Rhetorical Analysis FRQ Practice Essay (Two)
In the early twentieth century, an intertwined set of issues was plaguing United States, in a time known as the Gilded Age. In 1905, Florence Kelley, an influential advocate of the time, addressed the following speech to the National American Woman Suffrage Association in Philadelphia, in which she implements geographical comparisons as well as references and ties to other social problems in order to reach out and connect to her audience.
Kelley begins her speech with a strong dose of facts, creating a sense of urgency and awe in her audience. Many may not have known the extent of children in the workforce, which Kelley made a point to open with, in order to both strengthen and validate her argument. In line eighteen, Kelley shifts toward geographical comparisons, and includes a bit of racial and social bias. Kelley begins to describe the “several thousand little girls...working in...mills”, but she begins by addressing the child labor situations in Alabama, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In these areas, the actions for and against child labor may have seemed more easily applicable because of an…show more content… She continues on with the aforementioned gender and racial ties to the audience, while also pulling in happy occasions to worsen the ideas of child labor. In lines forty-four and forty-eight, Kelley mentions birthdays, which would make children eligible to work, suggesting that these normally joyous occasions are actually quite damning.
In line 55, Kelley transitions into the legal proceedings, including the “Georgia…[and] New Jersey Legislature's” recent decisions on child labor, but then quickly shifts back to the attitude of guilt, because as she says, “no one...can feel free from...participation”. She continues on to describe the many ways that women allow for this terrible industry to continue, even though they cannot take legal