Nylah Potts

Ms. Voorhees/Professor Voorhees

English 0920/1010

05 November 2021

“Ain’t I Woman?”: Rhetorical Analysis of Truth’s Speech

The speech I chose to write about is “Ain’t I Woman?” by Sojourner Truth in 1851. In her

public speech, Sojourner Truth tries to persuade her audience to see women for who we really

are. Her overall message is that women are not less/weaker than men, women have been

perceived to be this stereotype for decades. It is hard for some people to realize this.

“That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over

ditches, and to have the best place everywhere.” (1st P) This quote stood out to me because she is

saying that all men view women as the “weaker link” meaning we automatically need assistance

or need to be walked through life like we are not capable of doing anything independently. She

talks about how she has worked just as hard if not harder than most men and is still treated like

she can not hold her own.

At the end of the 3rd paragraph from her speech, she says, “If my cup won't hold but a

pint, and yours holds a quart, wouldn't you be mean not to let me have my little half measure

full?” What she meant by that was, women can’t have equality until all women are able to enjoy

the same rights. White women have always been treated to a higher level than black women,

meaning white women are able to enjoy more of the women's rights than black women. That is

not what equality is, how are women's rights going to be taken seriously if people decide who

deserves them or not!

 The last quote that stood out to me was at the beginning of the 4th paragraph, “If the first

woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women

together ought to be able to turn it back”. Men believe that because Christ was man that women

do not deserve the same rights as men, her point was that women created life so why should we

have to fight for more rights or equal rights as men!

Today, Sojourner's speech is still one of the most historical speeches on the intersection

of women's suffrage and black rights. Truth used her identity to point out the ways in which both

movements are failing black women. She was able to show people that, yes she is a women but

because of her skin color, being able to enjoy her rights is difficult and should not be overlooked.
 Work Cited

https://www.sojournertruth.com/p/aint-i-woman.html

https://qz.com/1291608/sojourner-truth-said-aint-i-a-woman-in-1851-black-women
-today-are-asking-the-same-thing/

https://thehermitage.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Sojourner-Truth_Aint-I-a-W
oman_1851.pdf