Florence Kelley Rhetorical Analysis
Florence Kelley in her July 22, 1905 speech to the National American Suffrage Association fights for an end of child labor in the United States. Kelley argues that the children are enslaved and the task of working men and women should be "freeing the children from toil." Through her use of identification with the audience and her appeal to both logos and pathos, Kelley conveys her view on child labor and persuades the audience to aid her by going in the battle to end child labor.
Initially, Kelley shows her view of child labor to the audience through identifying herself with them. She shows her own identity and view while challenging a similar identity of the audience. Kelley's use rhetorical questions such as “if the mothers and the teachers …show more content…
She also creates a strong appeal to pathos. Through her repetition of "while we sleep" and "freeing the children" Kelley forms a connection between the children and her audiences' consciences. She makes the audience feel that "none of us shall be able to free our consciences from participation in this great evil." Kelley makes the audience involved and responsible for this "great evil." She also accomplishes this pathos appeal due to her juxtaposition of the children to the mothers. She claims that while the mothers are sleeping, the children are working. The children are working to make goods the mothers will buy and use. This further stains the consciences of the mothers and others hearing her speech. She leaves the women wondering how they could be so fortunate, and the children so helpless. In addition, she appeals to the audiences' pathos by using examples and illustrations of children and their workplaces. The workplace is a "deafening noise," the little girls are "just tall enough to reach the bobbins," and one little girl is "carrying her pail of midnight luncheon as happier people carry their midday luncheon." Kelley's illustration of these girls gives yet another face to the issue of child labor. Kelley's strong pathos causes the audience to become involved in the child labor issue directly and ultimately persuades them to side with Kelley.
Kelley convinces her audience to
Initially, Kelley shows her view of child labor to the audience through identifying herself with them. She shows her own identity and view while challenging a similar identity of the audience. Kelley's use rhetorical questions such as “if the mothers and the teachers …show more content…
She also creates a strong appeal to pathos. Through her repetition of "while we sleep" and "freeing the children" Kelley forms a connection between the children and her audiences' consciences. She makes the audience feel that "none of us shall be able to free our consciences from participation in this great evil." Kelley makes the audience involved and responsible for this "great evil." She also accomplishes this pathos appeal due to her juxtaposition of the children to the mothers. She claims that while the mothers are sleeping, the children are working. The children are working to make goods the mothers will buy and use. This further stains the consciences of the mothers and others hearing her speech. She leaves the women wondering how they could be so fortunate, and the children so helpless. In addition, she appeals to the audiences' pathos by using examples and illustrations of children and their workplaces. The workplace is a "deafening noise," the little girls are "just tall enough to reach the bobbins," and one little girl is "carrying her pail of midnight luncheon as happier people carry their midday luncheon." Kelley's illustration of these girls gives yet another face to the issue of child labor. Kelley's strong pathos causes the audience to become involved in the child labor issue directly and ultimately persuades them to side with Kelley.
Kelley convinces her audience to