Throughout history, authors around the world have written successful arguments through their own creative reasoning, evidence, diction, and tone. Writers Cornel West and Jonathan Swift are just two of the many authors who have done this. West, in his book Race Matters (1993), argues that Americans need to stop seeing African Americans as “problem people” and instead see society as a whole. Swift argues a similar idea in his essay A Modest Proposal (1729), writing a satirical solution. He argues that Ireland must stop viewing the poor Irish as the problem, but rather all of society and find a solution to the problem together. Both use evidence and logical reasoning, as well as creative diction and tone to write an effective argument. Although West and Swift's essays differ greatly from each other, they both have a unique style and succeed in illustrating the meaning of their arguments. The first factor that strengthens their arguments is each writer's use of logical evidence and reasoning. West uses authoritative sources to emphasize certain points related to his topic. For example, on page 59, he uses a quote from African-American civil rights activist WEB Du Bois to explain the feeling of being seen as the “problem people” in (Western) society. By using a famous figure to represent the true feeling of being seen as an outsider, West touches his audience on an emotional level while providing strong support for his argument. He also provides relevant facts and percentages to support his ideas. For example, when stating what needs to be done to improve the current situation, he states that society must focus on the public and the “common good” and that this ca...... middle of paper ...... and evidence and unique diction and tone to create successful arguments. Race Matters and A Modest Proposal both argue that society must overcome the problems it faces as a whole, and not as divided people, otherwise the problem will not be solved. Yet they were written almost three hundred years apart from each other. If after such a long period of time society has still not realized the complexity of its arguments, then what does this tell us about the world? It is important to analyze powerful arguments like those of West and Swift to learn from the past and improve societies around the world. Works Cited Swift, Jonathan. "A modest proposal." Mercury Reader. Ed. Teresa McKimmey. United States: Pearson, 2010. 82-90. Stampa.Ovest, Cornel. “Race matters.” Mercury Reader. Ed. Teresa McKimmey. United States: Pearson, 2010. 57-63. Press.