Spacecat
Answer each question in depth and provide specific evidence from
the text or speaker whenever available. The more you write, the better!
Title of the text:
S
SPEAKER:
Who is the speaker/writer?
What do we know about
them? What can you tell or
what do you know about
the speaker that helps you
understand the point of
view expressed?
P
PURPOSE:
What is the speaker/writer
hoping to accomplish?
What is the reason behind
this piece? What do they
want the audience to do
after having listened?
A
AUDIENCE:
Who is the speaker/writer
trying to reach? How do we
know? Do they indicate a
specific audience? What
assumptions exist in the
text about the intended
audience?
C
CONTEXT:
What is the time and place
of this piece? What is
happening in the world as
it relates to the subject of
the speech or the
speaker/writer?
E
EXIGENCE:
What was the spark or
catalyst that moved the
speaker/writer to
act/write? How did that
event impact the
speaker/writer?
The speaker is Hilary Clinton, who is a big female American politician. At the time of
giving this speech she was the first lady of the United States. She cares about- and has
done- a lot for women rights and wanted to make a change, she “wanted to push the
envelope” during this speech (meaning go as far as she could in advocating for
women's rights).
Her main purpose was to address country governments and show the importance of
women's rights: “It is conferences like this that compel governments and peoples
everywhere to listen, look and face the world's most pressing problems.”. Her purpose
is to spread the idea that women's rights matter not only to women but also to the
rest of society “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is
that human rights are women's rights.... And women's rights are human rights.” and
“That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her
family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential.” Hillary’s
goal is to make sure eveyone realizes the importance of giving women equal rights
and making sure the rest of the world understands this idea “As long as discrimination
and inequities remain so commonplace around the world -- as long as girls and
women are valued less, fed less, fed last, overworked, underpaid, not schooled and
subjected to violence in and out of their homes -the potential of the human family to
create a peaceful, prosperous world will not be realized.”
During this speech she many times mentions that the solutions to these problems is
that governments need to begin caring about women's rights. I believe her audience
are those who are in power and have influence in their governments because she is
asking them to realize the importance of granting women their rights and the benefits
it would have on society. “Our goals for this conference, to strengthen families and
societies by empowering women to take greater control over their own destinies,
cannot be fully achieved unless all governments -here and around the world -- accept
their responsibility to protect and promote internationally recognized human rights.”.
This was a women's rights speech given in Beijing, China at the 1995 United Nations
Fourth World Conference. It was a speech given in a country that was not as
developed in Women’s rights and was also given to/for countries who were also
behind in women's rights. This is not to say that even countries like America had no
gender problems, but that she was in a place that victimized women even more.
The spark of wanting to give this speech was that she was the first lady of the United
States and had a platform that she wanted to be able to use. She was given an
opportunity to speak on women's rights and since this was an issue she was
concerned about and she was in a position that gave her more credibility (being the
first lady) she took the opportunity..
C
CHOICES:
What are the rhetorical
choices that the
speaker/writer makes in
the speech? Think about
overall structure, devices,
diction, syntax, etc.
A
APPEALS:
Which of the three
rhetorical appeals (ethos,
logos, pathos) are present
in the text? Where? Why?
T
TONE:
What is the
speaker/author's attitude
toward the subject? Is the
tone the same throughout
the whole piece? Where
does it shift? What
evidence is there to
demonstrate the tone?
“as mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, learners, workers, citizens and leaders.” I
thought it was cool how she transitioned from inherently femine roles to roles that
aren't necessarily gendered but originally only really dealt with men. By doing this she
shows women are these things too.
“What we are learning around the world is that, if women are healthy and educated,
their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish.
If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their
families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations will
flourish.” Is a cool example of a repetition while also drilling into our heads that
granting women rights would only help women (which don’t get me wrong is a valid
reason itself) but would also benefit the rest of society.
“That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every nation on
our planet has a stake in the discussion that takes place here.” Another example of
her using repetition with the “every” which just sounds very cool orally.
The last thing I really like is her coming back on multiple times in saying and then
referring to “women's rights” as “human rights”.
She establishes ethos with sayings “Earlier today, I participated in a World Health
Organization forum, where government officials, NGOs, and individual citizens are
working on ways to address the health problems of women and girls.” it shows she is
qualified to talk about and teach what she is giving speech about and trying to teach
many of. She again established ethos with “Tomorrow, I will attend a gathering of the
United Nations Development Fund for Women.”.
She established pathos a lot throughout this but a big one that stuck out to me was
her little “I have met women” thing. It discusses women in many situations and makes
them feel very human. Another part of the speech that I liked a lot and that also gave
me like chills was “At this very moment, as we sit here, women around the world are
giving birth, raising children, cooking meals, washing clothes, cleaning houses,
planting crops, working on assembly lines, running companies, and running
countries.”
She also established logos a bit throughout this speech in places where she claimed
that granting women's rights would help them perform better in society which would
lead to a better society.
The tone of this speech was very serious, she was talking about an issue she very
much wanted fixed and did not joke around. An example of her setting the serious and
concerned mood is “Women comprise more than half the world's population. Women
are 70 percent of the world's poor, and two-thirds of those who are not taught to
read and write.'' She is trying to make the audience feel bad for what women have to
go through in an attempt to get people to help the issue.
The speech does also have a hopeful tone though, even though it is serious and at first
quite somber, she does show a bright future for the women of the world “I believe
that, on the eve of a new millennium, it is time to break our silence.” She believes
change can happen.