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Rhetorical Analysis: Equal Rights For Women

Decent Essays

“Equality, the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.” Such a simple concept, yet women throughout the decades have fought for such a basic rights. Venus Williams, Sojourner Truth, and Shirley Chisholm are women ranging from the late 1800s to the early 2000s who fight for women’s rights. These three women had speeches and articles that show their views of women’s rights. These articles and speeches are “Wimbledon Has Sent Me a Message: I’m Only a Second-Class Champion” by Venus Williams, “Ain’t I a Woman?” by Sojourner Truth, and “Equal Rights for Women” by Shirley Chisholm. Logos, pathos, and ethos are part of the variety of persuasive appeals shown throughout the arguments. In Truth, Chisholm, and Williams’s arguments each draw more heavily on a different rhetorical strategy: pathos, logos, ethos.

In Truth’s speech, she used the rhetorical strategy of pathos to appeal to the audience’s emotions and feelings. An example of Truth’s use of pathos is “Nobody ever helps me into carriages or over mud-puddle or gives me any best place!” (Truth 6-7). When Truth …show more content…

An example of Williams’s use of ethos is “The time has come for it to do the right thing by paying men and women the same sums of prize money” (Williams 25-26). This example shows how Williams believe in the right thing and that the audience should follow in her footsteps. A second example is “With power and status comes responsibility” (Williams 24). In this statement, Williams shows her character and beliefs on this topic. A third example is “The All England Club is saying that the accomplishments of the 128 women are worth less than those of 128 men. It diminishes the stature and credibility of such a great event in the eyes of all women” (Williams 40-42). Williams believes in equality, especially at these type of events, and encourages others to stand firm in defending

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