Sojourner Truth's Speech In Ain T I A Woman

In 1851, a recognized abolitionist, Sojourner Truth spoke to the Women’s Convention in Akron, Ohio that would be remembered for years following due to its startling bareness and authenticity. Truth spoke about the injustice and struggles she has gone through as not only a woman, but as a black woman. She used many anecdotes and religious references to convey and connect with her audience. In her speech, Ain’t I A Woman, Sojourner Truth utilizes rhetorical strategies, religious references, and forms of figurative language to connect with her audience effectively to assist in overcoming gender and race discrimination.
Sojourner Truth effectively uses the art of the rhetoric to grasp her audience’s attention and convince them to join her stance

Truth’s consistent repetition of “Ain’t I a woman?” creates range of effects that lie in her trying to convey a message to her audience. With her use of anaphora, she implements that women, specifically black, don't deserve their current treatment, to be treated like they are insignificant to society’s advancement. Truth also uses the literary device, allusion. She ends her speech by making an allusion to Eve, the first woman God ever made, and asked if she was so “strong” and was able to turn the world “upside down” single handedly, then why couldn't “women” come together and “turn it right side up again”? In her speech, Sojourner Truth, as well as using rhetoric, also uses biblical references and her position as a mother to appeal to the audience. Due to her audience being mainly Christian and mothers, they would relate and grasp onto her perspective easily. The very first line of her speech, Sojourner addresses her audience as “children.” This acts as a term that clarifies a human connection between the speaker and the audience. By calling the audience “children,” she is implying that they are all equal in her eyes, just as a mother loves all of her