Virginian Luxuries Rhetorical Analysis

In the document “Virginian Luxuries”, there is a clear presence of racism, slavery and gender roles. Depicted on the right side, a Caucasian man, presumably a slave-holder, is shown kissing a Negro woman. This could be perceived as a Negro woman be used temporarily for this slave-holder’s pleasure. On the opposite side of this document, a Negro woman is depicted being whipped by a different Caucasian slave-holder. Once more, a woman is just an object used for slavery to this man’s eyes. Another important concept in “Virginian Luxuries”, is the clear lack of detail in the Negro women’s faces. In the slave-holder’s faces, there are clear, detailed faces, but in the Negro women’s faces, there appears to be a lack of detail in their faces. This could because …show more content…
With diction such as “…part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” Which is then followed by a list explaining that men have control over women, and explain how women have no voice. These examples explain the nature of gender roles in the 19th century by showing that women were not equal to men, couldn’t vote in a legal system, couldn’t obtain a college education, and were heavily disrespected, treated unfairly and unequally, and were oppressed by men.
Based upon this knowledge of the gender roles in the 19th century, it is acceptable to believe these sentiments. It is clearly stated in the Declaration of Independence that “All men and women are created equal”, yet for centuries, women had, and remain oppressed. It wasn’t until almost 150 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, that women could even vote. The fight for simple basic human rights, the fight to have a voice in a world over powered by Caucasian males, is a struggle, and the fight women have fought these last few hundred years is at the