Sarah Elliot is accusing women of being so apologetic and behaving in a manner that makes them appear less educated and powerful than they are meant. The author explains how she began realizing how the social expectation set by the male-dominated society have affected women’s’ opinions and positions. The idea of becoming the President of the United States excited Elliot, and she began dreaming of being one in future. However, her dream is undermined when she starts sharing it with the classmates and teachers. Since then, Sarah has been keen on how women behave in a mixed gender social setting (Atwan 63). Elliot claims that women tend to be apologetic in every aspect of life such as in discussions, classes, workplaces, and at home. Finally, she urges women to stop cloaking their thoughts in needless disclaimers and start being confident. Elliot has effectively managed to convince women to be confident in her message by employing various rhetorical devices in the story. Some of the rhetorical devices used by the author include inclusive language, repetition, rhetorical questions, testimony, anecdote, pathos, and ethos.
Discussion
Elliot starts by asking two rhetorical questions just below the title of the article. Furthermore, she has asked several rhetorical questions in the entire article to make the reader think deeply about her message. For instance, “Would women and men say the same things differently?” (Atwan 62). The author, asks the question for the reader to think about the differences women and men have in the society. Moreover, Elliot claims, “I don’t think we need to be scared of non-fear things as we maybe are?” this question makes her audience to realize that they tend to fear even things worthless of fearing. Therefore, Sarah has used rhetorical questions to awaken the minds of her audience to think of how they have been marginalized.
The anecdote is a rhetorical device used by the author in the first paragraph possibly to grab the attention her audience. An anecdote is a stylistic device where the writer shares a short personal story to her audience. Elliot describes that when she was four years old in 2000, she was fascinated with the idea of becoming the U.S president. Consequently, she decided to share her future aspiration to her kindergarten teacher and a certain boy discourages her (Atwan 62). Elliot has used the anecdote to make the audience interested to know what drives her to write the article.
Furthermore, the inclusive language used by Elliot helps her to convince women by the message in the article. An inclusive language is a rhetorical device used to show the reader that author is part of the group. For instance, the author states that “We can never be too careful, since dropping the meek, gentle façade makes us vulnerable to label us bossy” (Atwan 63). This indicates that the writer accepts being part women and like other ladies, she is also affected by being apologetic.
Elliot has also incorporated pathos as a rhetorical device in her article. Pathos refers to the appeal of the audience or reader’s emotions as it tries to make one feel something. Her conclusion is full of emotionally-charged words that form a sympathetic image. Sarah notes that “when do I think the White House will have enough women?” “when young boys stop telling four-year-old girls who will rule the country.” The image Sarah evokes the vulnerabilities of young women being openly oppressed by men. She aims to make the reader feel sympathy for her and other women to take action (Atwan 64).
Additionally, in the fourth paragraph of the story, ethos is evident. Ethos refers to a stylistic device where the writer appeals to authority with the aim of establishing her credibility. Sarah Elliot notes, “As a communication major and a woman….” (Atwan 63). Elliot wants her audience to trust the claims she makes since she has sufficient knowledge. The author also appeals to authority as a way of showing her audience that as a woman she is educated and confident.
Another rhetorical device used by Elliott in her writing is hyperbole. This device is used to make a certain point by inserting extreme and intentional exaggeration. In paragraph three, she has indicated “if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard those words, I could graduate debt-free” (Atwan, 63). This statement emphasizes how often women are seen as weaker figures compared to men. Following this statement, “too bad my dollar would only be worth 79 cents” illustrated that in any way, women still worth less than men.
Anaphora is a stylistic style that the author has used by repeating ‘If I could” about three times within a sentence like in the third and fifth paragraph of the article (Atwan, 63). Typically, anaphora is a stylistic device whereby the author or writer tends to use successive phrases or clauses starting with the same type of words. Rhetorical devices such as anaphora are essential because they effectively draw listener’s or reader’s attention directed towards the message of the sentence. In this regard, the author was emphasizing the need for women to feel liberated in doing what they want regarding their careers and their personal lives. However, she also invites the reader to reason with her. As much as liberty is good, it may also attract a few adverse reactions that may cause chaos. Therefore, the reader is invited to reason with her since she is unsure whether to support the notion fully or not. Supposedly, in this case, the use of anaphora, was efficiently executed by the author and it fulfilled its objective. Most writers often prefer to use anaphora in conjunction with climax or parallelism to have maximum effect.
Another rhetorical device used by Elliott in her writing is hyperbole. This device is used to make a certain point by inserting extreme and intentional exaggeration. In paragraph three, she has indicated “if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard those words, I could graduate debt-free” (Atwan, 63). This statement emphasizes how often women are seen as weaker figures compared to men. Following this statement, “too bad my dollar would only be worth 79 cents” illustrated that in any way, women still worth less than men. The exaggeration enables the writer to convince her audience effectively.
Conclusion
The author of the article is engaging the audience about the need of women competing in a male-dominated industry such as running top jobs like the presidency, which was considered to be a man’s job only. Typically, it is highly likely that women are often met with an uphill battle in an environment characterized by high level of competition in regards to skills, knowledge, and expertise as well as gender stereotypes, which often sideline women in cases where women succeed. In the job market, their co-workers, either female or male, often unfairly see them as difficult and unsociable individuals to work with.
Works Cited
Atwan, Robert. America Now. Bedford: St. Martin's. (January 12, 2017): 62-64
