Many issues have surrounded our society in the past century. From war to the poor treatment of African Americans to the lack of women’s rights, American has seen it all. Fortunately for the land of the free and home of the brave, we, as Americans, have been able to overcome most of these issues. One of the most well known traveling preachers and pro-women’s rights activists is Sojourner Truth, also known as Isabella Baumfree. Truth started out as a slave but once the state of New York emancipated all of the slaves within the state borders. Once she was out of freedom, she became a traveling preacher who argued for abolition and women’s rights. In 1851, Truth gave a speech at a women’s convention which was later transcribed and published and named Ain’t I a Woman? Truth used rhetorical strategies to convey a powerful message and leave the readers in awe for years to come.
The repetition in this article has a lot to do with the message that Truth is trying to convey. “And ain’t I a woman?” is said multiple times during the second paragraph while also showing examples. Said examples back up that question Truth asks. That single question is not only the title of this speech and publication but it is also the main point. Sojourner fought for women’s rights, not only for voting and things of that nature, but for the right of black women to be treated the same as white women. Once the slaves were set free in New York, there were some bad bloods between the two races which provoked the whites to treat the blacks poorly. “And ain’t I a woman?” being said multiple times brought forth the question asking why women were treated differently causing gender relations to be questioned along with race relations.
Vernacular is commonly noticed when it comes to reading an essay, or speech in this case, written by a person of another race. Vernacular is especially evident in Ain’t I a Woman. This is not shocking as it is a speech. In short, vernacular is the way people talk. One of the biggest things one will learn in any type of speech class is that they have to appeal to the audience based on age, gender, beliefs of the audience, and any other type of demographic that can easily be seen or is known prior to the speech. Truth used her vernacular in this speech to reach a broader audience. Not only did the vernacular make it easier on herself, but it also appealed to black women and any white women who were interested. The introduction is full of Truth’s vernacular. It says, “Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt the negroes of the South and the women of the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?” Some of the words including “kilter” or “twixt” might be confusing to people now considering those two words aren’t used as much as they used to be. As stated earlier, this speech was transcribed but this didn’t happen for a quite a while after the speech was given. Why did it take so long? Easy! Truth used so much vernacular that it could hardly be understood. Using the superfluous amount of vernacular Truth included in the original speech is what really got people on her side, specifically black women.
Examples are always good ways to get a point across. Somebody could use one example and get their point across. One thing with examples is that if one really wants to get their point across, they will use more than just one example. Three or four examples are average for a writing but to get them to stick forever, more examples may be necessary. Truth uses examples that back up the repeated phrase of, “and ain’t I a woman?” Most of the examples are used to drive in the fact that black women aren’t treated near as well as a white women. Truth says, “That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman?” The examples included in that quote are the things about carriages, ditches, mud puddles, and best places. In this time period, chivalry was still alive and a majority of the time, chivalry happened between white men and white women. The men would hold the door open for the white women but when a black woman comes up they walk in and let the door shut behind them. Truth was aware of this and included the examples in the speech to get the other women to open their eyes and see the unfair treatment. For this speech, more examples are necessary to get the point across and Truth uses just the right amount of them.
There are people who say Sojourner Truth was the main start towards the change in race and gender relations. Truth lit the fire that spread to people like Jane Addams, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X. What made Truth such an effective speaker and activist was the type of rhetoric she used such as her strong repetitive phrases, extreme vernacular, and straight to the point examples. When women think of why or how they have rights, they should think of Sojourner Truth and the things she accomplished.
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