Rhetoric Devices in Sojourner Truths Speech.

Rhetoric Devices in Sojourner Truths Speech.

  • Submitted By: emmawebb
  • Date Submitted: 03/15/2011 6:09 AM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1018
  • Page: 5
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Women’s rights, what do you know about them? A lot? Not much at all? Do you know of present rights? This room is full of women, and ladies, do you know your rights? Do you know what it was like to be who you are now, back in the 1850’s? Sojourner Truth did, she knew what it was like and she sure showed how she felt about it with her speech.
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Isabella Baumfree, known as Sojourner Truth delivered her speech “Ain’t I A Women” in 1851 at the Women's Convention in Akron, Ohio. Her speech was about particular women’s rights within the time frame. Women’s rights in the 1850’s were very low; women weren’t even allowed to vote until 1893, which was just for the New Zealand women anyway. She mainly spoke of white women over Negros women’s rights and of how white women didn’t have much respect in the first place.

I have one question for you; has much changed?

Truth told us of her life with such a passion. Telling her audience about societies view on women and how they are to be treated. Yet she never received such treatment. The man who spoke before her said, “women ‘need’ to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have to best place everywhere’. But Truth never had help getting into carriages or over ‘mud-puddles’ and she never received the best place, but, “ain’t she a women?”
There is also sexism present, with the speaker before her, the word “need” is used over many other terms, that doesn’t insinuate that women are incapable of doing things for themselves, why not use a word like “should” instead? There a plenty more like ‘ought’ and ‘could’.

The truth is, not much has changed. Sure, some women do get helped when getting out of cars and when they’re stepping over puddles on the pavement and some men give some women a spot, even if its just a seat on a packed bus.

Truths use of language is very interesting and it slightly gives away her education level. Just by the title containing “ain’t” a word not recognized by the English...

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