A Rhetorical Analysis Of A Left-Handed Commencement Address

The rhetorical analysis of “A Left-handed Commencement Address” from the famous American author, Ursula Le Guin, known for her speculative fiction, sci-fi and fantasy works, presents the commencement speech at Mills College in 1983. Le Guin addresses the graduating class with motivating words by claiming that women are foreigners and are extremely excluded among the species we refer to as 'Man'. She reinforces her points that males should never tell women what they can and cannot achieve, and that they are capable of doing what men can do as all humans should be equals. Le Guin emphasizes the theme with the use of essay conventions, specifically through the purpose of encouraging people to succeed together in equality and through tone, as she

Le Guin captivates the crowd right away with her opening remarks as she knows. Le Guin addresses her purpose about the patriarchal system without directly implying that she despises men or believes that any particular group of men is to blame, since the fight for gender equality should pursue in harmony and peace rather than against each other. This issue intertwines with her constant change in terminology to evoke different reactions from her audience. She speaks about the graduation gowns and how they tend to. Le Guin entertains the audience by humorously making a joke about men in ceremonial clothes that is uttered in a serious but amusing tone. Thus, Le Guin does not fully direct it towards men as she does not want to beat down on them the same way they have on women. Instead, she encourages them to strive toward success by working

She emphasizes the contrast between what people want in life and how reality will play out by using repetition as in. This becomes a hallmark of the speech when she employs the technique in it, as it truly grabs the audience's attention due its strong language and harsh tone throughout the remainder of her speech. One illustration of this is when Le Guin lists the flaws of men without mentioning any specific man by name. She utilizes personification when she asks. Le Guin sets apart the males who value the rational, admirable, and competitive aspects of life as opposed to the virtues of women. She seems to be looking for a victim, and by calling him Machoman, it is obvious that she is not referring to a specific man, but rather to a type of man in general. In the end, these rhetorical devices aid in bringing together Le Guin's commencement speech, which is packed with similarities and contrasts between males and females. Her speech sounds more poetical and emphasizes the points she wants to make about overcoming failure to achieve success rather than sounding like a prolonged list of