Florence Kelley's Summary: The Rhetorical Analysis Of Child Labor

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Childhood is an age of bliss where innocence holds oneself tightly. Tragically, American history disagrees. As industrialization started to become one of the biggest leading powers in American economy and society during the early 20th century, businesses began to hire whomever they could, including children. In July 22, 1905 in Philadelphia, Florence Kelley took an appalled but determined tone when she spoke out against child labor in an effort to give women voting rights to right this wrong. By using sound rhetorical language, diction, and rhetorical appeals such as pathos and logos, Kelley was able to create a vivid speech that reflects on the inhumane ways child labor inflicts harm on the innocence that describes childhood, as well as convince the audience that women’s suffrage is the solution to this immoral problem. Firstly, Florence Kelley uses rhetorical devices such as epistrophe, oxymorons, rhetorical questioning, and hypophora in order to fulfill her purpose. Kelley uses epistrophe in Line 6, “Men increase, …show more content…

In addition, Kelley uses oxymorons in Line 23, “enjoy the pitiful privilege of working all night long.” The use of oxymorons engages the audience in a puzzling way in order to emphasize her purpose that child labor is a serious matter, and takes a sarcastic tone by insinuating that working all night long is not a privilege -- it is a moral crime. Kelley also uses