Aren't I A Woman?????

Chelsey Wilkins


Aren’t I A Woman?

Sojourner Truth has been remembered in history as an anti-slavery activist. In her speech, “Aren’t I a Woman,” she questions the distinction between the equality of men and women. Truth uses parts of the rhetoric triangle to break down her views regarding the equality of men and women. Every time she uses the quote, “Aren’t I a Woman,” she’s comparing her accomplishments to those of men.

“I have plowed, and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me and aren’t I a woman?” The quote appeals to credibility. Its saying like I can build, plow dig, move, all the above that you so called man do, aren’t I equally as significant as you are. Truth uses her personal life experiences to prove that she is equal to any men. She had the barriers of being a former slave, leaving stress on her emotionally and physically. Her wisdom as an older woman that has already experienced these events on top of her once being a slave makes her a pretty reliable source.

“I have borne thirteen children and seen them almost all sold off into slavery…” This quote also appeals to credibility yet has a deeper meaning. In some sort I would consider the quote a metaphor. It shows Truth’s human side in comparison to those of maybe a white man or woman. She’s saying she is capable of performing the same duties of a white woman while still being an active slave bringing the rhetoric question Aren’t I a woman?

Lastly, Sojourner Truth stated the obvious by appealing to logos. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense-common sense. If a woman can have the qualities of all white women, while also being forced to complete duties men do, wouldn’t she be considered a woman? Another example of logos was when a man in her audience said women can’t be equal to men because God was not a woman and she replied, “Where did Christ come from?” Logically, Christ had to be birthed by a woman, which would put her above him leading back to Truth’s theory on the equality of men and women.

To conclude, Sojourner Truth has been recognized in history for many accomplishments. She was an attribuant to the abolishment movement and is considered to be an anti-slavery activist. By breaking down truth’s speech according to the analytical rhetoric triangle, I thought “Aren’t I a Woman,” appealed to logos, pathos, and ethos. “Aren’t I a Woman” was used every time sojourner could compare herself to a man, in my opinion, which made them of equal significance.