Friday, April 20, 2012
Sojourner Truth
Read Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?" speech (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/sojtruth-woman.asp) and consider how Truth uses language to construct a particular gender identity. Then read her poem "On Woman's Dress" (http://allpoetry.com/poem/8611359-On_Womans_Dress-by-Sojourner_Truth) and consider the same question, along with how it compares to the extemporaneous speech given approximately 10 years earlier.
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ReplyDeleteSojourner Truth uses language to comtruct the identity of a woman really well. However, it's not in the traditional way. At the beginning, she displays how a typical woman is portrayed. However, throughout the rest of the writing, she discusses her life as a negro woman. These descriptions are very different from the first woman shown. They show a tough woman who works long hours. The original woman was someone who needed help with everything. However, after every description of this second woman, she poses the question, "Ain't I a woman?" I believe her point is to show that just because she does not portray a typical woman doesn't mean she is not a woman.
ReplyDelete"Ain't I a woman?" Truth asks. She contrasts the prissy white women of her time and herself - a hard-working, strong woman. The way she describes herself and her moral character makes her seem more manly, which might not help her case. To act like a man to be able to get women's rights is sort of contrarian. I think her best bet would be to take on the role of the more feminine women and use the type of language they use, instead of attacking them and men. I like her analogy with the cups and how one holds and quart and another a pint, but how it is only fair to fill each. Just because someone is smaller - physically or theoretically, according to men at the time - doesn't mean they're any less deserving.
ReplyDeleteThe poem is sort of confusing. Again, it condemns the women who are ultra-feminine, but it now condemns their attempts to get rights. She's now only supporting the women like herself, those who aren't helped into carriages and whatnot. I think it's disrespectful - she only wants rights for the people who act tough-as-nails like herself. I would think that as a woman, she would just be happy that finally there's so many people that are advocating for women's rights, but she manages to find something to complain about. She says that she is "ashamed" of the women who advocate for rights and are "dressed in such ridiculous fashion." It seems like she only wants people who have been beaten down from work, the people she feels 'deserve' rights, are the ones who should receive them.
I think that Truth thinks she deserves more rights than the women of privileged lives because she's worked so much harder than they have. She thinks that these women should "reform themselves first" before they try to ask for rights, when they haven't even considered the people below them, like Truth. She says that Christ came from God and a woman and that "man had nothing to do with it" and thus, women should be more highly regarded than they are at the time. I don't think she necessarily wants to be treated like the other women or the men, but she yearns for respect. To earn this, she presents herself in a more manly way so people will view her as stronger and to hopefully gain more credibility.
Truth uses language to construct a particular gender identity in her speech "Ain't I a Women". She says that's she can work as hard a man in the fields. She identifies the gender as a man is her speech in my opinion. The languages she uses I feel like something a man would say. For example, how working in the fields, Ploughed and planted crops was considered a mans job back then. She is saying that she can do just as much as man can do and deserves equal rights. When she says "Ain't I a Women" i think she is comparing how a man and women are equal, because she has plowed the fields and planted, "Ain't I a Women. The language she uses identifies a man, but shows that a women is capable of doing whatever a man can do. Also she thinks that she is treated as equal as a white women and she say Ain't I a women. She says that she has never be helped over mud puddles like other women. The language here sounds like she is using language to compare race. In my opinion, the language in her speech is constructing the identity of gender and race.
ReplyDeleteYes, you're a 'women.'
DeleteI agree with how you identify her language as being like a man's. She speaks kind of roughly, and gravitates towards criticism of other women. I don't really think race plays as big of a role in the speech as gender does, but I can see how.
Truth constructs a gender identity about herself and other women through language. She does this by using her own life experiences as examples to why women are strong. In one passage she states "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman?". This is made powerful through repetition. In this speech she tries to make it clear that she is as strong as a man.
ReplyDeleteShe uses strong language to convey her opinion that women are worthy members of society. She uses raw language, not edited, academic language to relate to her audience. The repetition that she uses " ain't I a women" is a powerful rethorical device to advocate her desires for women to be regarded as important members of society. She promotes gender identity and stresses that women must command the attention of society. Her tone is blunt, she says that women must take what they deserve. She draws a parallel between race rights and women's rights and argues that women's rights are not to be disregarded, she also is a proponent of gender individuality. In the poem she's calling women out for being soft in a way, she says that they have sacrificed their individuality by conforming to trends in apparel and to a larger extent, those trends are a direct result of women embracing inferiority. She says, though it's confusing, that if women truly want rights they have to look in the mirror and stop surrendering to cultural trends which compliment gender suppression. She uses similar language to call out her audience and rouse them into action.
ReplyDeleteIn Sojourners speech the way she is using language isn't really trying to construct a particular gender identity but I think she is using language from where she grew up, the way she commonly spoke to people where she lived and who she lived with. I think she constructed a racial identity. She used slang like "ain't" and said things like "And now they is asking to do it.." she wasn't really speaking a way men or women spoke, but when she starts comparing men and women together in her speech is when I think she is trying to voice a female identity. Then in her poem I think she quickly voices a female identiy, she speaks up in her poem how women should not dress in such ridiculiuous fashion for a women's sufferage convention, because they are supposed to represent why women's rights are important. When comparing the speech and they essay I think they are two different pieces. I think in the speech she is representing women and speaking out to them in a more positive tone, like we get just as much work as men, why don't we get helped into carriages like real women, then in her poem she is speaking out to women a a more negative tone like you are representing us women wearing that to the convention? Is that going to help us at all? So I think she represents the female identity in both a positive and negative way in her speech and poem using language that doesn't necessarily represent a gender identity but a racial identity.
ReplyDeleteTruth uses the repetitive rhetorical question of "Ain't I a women?" to construct a particular gender identity. Within the speech she provides many examples of what man believes women need help with because they are are weak and have less intellectual capability as well as examples that prove otherwise that women are just as capable as men like that she can work as much and eat as much as a man - when she can get it - and bear the lash as well, and even suffers through boring children and watched them get sold off to slavery knowing the suffering they too will suffer but still does not get the same respect a man or even a white women receives.
ReplyDeleteIn Truth's poem, she establishes a gender identity through her description about how women dress. She eplains (sorry my letter between w and y doesnt work) that the way the women dress is absolutely ridiculous. They fight for reform but they still dress because that is how women are supposed to dress and are epected to dress. If they can't change they way they dress to a way that does not make them a puppet of men and society then how can they change how they are treated and respected.
In the speech "Ain't I a Woman", Sojourner Truth listed a number of facts to stress that she can do exactly what a man does, and so does any other female. The connotation behind her words is strong and definite--"yes, I'm a women but I'm able to do the same thing as a man". The language she used was bold and unconstrained, and it subverted the traditional way of woman's talking. "Look at me! Look at my arm", for instance, the masculine tone exemplified her fearlessness and dissatisfaction to women's inferiority in reality. The whole speech revealed that men did not treat women as they claimed, thus being duplicity. Sojourner Truth poignantly criticized those who advocated for assistance of women as gentlemen at superficies while they actually remained silence in defiance of the hardship women went through. Proceeding from a great discontent, Sojourner Truth therefore chose provoked language to shape herself as a strong female representative spreading her words out loud at the front of the controversy over women's rights.
ReplyDeleteFor the poem written by her 10 years earlier, "On Woman's Dress", Sojourner Truth expressed the same idea and expectation on women's rights. The language in the poem is strong, but not as harsh as her speech later. She directly pointed out women's living conditions and was "ashamed" of them. She ridiculed women's subservience and obedience, and appealed their revolution. As she asked it, "What will such lives as you live do for humanity?". There was a sense of helplessness in the tone, for instance, "but Sojourner is an old body, and will soon get out of this world into another"; it seemed she was facing the greatest obstacle in her life to make a change and every step met a huge resistance, whereas she still insisted in telling the truth, spreading her voice.
The difference between the poem and the speech was the former one directly criticized women, while the latter one pointed at men. Thus Sojourner used slightly different voices to address the same subject. In her speech, she did not show her weakness or concession at all and she rendered as a intransigent til the end. Nevertheless, speaking to her peers, other women, Sojourner appeared more feminaline disposition in order to be accepted and identitfied.
Truth constructs a gender identity about herself and other women through language. She does this by using her own life experiences as examples to why women are strong. In one passage she states "That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman?". This is made powerful through repetition. In this speech she tries to make it clear that she is as strong as a man.
ReplyDeleteThe poem she later writes is different from this. In the poem Truth has a calmer tone and does not often compare women and men. Instead she chooses to focus on what women can do to better themselves. I like this approach more because it isnt as 'in your face' as her speech. The language she uses is less aggressive in her poem. She uses soft language like "Women, you forget
that you are the mothers of creation" instead of harsh language like "Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him". Although i like her poem because it is less aggressive, the tone she uses in her speech is well suited for its context.Overall, Truth uses different tones and language to get across the same basic point that everyone should be treated equal.
Great Job!!
DeleteIn the poem I think that the language is more aggressive because she is being more harsh. She said that the reformers should reform themselves first. I feel like she is targeting women and how they act in public and if they want reform then they should reform themselves to fit the part.Nshe says that she is ashamed off the mothers for acting they way they do and let society reform them. I feel like the poem would have done less to help reform then the speech, because the language is targeting just women. The speech mentions men and how they don't help her, so there is a common enemy where women can relate too. She uses language to define how strong and flawed women in a sense inland think that she constructed gender well with language.
ReplyDeleteIn "Ain't I a woman" the speaker uses references to the civil rights movement to associate the two movements together. This is a key feature in the speech because by bringing these two movements together she suggests that the people behind one are not necisarilly that different from the other; they believe in the same goals and they represent similar values. This is very powerful for the women because she's wants the women to be associated with the strength and and vision we generally associate with the Civil Rights movement. This is somewhat of a respect feature too. She wants the women's rights movement to be as respected and regarded as the civil rights movement was. This is not a stretch by any means, but she is fighting an uphill battle and the strength she shows with the sassy comments like "Then that little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men, 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him."
ReplyDeleteShe is also showing that women will not stand for obstinance and rediculous claims anymore.
In the poem Souljerner is looking for the otherside of the her argument. If women are going to ask for a certain level of treatment, they need to demonstrate that they can meet it. That have to show the effort that they want to be better then they are now. Women, in her mind, must practice what they preach. If they don't, they become hypocritical. For her I imagine this must be a great pain for her because she wants women as a whole to better. It is generally considered that you have to fix your own problems before you can fix other's. This is the flip side to this poem I believe. She knows that if there is any hope of women gaining respect and equality among men, they need to be confident and show that they want this movement to happen. It won't happen if they view themselves lowly and wear clothes at that level. Whether we like it or not, clothing does represent ourselves to a certain extent and if women can fix the small things of themselves, then the big things can happen.
Just about my claim about civil rights movement. I mean the mentality, not the movement we associate in the 50's and 60's.
DeleteFrom Hannah:
ReplyDeleteSojourner Truth uses direct and relatable language in "Ain't I a Woman?". She talks about being a slave, ploughing fields, and doing things just as well as men can, which shows how strong of a person she is. She brings up how well white women are treated and says, "Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place!" to demonstrate how differently black women are treated. She believes that since she works as hard as a man, she shouldn't be treated like she's inferior.
In "On a Woman's Dress," Sojourner Truth focus more on women's freedom. She asks how women can stand on stage in restrictive clothing and expect people to grant them reforms. Sojourner Truth believes women won't be taken seriously until they get rid of their big, uncomfortable skirts and feathered headpieces. The clothing draws attention to how women look, rather than how they think.
From Jeff:
ReplyDeleteSojourner Truth uses the phrase "ain't I a woman" to advocate how men say women deserved rights and commodities she did not receive. She feels that she was ignored, and this was in part because she was black. She claims white men "will be in a fix pretty soon". Truth uses many rhetorical questions to emphasize her point of women needing to be allowed equality in the world. She is saying that women are now asking to assume a bigger role and that men should not suppress the women but allow them to flourish. She feels she is being treated like a man when it comes to work, yet not allowed to "enjoy" the benefits of being a man. She does not have the rights of men or the social status of men. She feels like she is getting the bad parts of male life but none of the good aspects.
From Demi:
ReplyDeleteTruth uses language to break the stereotypes' of the women and prove wrong statements that men say about women; her purpose is that women would be treated and heard. She portrays meaningless statements, which men use in order to present themselves as respectful to women: "that man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages", but "nobody ever helps me into carriages". Also, she makes many comparisons with men and suggests that women are not as fragile as they are assumed to be because they can work as hard as men, or even harder. She uses extreme examples with Christ, which succeed in bringing the attention to the issue of gender inequalities. She said that she cried but nobody heard her, but Jesus. The expressive, emotional language she used contained exclamation marks, vivid images. This language was her tool to bring the spot light on women and their rights.
In the poem "On Woman's Dress" Sojourner expresses the need for the female identity to change before the changes in gender roles are made. She addresses that women focus too much on ridiculous fashion (pompastic fashion of 1860s) and until it is this way they will not be able to make radical changes in women's rights. In comparison with the speech, in the poem different view on women is portrayed - it is negative rather than positive. In the speech women are conveyed as strong and hardworking, but in the poem they seem a little bit careless. She used a mocking language to bring awareness for women about changing themselves in order to achieve more rights.
From Patrick:
ReplyDeleteTruth uses language to eliminate traditional identities of gender. She breaks down these traditional stereotypes of gender by comparing the way women are supposed to be treated (according to the man in the audience) to e way women are treated. She says that she has never been treated with chivalry, but has worked just as hard as a man, and has gone through more emotional grief than a man. When truth says, "ain't I a woman," she's not asking to be treated like a white women, she is demanding that all women have the same rights as men.
In 'On a woman's dress', Truth criticizes the identity women are giving themselves through the way they dress. She questions, how can women be taken seriously if they are wearing hats with geese on them, and trying act fashionable? She argues that if women want the same respect and rights as men, they must present themselves in a respectful manner.
From Evan, Part II:
ReplyDeleteIn the poem, Truth tends to contradict herself a little. In the first speech, she is advocating for equal rights for women. However, in the poem, she feels that some women do not deserve these rights. Truth makes it seem like women who do not work as hard or try to dress up are going about getting rights the wrong way. I think that this is confusing and wrong. Why should these women not deserve these rights? Everyone should be treated equal. However, in her mind, the hard working women need the rights more. Overall, her poem and speech seem very contradicting. I agree with her point that everyone should be equal, but I do not like her critique of different types of women.
If she focused more on race relations rather than gender relations, how would the ideals of the speech be different?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that Truth used harsher language in her poem as opposed to her speech?
ReplyDeleteWhat stereotype of women do we have?. Like what "That man over there" in the article, stereptype of women is that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. However, Sojourner Truth's women were different: there was no special difference between men and women. Sojourner Truth mentioned "ain't I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man" to show the equaility of men and women. Sojourner Truth simply arranged what women can do is same as what men can do. Through her examples, Sojourner Truth insist that women's right should be same as men's right.
ReplyDeleteIf Sojourner Truth's article was written toward men to provoke women's right outerly, Sojourner Truth's poem provoke women's inner side. In her peom, she compained how women's weaknesses were common at that time. However, sunddenly she said"O mothers, I am ashamed of ye!". I think after this line Sojourner Truth really tells what women have to do. Sojourner Truth repeat "reformer". Otherwise, she said "you had better reform yourselves first". Her language in a poem as well as article shows absolutely promoting women's evolution.