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Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Breakthrough And I Am Black Woman'

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Mari Evans and Carolyn Rodgers were poets and writers who were associated with the Black Arts Movement. These educated women had writings that get broken apart today to deeply understand the context and point of views they shared. Mari Evans’s writings studies African American uniqueness and focuses on the idea of all things black: social, cultural, and economical aspects. Carolyn Rodgers was considered an important poet in the late 20th century because she examined feminism and black power. She also assisted in creating the identity with her self-conscious and spiritual beliefs. Both Evans and Rodgers were born in the early 20th century and passed away at the beginning of the 21st century. The death of these two black women were less than …show more content…

Better known as monumental figures, Evans and Rodgers are remembered and studied today because of their scholarly poetry and devotions to black women and the black identity. Two pieces of writings that will be examined through a rhetorical analysis are: “Breakthrough” by Carolyn Rodgers and “I am a Black Woman” by Mari Evans. These two poems can be examined through a double theoretical lens of the Womanist theory and Aristotle’s Three Proofs Theory (ethos, pathos, and logos). The purpose of this rhetorical analysis is to compare and distinguish differences while using double theoretical lenses between Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos and the Womanist theory with Carolyn Rodgers “Breakthrough” and Mari Evans “I am a Black Woman” in order to properly show rhetoric in two black women’s views regarding each phase of the Womanist theory and each part of Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and …show more content…

A double theoretical framework will be beneficial to offer critical analysis regarding the rhetoric illustrated in “Breakthrough” and “I am a Black Woman”. The two theoretical frameworks that will be used are: The Womanist theory theoretical framework and Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos theoretical framework. Aristotle’s framework will focus on three core factors in directly analyzing both works: ethos (ethics and credibility), pathos (emotion and value), and logos (logical reasoning and comparisons). In addition, the Womanist theory will also be compared and distinguished with the three Aristotle frameworks by including three versions of the Womanist theory: womanish behavior and grown up expressions, the love for women sexually and/or non-sexually, and the parallelism to a Womanist being a feminist as to purple is being of lavender. Also, the diverse “loves” of a black woman can be expressed through pathos by a black woman’s emotions for certain things and people. Both theoretical frameworks will be suitable for the rhetorical analysis of Mari Evans and Carolyn Rodgers and their pieces of unique writings. The main idea of the Womanist theory is looking at concepts through traditions and interpretations of women in America through a special lens that reflects empowerment and independent movements.

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