Rhetorical Analysis of Two Sentences

Rhetoric may refer to the practice of argumentation that aims to influence or modify the perspectives of the target audience (Herrick, 2005, p. 3). Critically analysing the rhetoric context of an article could help us better apprehend the writer’s rhetoric moves as analytical readers, and attain useful techniques to improve as proficient writers. This essay will be evaluating and comparing the following sentences, which both successfully delivered powerful messages within the gender equality arena yet vary in terms of their rhetorical situation, rhetorical appeals, tone, structure and style.

The sentences:
(1) “Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me, and ain't I a woman?” (Truth, 1851).
(2) “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women's rights - and women's rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely - and the right to be heard” (Clinton, 1995).

While different texts may have various rhetorical situations, each of them corresponds with a number of fundamental components such as the author, audience and purpose. In light of the fact that cultural backgrounds and experiences are critical in shaping the author’s rhetoric moves, it is necessary to examine them first. Truth was one of the most courageous African-American anti-slavery campaigners and probably one of the very first ‘...

... middle of paper ...

... been interested in issues related to gender equality, so it only took me a while to figure out this topic. Nevertheless, the following planning process was puzzling, probably was because the first few pair of sentences I found were always tended to be similar since they were both too formal. It was only until I saw Truth’s speech, which was so different in the rhetorical styles from the conventional feminists’ speeches, I then confirmed my decision and continued my work. I spent a lot of time reading the documentation of the speeches and the slides from Purdue OWL, trying to figure out how to apply the terminologies I learnt into different rhetorical contexts. I found this task really useful as for now I had a better understanding of the knowledge I learnt, and most importantly, I started to know how to apply certain techniques into my writing style in the future.