Florence Kelley's Speech Analysis

Ever since the institution of the great nation, the United States has dealt with underlying social obstacles and complications that have deprived certain American citizens from exercising their universal, inalienable human rights and achieving a sense of equality in the society. During the early 1900s, little, defenseless children across the United States were employed in inhumane conditions or in violation of the state or federal laws, so several distinct feminist associations and individuals decided it was time to conclude the social injustices that affected millions. However, how can a single woman accurately express and describe the feelings of thousa nds of trapped souls under the social dogma to a blinded, indifferent audience by using

Respectively, the use of diction throughout the speech critiques the socioeconomic “sweating system” that exploits “several thousand little girls,” which become to be described as little beasts of burden.” As the speech progresses, Kelley expands the argument stating that the children who are “just tall enough to reach the bobbins” are forced to work “from six at night until six in the morning, without violating any law of the Commonwealth.” In the previous statement, the social worker used sentiment captivating diction to vitalize consciousness and comment on the society’s ignorance towards the fact that young children have had a misappropriated childhood; as a matter of fact, “tiny children” are forced to work continuously in order for businesses to produce the most income with one of the cheapest labor. Furthermore, Florence Kelley sustains that “We shall none of us be able to free our counciences from participating in this great evil,” which suggests that no one can be excluded from the blame in participating, directly or indirectly, in the dreadful, immoral practice is damaging the children, the society, and the nation as a whole. Nonetheless, the speaker utilizes the clever oxymoron “pitiful privilege”

In the first place, the social worker presents the situation exactly as it is as a form to open the adress by stating, “We have, in this country, two million children under the age of sixteen years who are earning their bread. They vary in age from [...] to fourteen, fifteen and sixteen years in more enlightened states.” In fact, the inclusion of this statistic of people provokes a sense of comprehension for the extend of the problem and the amount of souls it affects, elevating the message being communicated and captivating the audience’s attention. Moreover, the speaker asserts, “Men increase, women increase, youth increase, boys increase in the ranks of breadwinners [metonymy for workers]; but no contingent doubles from census period to census period [...], as does the contingent of girls between twelve and twenty years of age.” Consequently, Kelley does not only generate a sense of multiplicity that serves as a hook to the audience, but she also spawns validity in the data being presented, since a person can conduct reseatch to verify and ensure its authenticity. Besides the statistics, the speaker introduces diverse state and federal government