Rhetorical Analysis Of Ain T I A Woman

Advocate, Sojourner Truth in her persuasive speech, Ain’t I A Woman (1851) argues for her rights and for the rights of women who have worked all of their lives for the life that they are leading instead of for the women who have not worked a day outside and have been “pampered” by the world. She supports her claim by first addressing the demand by women of the North and African Americans for equal rights and claim to the workings of the world, then she states her credential and hard work that she has put into her life that entitle her to those same rights, then she explains why differing intellects has no effect on the rights of women and men, and finally she references the Bible to refute the claim made by a man who believed that women cannot …show more content…
Truth uses repetition at the beginning of her speech to reiterate the importance of equality and to capture the attention of her audience. Sojourner Truth address the uprising issue of woman demanding the same rights as the “white men” and causing a stirring among all the citizens everywhere. She tells of the northern women’s “credentials” that entitle them to these rights. She uses the idea that even though her life was not handed to her on a silver platter or that she has not been lifted up into carriages but has actually worked the fields, had thirteen children, work hard just to feed her children that those are the real credentials that qualify a woman for the same rights as men. She punctuates her mantra by saying “Ain’t I a woman”. As she does this she reiterates the importance of being a woman and working towards equality among every …show more content…
She refers to her knowledge that allows her to explain why this is a ridiculous claim and does not have any relevance to gender equality. She uses facts about the way she was raised to understand her religion and how Christ saw the world and equality. “Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back , and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.” She answers her own question and refutes that man's claim that gender equality was not allowed because of past history involving the gender of Christ. Sojourner Truth uses the allusion strategy not only as a way of convey her message but as a way to refute the ridiculous claim made by a man who was against gender