This essay, written by Jonathan Swift, is a satirical piece that criticizes and pokes fun at good manners and superficial behaviors. Analyzing the essay, I would start off focusing on the fact that at the beginning of the essay, Swift begins writing in a very literate and ornate manner. His vivid and elegant diction make the reader admire his way of writing. He starts off talking about good manners and how important and complex they are. Then I would talk about how through the essay, he contorts his and the readers view of manners. He uses irony and imagery when giving examples in order to make the reader realize how simpleminded the whole notion of good manners existing truly is. Towards the end of the essay, he flips his view and ultimately says that good manners don't really exist. He uses a sonnet-like flip that opens the reader's mind to the author's true beliefs. I would try to connect this with the Canterbury Tales which we learned about and how there is a parallel in how both authors use the target that they are criticizing as a method of criticizing it in a very Don Quixote-like manner.
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