Rhetorical Analysis Of Isn T I A Woman

AIN'T I A WOMAN? by Sojourner Truth is an exceptional speech that works well to create and prove persuasive points. In her speech, Truth effectively uses logos to appeal to her audience. Logos is an appeal to logic, and seeks to persuade an audience through reason. Throughout her speech, Truth uses logical statements and arguments to reason with the audience. One such argument is why women are equal to men. Truth points out that men think women shouldn’t have rights because Christ wasn’t a woman. Then she points out that Christ was made from God and a woman, and that men had nothing to do with it. Using facts and knowledge, she questions the validity of the argument, and logically dispels it. Another example of this is when she says “["intellect"]
That's it, honey. What's that got to do with women's rights or negroes' rights?”. This question uses logos by giving a clear, logical statement of how intellect has nothing to do with discrimination.
Truth’s stance is for women’s rights. She believes that women should have the same rights as men, and that all women, no matter of race, should receive these rights. If she has any bias, it is toward African American women, and against white men that treat them badly or unequally. This isn’t, however, a bias so much as a belief. She believes that women and men are created equal, and is biased against anyone who does not believe this. This belief is the main point of Truth’s speech. Her message is that all people- regardless of gender or race -are created equal. More specifically, her point is that women deserve and should have the same rights as men. Her goal in this speech is to raise awareness of this idea. At this point on time, many people did not consider men and women equal, and the idea of women having equal rights didn’t seem natural or obligatory to them. Truth wanted to encourage and spread belief of female equality, especially when pertaining to African American women’s rights.
Sojourner Truth offers several reasons to prove her points.
She also uses reasoning to pick apart arguments against women’s rights. She starts with the premise that men and women are created equal, and should be entitled to the same rights. She argues that men and women are alike, and rhetorically asks why both genders can do the same things but are treated so differently. She cites several similarities, saying she has ploughed, planted, gathered, worked, eaten, and beared a lash as well as any man. She questions the supposed differences between men and women, and even mentions cases of when she was stronger than a man- such as bearing thirteen children, or watching them all be sold into slavery. Next, Truth questions why people discriminate, and points out the fallacies of discriminating because of intellect. She creates the premise that people have no logical reason for discrimination, and flips the argument used for prejudice. She also appeals to her audience’s sympathies by asking why people with more (intellect) don’t give to people with less. She tears apart an argument about how women shouldn’t have rights because Christ wasn’t a woman by pointing out that he came from God and a woman, and that men weren’t even involved. Finally, she references the Bible to say that if Eve could turn the world upside down by herself, then a large group of women together should be able to have enough rights and control over themselves to change it
again.
The element Sojourner Truth most focused on in her speech was comparing black and white women’s rights. She used repetition of the phrase “And ain't I a woman?” to show the differences between women of the two races, and to emphasize how different their treatment was. She also focused on mentioning and taking apart the arguments for discrimination against all women. She mentioned several “justifications” for not giving women equal rights, then explained why they were illogical.
Throughout her speech, Sojourner Truth used a provocative tone.
This can be seen in lines such as “And ain't I a woman?”, “the white men will be in a fix pretty soon”, and “And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them”. She also uses this tone when calling out different men in the audience, and pointing out things they have said. This tone is very effective, because it questions and calls out misconceptions and errors men have about women. It also shames the people who have them, and inspires women by letting them know it is okay to point out when people have those ideas. The other tone Truth used was strong and authoritative. She questioned why men should decide what a woman can and cannot do, and explained her arguments as fact. This tone was also very effective, as it made her arguments feel stronger, and helped to prove her points and make them stick. Truth changes from her provocative tone to a strong tone to finalize her arguments. This switch is very effective, because it works to conclusively make her points about female and racial
equality.
Sojourner Truth’s speech itself was very effective. It worked well to raise awareness for her ideas, and to make clear arguments as to why women should have equal rights with men. Her speech is excellently done, and is able to deliver clear, concise reasoning in a short amount of time. It is also persuasive, proving reasons for her audience to change their views- or further agree -with her own views. Overall, Sojourner Truth’s speech was well written, well reasoned, and very effective.