The speech questions:

1. Winfrey begins with a narrative a story from her life. Why is that an effective opening and
what effect does I have on the audience?

As Winfrey begins with a narrative and a personal experience is shared. This has a very significant
impact on the audience and is a very effective opening. She starts off by a very emotional opening
and that engages the reader. This enables the audience to identify you and connect with the speaker.
The use of her childhood experience while watching the same golden globes award. The use of
“cheap seat” means that her living when she was young was not very well and they weren’t that rich.
This shows the she had to work hard to get a position on the stage and this is easily understood by
the audience and has a very emotional effect and strong effect on the audience as it creates trust
towards the speaker.

2. Winfrey says “what I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool that
we all have” do you agree with this claim why or why not?

I strongly agree with the claim made here. The use of “your truth” is very effective and that is
because the speaker is addressing the audience “your” and that has a very influential effect on the
audience. The audience is being told that they have a very “powerful” weapon and the “truth” is the
weapon. As we all know that the truth that is spoken and the personal experience that are gained
are the most impactful things. This statement is a very well said as it uses the personal experience
and it is also addressing the audience. This makes her claim even stronger and that is why I strongly
agree with her statement.

3. ‘What is the story Winfrey refers to and do you believe that this story is universal, that it
transcends all that Winfrey argues it transcends.

The story that Winfrey refers to is about a women who is a mother and a young wife and got
“abducted by six armed white men, raped and left blindfolded by the side of the road” this shows
that this story is necessarily to be heard by everyone. But the women stood up and reported her
story to “N.A.A.C.P.” even though she was “threatened” to be killed. The use of word “Threatened” is
very effective as the word has hard consonants and this story is supposed to universal as it should be
heard by everyone and is supposed to be universal.

4. Why does Winfrey use the anecdote of Recy Taylor? And how does it support her claims?
What effect does it have on the audience?

The use of anecdote is very successful as it shows a very realistic story about a women who was
untreated and then justice was gained so late. This really shows to the audience the claims that she is
trying to make that a black women has been given justice. This justice is given to her even though
according to the stereotypes it is hard to get justice for a black person as due to very hard racism that
is generally experienced by black people. This story really has deep effect on the audience. The deep
effect is very useful for her to gain many hearts of the audience.

5. “Their time is up” is a powerful line Why?

The use of this phrase is very useful as it is very poignant. Firstly she uses the story of Recy Taylor and
that has shown that the “N.A.A.C.P” has helped a black woman and to get to the actual criminals
themselves have been caught. As a story like this has occurred this will cause a sense of awareness
between criminals like those and they will not dare to do such as heinous crime again. Winfrey’s use
of “their time is up” shows that what happened to Recy will never occur again.

6. Near the end of the speech, Winfrey mentions “me too” for the first-time what effect does it
have on the audience? And why?

The use of words “me too” is very convincing towards the female audience as they are being told
that Recy took the risk of going out again by herself and she didn’t feel any fear and the means that
using “me too” shows that every woman has to say “me too” and that has meant that women has
been given the freedom to be free. This creates a very positive effect on the audience and that is
what it makes the audience cheer.

7. Winfrey ends on the discussion of “Hope”. Why? How does she use light and dark imagery
and to what effect?

She specifically mean that everyone should look for hopes even when it is the darkest times. This
means that at dark times such as the times when Recy Taylor was suffering she should look for hope
and that hope is what makes the life bright and bring light in it. This has a very good effect on the
audience as a whole she is trying to create hopes for the audience as the hopes have been created
by herself in the very dark and sad times. This is to mainly recover.

8. Analyse: “That they become the leaders who take use to the time when nobody ever has to
say “Me too” Discuss Winfrey’s choices and the effect on the audience.

Winfrey is trying to emphasize that when men become the leader they do not leave a chance of
women to speak up. She says when men become the leaders “nobody” gets the chance to say “me
too” this really has a deep effect as women are criticized in the society for many reasons and those
reasons are the reasons that women don’t get the chance to say me too. This has a very special
effect on the reader as the reader knows the reality that when men become the boss of the society
women don’t get the freedom a lot and the choice of words may hard a certain amount of male
audience as it is a very offensive way to transmit something but indeed it is the truth.