Summary Of Child Labor Speech By Florence Kelley

Being a child has always been described as anyone under 18 because at this age it is carefree fun and no job. However, that has not always been the case for some children. The issue of child labor is addressed in the speech given by Florence Kelley at the convention of National American Woman Suffrage Association. Kelley uses numerous rhetorical strategies in order to bring light to the travesty that is child labor and bring change. Kelly illustrates the typical, normal day for a hardworking child through the use of imagery. For instance, Kelley paints a shocking picture in paragraph three, “... several thousand little girls will be working in textile mills, all night through in the deafening noise of spindles…” Including this description of not one, but thousands of little girls working in awful conditions draws on the audience’s empathy. The audience does not just learn about the conditions, but are able to visualize daughters, nieces, and cousins working all night long to desperately earn money. In the same way, Kelley illustrates a young girl on her way to work, “A little girl, on her thirteenth birthday, could start away from her home at half past five in the

Including words with negative connotation help give perspective to the nightmare of child labor. When discussing how children are eligible to work after the age of fourteen all night, Kelley uses the phrase “pitiful privilege.” A bit of irony is included, because a privilege is something anyone should be grateful for; however, it is pitiful because they must now work dreadful hours. Another example is the phrase used when describing the conditions, “sweating system.” Using the word sweating points out how hardworking these children are. It is at the level where Kelley is actually able to refer to it as a system of sweat. The phrases Kelley uses desperately call for a necessary change in the world of