Florence Kelley Ap Language

Florence Kelley - Rhetorical Essay

Brayden Jones, LaNasia Steward, Jenna McKee, Kyle Hanes

Intro

Florence Kelley was a women’s rights activist who held a lifelong legacy as a patriot of women’s rights and children’s rights. Although she gave hundreds of speeches during her lifetime, one in particular stands out. On July 22, 1905, Kelley addressed members of the National American Woman Suffrage Association before a convention that the association held in Philadelphia. During her speech, she urged listeners to take part in stopping unrestrained work hours for children. During her address she used various rhetorical devices, the most notable of which were pathos, rhetorical questions, and logos. These rhetorical devices very effectively helped

The first way that Florence Kelley supports her message that child labor should be illegal is by using pathos. Although Kelley used various emotions throughout her address, the two most important feelings were that of sadness and guilt. Kelley used pathos in order to help the audience understand the devastating effects of child labor in factories. One example of the use of pathos in Kelley’s speech is as follows: “Tonight, while we sleep, thousands of little girls will be working in the deafening noise of the spindles and the looms spinning and weaving cotton and wool, silks and ribbons for us to buy.” This use of pathos works well because the text conveys a feeling of sadness as Kelley reveals to the listeners the horrible working conditions that small children are forced to endure while working in a

Ms. Kelley uses rhetorical questions to inspire deep thought in her listeners. She does this by speaking and saying questions such as “Wait, what can we do to free our consciences?” which is then followed by: “There is one line of action which I can do much.” This sets, in the listeners, a pride in voting for change otherwise not there. Think of the literary acronym SPACECAT, especially the C in CAT. C in CAT stands for literary choices. For example, Ms. Kelley uses rhetorical questions to convince her listeners. This shows that Ms. Kelley used Rhetoric to her advantage to inspire strength in others, which in turn, leads to our final