gas prices rose to $3.96 a gallon over the past year. If the government could find a solution to both of these problems at the same time, America would be better off.

            Obesity is an issue that can be addressed very easily. If people that are overweight just choose to spend some time at the gym, they would be healthier. Gas prices on the other hand are a global dilemma. The problem with gas is that we don’t have control over it. We rely on other countries to give us the amount of gas we need. America should only give out gas to people under a certain weight. Stepping on a scale before you pump gas should be able to decide whether you need it or not. It would be embarrassing to some people but an effective way to create change. Fat people that aren’t given gas should be forced to ride a bicycle or walk to where they need to go. This would cause them to shed some pounds and decrease the obesity rate in the United States. Gas would be better managed if it was only distributed to 37% of the country. It seems like a drastic solution but it would only benefit the country.

            Killing two birds with one stone would make life easier for the government. If their jobs were far away, it wouldn’t take long for obese people to lose their extra weight. No one would complain about the price of gas if it was limited to a select few. They could pass one law that would change two major problems in the United States.

Letters From Birmingham

3. Ethos-

"While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely."

"I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia."

Pathos-

"But since I feel that you are men of genuine good will and that your criticisms are sincerely set forth, I want to try to answer your statement in what I hope will be patient and reasonable terms."

"A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God."

Logos-“But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.”

Literary Devices

2.  Absurdity- “The constant breeders, besides the gain of eight shillings sterling per annum by the sale of their children...”
     Blue Humor- “We should soon see an honest emulation among the married women, which of them could bring the fattest child to the market.”

     Black Comedy- “Infant’s flesh will be in season throughout the year, but more plentiful in March, and a little before and after…”

Thesis: In A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift tries to develop and alternate solution by using absolute absurdity, witty blue humor, and situational black comedy to come up with a way to decrease the population of infants.

Kiss and Tell Paragraph

          Explaining how a seemingly perfect romantic date could turn seriously awkward, Alain de Botton uses faint characterization to display the theme of humor. What seems to be a nice date with her new boyfriend, Isabel runs into her parents in the same theatre. Her mother and completely out of the ordinary father do nothing but embarass her in the theatre. de Botton describes her father as being very odd, "im looking at the light fixtures they have." Instead of looking at the stage and watching the play, he was staring at the ceiling admiring the lights.