28 pages • 56 minutes read
For the Equal Rights Amendment
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Literary Devices
Hypophora
Hypophora is a rhetorical device in which a speaker poses a question and then immediately provides an answer to that question. The technique anticipates and addresses potential questions or objections that the audience may have, thereby engaging them and guiding their thoughts in a particular direction.
Chisholm uses hypophora several times throughout her speech, pushing the United States Congressional representatives (and the greater society at large) to reflect and consider her points. Chisholm raises hypothetical questions to anticipate doubts about the impact of the Equal Rights Amendment and then provides reassuring answers. For example, after asking, “What would the legal effects of the equal rights amendment really be?” (Paragraph 6), she allows a moment for her audience to reflect. She then offers her own insight into how state and local governments would address the ERA from a legal perspective. Chisholm utilizes hypophora to preempt questions that may be asked by those who are less supportive of the bill.
Rebuttal
Another effective rhetorical strategy utilized by Chisholm in this speech is rebuttal. Often, persuasive speakers and writers will bring up some of their opponents’ arguments in order to offer reasoning against them. It may seem counterintuitive to bring an opposing viewpoint into a persuasive speech, but this process of rebutting opponents’ arguments preemptively can be a very effective persuasive tool. It alleviates any doubts that listeners and readers may have and gives the speaker or writer the opportunity to answer questions their audience may be asking themselves in response to the position being presented.
One example of rebuttal in the speech is Chisholm’s discussion of laws limiting women’s hours and roles in certain workplaces. She says, “There are objections raised to wiping out laws protecting women workers. No one would condone exploitation. But what does sex have to do with it” (Paragraph 17). She goes on with a rebuttal of this objection, explaining that laws in the workplace should be designed to protect both men and women and should not be arbitrarily different based on a worker’s sex.
Allusion
Chisholm relies on several allusions toward the end of her speech to appeal to higher authorities and make an emotional impact on her listeners. The speech’s allusion to the Founding Fathers is particularly salient, considering the primary audience of this speech is a group of the US Congress. In the US government, the Founding Fathers are often seen as the pinnacle of wisdom and authority when it comes to matters of the Constitution and the law. Chisholm uses this allusion to them, however, to call the authority of the Founding Fathers into question and address why it may be necessary to make changes to the United States Constitution.
Chisholm explains that these original drafters of the Constitution, a group of exclusively white men, may not have considered the particular needs of minorities or women under the law. She explains that while the Founding Fathers professed the need for equality for all people, “they did not assure it to their daughters, as they tried to do for their sons” (Paragraph 23). Therefore, additional changes and amendments were needed to make the Constitution equally applicable to all US citizens.
Call to Action
The final significant literary device utilized by Chisholm in her speech is a call to action. This strategy is often used in persuasive speeches and other arguments to push the audience toward a desired action or goal. In this case, Chisholm’s ultimate goal is to persuade her audience to vote in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment. She includes several calls to action toward the end of her speech pointing her listeners in this direction.
After discussing the difference in job opportunities and salaries between women and men, she explains that “without the authority and impetus of this proposed amendment, it will perhaps take another 194 years. We cannot be parties to continuing a delay” (Paragraph 22). Shortly after, she drives this point home again with another call to action: “It is not too late to complete the work [the Founding Fathers] left undone. Today, here, we should start to do so” (Paragraph 23). Chisholm ends her speech with these specific calls to action in order to leave her listeners with no doubt as to what they can do to solve the problem at hand—pass the ERA.
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