Rhetorical Analysis By Maria W. Stewart

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Maria W. Stewart Analysis In this excerpt of a lecture given by Maria W. Stewart in the year 1832, she has a strong point: Although the African Americans in the northern colonies were free, they were not treated equal as the white people were. Stewart uses a variety of rhetorical strategies to bring her point in the situation, such as argument, compare and contrast, and appeal to ethos. Along with the persistent and serious tone, it is clear that she sees the unfair treatment of African Americans a major problem. Stewart says “I am willing to die by the sword as the pestilence; for I am a true born American; your blood flows through my veins, and your spirit fires my breast.” The strong use of metaphor helps emphasize the fact that she is as American as anyone else born in the US, as well as the fact that she is willing to die for the sake of her country. The tone and syntax she uses conveys her position on equal rights. Furthermore, her multiple use of the word “again” stresses her central idea. …show more content…

She says that “the whites have so long and so loudly proclaimed the theme of equal rights and privileges, that our souls have caught the flame also,”. This means that the whites have always declared that they should have equal rights, but when it came to the African Americans, they were ignored or looked down on. This is only one of the many ways she uses compare and contrast to show how unfairly they were

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