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Womens role in literature over time
Women and gender in American society in the 19th century
Womens role in literature over time
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In, “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker” written by Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers) in 1747, brought up the disparities that were between men and women within the judicial system. Also, “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker” also briefly points out, how religion has been intertwined with politics. All throughout “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker,” Benjamin Franklin uses very intense diction and syntax to help support what he is trying to express to the rest of society. Also writing this speech in the view point of a women, greatly helps establish what he is trying to say. If Benjamin Franklin was to write it as a man, the speech my have not had the same passionate effect as it currently has.
When Polly Baker is facing the judges that are overseeing her court case, she starts by saying, “May it please the Honourable Bench… I am a poor unhappy Women… being hard put to it to get a tolerable Living.” In that small section, Benjamin Franklin stabilizes that Polly Baker is a poor women, who is scraping by from day to day. Polly Baker also goes into stating that she believes, “this Law… is both unreasonable in itself, and particularly sever with regard to me.” This is provided by the writer, Benjamin Franklin, as to why Polly Baker is saying her part to the court before
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Both syntax and diction were largely presented as Polly Baker threw rhetorical questions of why she was being punished legally if it was only supposed to be a religious punishment. Even including that God, himself, helped make her children, even though it was a crime to have children without being married, and her children nicknamed, “Bastard Children.” When all put together “The Speech of Miss Polly Baker” creates a passionate tone that is fighting against the injustice of the judicial system at that
In the passage the author addresses who Ellen Terry is. Not just an actress, but a writer, and a painter. Ellen Terry was remembered as Ellen Terry, not for her roles in plays, pieces of writing, or paintings. Throughout the essay the author portrays Ellen Terry in all aspects of her life as an extraordinary person by using rhetorical techniques such as tone, rhetorical question, and comparison.
In early American History Ben Franklin was known for being a different kind of person. He never followed the rules like everyone else and always “marched to the beat of his own drum”. This difference from everyone else made Franklin a prominent figure in early American society. Franklin also used this to help get his beliefs across subtly. One way he does this is in “The Trail of Miss Polly Baker”. On the surface, this story is just about a women pleading to a jury about the punishments she has been given. People in this society saw this as a little hearted story that was created for entertainment purposes. But if you dive deeper into the text you can see that Ben Franklin is actually using satire to take jabs at how society and the judicial system treats women. In this story he uses satire with a sarcastic tone to help get his point
Samir Boussarhane During the early 20th century in the U.S, most children of the lower and middle class were workers. These children worked long, dangerous shifts that even an adult would find tiresome. On July 22, 1905, at a convention of the National Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia, Florence Kelley gave a famous speech regarding the extraneous child labor of the time. Kelley’s argument was to add laws to help the workers or abolish the practice completely.
In Maxine Hong Kingston story, “No Name Woman,” the author told a story of her aunt who was punished for committing adultery and died in order to express her thought and spirit of revolt of the patriarchal oppression in the old Chinese society. My essay will analyze the rhetoric and the technique of using different narrators to represent the article and expound the significance of using those methods in the article.
Florence Kelley was a social and political reformer that fought for woman’s suffrage and child labor laws. Her speech to the National American Woman’s Suffrage Association initiated a call to action for the reform of child labor laws. She explains how young children worked long and exhausting hours during the night and how despicable these work conditions were. Kelley’s use of ethos, logos, pathos, and repetition helps her establish her argument for the reform of the child labor laws.
I chose this word because the tone of the first chapter seems rather dark. We hear stories of the hopes with which the Puritans arrived in the new world; however, these hopes quickly turned dark because the Purtains found that the first buildings they needed to create were a prison, which alludes to the sins they committed; and a cemetery, which contradicts the new life they hoped to create for themselves.
In “The Speech of Polly Baker”, a woman by the name of Miss Polly Baker has had enough! “She is being dragged before the courts yet another time of having sexual intercourse while being unmarried.” (Norton) This speech was addressed to the courts, especially the judges, one of whom she had one of her five children with. This speech was in hopes that she could avoid this ridiculous fine that she’d be paying for the fifth
Who is put on trial due to five counts of wedlock (having children when not married). Due to being underfunded, Miss Baker represents herself against a court of only men. Polly Baker sees that she has done no wrong, and yet has been dragged into court multiple of times facing fines, and public embarrassment. Miss Baker then peruses to plead to the court and ask them to persuade the governor to remit her fine in this case. “This is the Fifth Time, Gentlemen, that I have been dragg’d before your Courts on the same Account; twice I have paid heavy fines, and twice have been brought to public Punishment, for want of money to pay for those fines” (The Norton Anthology, The Speech of Miss Polly Baker. Pg. 464). Miss Baker continues to argue her case saying that after each account of wedlock, not once was the child’s father held accountable. This pushes the point of view Benjamin Franklin’s earnest plea for women’s equality. Miss Baker then states that it should be “Praise worthy” that she is having all these children, for it will help repopulate the world. Miss Polly Baker states that she is the only one being wronged out of this whole situation she is in. She says her first husband betrayed her, and her former lover is now a magistrate and a pillar of the community, but she keeps getting fined and punished, when he hasn’t even been questioned about a wed locked child. The
When Thomas Jefferson wrote the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, it became one of his greatest legacies. In the first line he wrote, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal" (U.S. Constitution, paragraph 2). Jefferson wrote these words to give inspiration to future generations in the hopes that they would be able to change what he either would or could not. The word “men” in the Declaration in the early 1700 and 1800’s meant exactly that, but even then it only was true for some men, not all. Women, children, and other segments of the population such as slaves and Native Americans were clearly not included. Jefferson himself was a slave owner and held the belief that women were inferior to men. Though women played no role in the political environment, they were crucial to the development and economic success of the times. The strength, courage and work ethic of pioneer women like Martha Ballard in “A Midwife’s Tale” (Thatcher, 1990) created the very fabric of the community and wove it together so the community could thrive.
...Throughout American history, many men and women have faced difficulties such as inequality, and discrimination. However, with perseverance and determination, both early colonists, and women, have overcome these things. Women, now have every right that men do. As for the colonist; we have our own government, not a British one. “The Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson uses pathos and diction to express why the colonies need to be free and independent from British rule. “The Declaration of Sentiments,” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott uses logos and analogies to reveal how unequally women are treated. Finally, “A Disappointed Woman,” by Lucy Stone uses ethos and imagery to describe how women were treated and to demand equality for them. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal” (Stanton and Mott).
Creative Section Prompt: Write a scene where an “unlovable” character is involved in a surprising or unexpected hobby or appreciation for something.
Marriage is the biggest and final step between two young people who love one another more than anything. In the marriage proposals by Charles Dickens and Jane Austen we are able to see two different reasons for marriage. While Dickens takes a more passionate approach, Austen attempts a more formal and logical proposal. Rhetorical strategies, such as attitude and diction, have a great impact on the effect the proposals have on the women.
Consider the ethnicity that you identify as; how would you react if your culture or ancestors were not depicted correctly in the media? Sadly, all ethnicities have stereotypes that often shape the way that people view that certain race. Focusing on one ethnicity, Native Americans are viewed many different ways, depending on the person. Often times, the media is most responsible for creating movies or books that misinform the public about Native American values, culture, or history because of common stereotypes and the lack of knowledge about the history of Natives.
Benjamin Franklin has been without a doubt one of the most relevant individuals in US history. His autobiography gives us a brief but detailed summary of what his life was like and how society worked in the eighteen century. This autobiography gives us many details of how the colonies where and offers and an overall image of the development of British North America which later turned into the United States. Due to the fact that this book was originally written for Franklin's son, the book concentrates in personal information and has very little information about other topics. However, there are some topics that can be extracted from his writings; one of them is gender. Even though, Franklin never talks openly about gender, we can observe how in his writing these roles are clearly assigned. In this paper, we will analyze how Benjamin's Franklin autobiography showcases the importance of gender in the early eighteenth century. Gender can be analyzed in Franklins book by looking at different topics. This given to men and women by society can be seen in the workspace, in the education of each individual, and in the family and family structure.
This letter became famous as it is known and the start of the women rights movement. She pushes for the education of women and worries of the future generations of young girls. She writes her husband, “If you complain of neglect of education in sons, what shall I say with regard to daughters, who every day experience the want of it?” (Adams 144). She urges for a more liberal plan that might benefit the upcoming generations, mainly women. Adams says there would be great benefit in the “literary accomplishments of women” (Adams 144). Women’s being educated was an issue that deemed of little importance to men and even some women in Colonial America. Women did not believe they would ever have a voice or much less, the right to vote. That would change after the American