Florence Kelley Speech Analysis

483 Words2 Pages

Food on their table, money in their pocket and a roof above their head is a typical day of a child today. Everything is provided for them so easily, they do not have to do anything. There was a time where children had to go through labor in order to feed themselves. Fortunately, a former social worker and reformer, Florence Kelley shone a light into the issue. Her speech on child labor made a difference on child labor laws. She was successful in conveying her message by using rhetorical strategies. The author’s journey reflects the larger truth that children should not be doing labor in order to survive. The author’s message of child labor is reinforced by her use of tricolon. Kelley utilized tricolon on line #18, 29 and 35. She put an emphasis on “while we sleep” to prove that child labor is inhumane. While little girls work for hours upon hours, “we” sleep knowing a child is “knitting stockings” all night long. Florence repeated the phrase in order for the audience to understand how inhumane child labor has become. Little girls deserve to be taken …show more content…

Kelley expressed her emotion by stating how powerless they were. Kelley is fighting for what is right towards child labor laws. Unfortunately, considering she is a woman, she felt powerless towards the system. Although, her emotions were powerful enough to make her message effective. Her passion towards the issue can be seen throughout the passage. Her emotions are clear and it strengthens her message. By utilizing pathos, the author successfully conveyed her message. Florence Kelley’s message was effective towards her audience. By using rhetorical strategies she was successful in conveying her message. Due to the use of powerful rhetorical strategies, Kelley successfully fought for child labor laws. In present time, children have food on their table, money in their pocket and a roof above their heads. “While we sleep” at night, children will be dreaming about their