Hook Statement

 Question: How are women any different from men?

 Profound Statement: Women may have rights today, but not many people still view
them as equals.
 Anecdote: You are sitting at home and waiting on your husband to arrive. You have
everything ready to fit his every whim. However, today is not like other days. You have
forgotten to buy his favorite meal because the gardener trimmed the shrubs back too
much and the baby was fussy. When he arrives, he demonstrates his displeasure across
your face. There is nothing you can do because this is the 1800s and you are but a piece
of property.

Intro paragraph:
Women may have rights today, but not many people still view them as equals. While
this may seem appalling to many, the truth remains that women have not and will not ever be
viewed as equals. This concept can be seen in “Advice to the ‘Newly Married Lady’” by Samuel
Jennings, for he describes what women are expected to do and how they are expected to act
with regards to a man’s ideas in mind. In 1808, when this document was written, Jennings’s
suggestions were the status quo. However, eighty years later, a monumental shift occurred. In
“Our Deportment, or the Manners, Conduct, and Dress of Refined Society,” John H. Young
presents a different view of men and women in a marriage: Young suggests that a man be as
sensitive to his wife’s needs and learning as a woman is to her husband’s habits and needs.
Both authors wrote their articles to guide women to proper decorum, yet the time difference
sheds light to how times change. Through their use of rhetoric, John H. Young presents a more
positive view of marital relationships through his use of ethos, whereas Samuel Jennings
employs a variety of rhetorical devices thus making his argument more appealing, especially
with instructing wives.
Hook--red
Authors mentioned—green
Prompt addressed—blue
Body Paragraph #1—pathos

Jennings’s first focus of rhetorical device is pathos. More specifically, he

uses scare tactics to induce fear in women. Jennings paints a picture of loneliness
and isolation if the woman does not make her home pleasant. For example, “He,
of course, will have an asylum, should home become tiresome or disagreeable”
(Jennings). According to this evidence, Jennings suggest that a man has more
opportunities, such as going out and meeting new people at a card game or the
local pub, to escape a terrible home. However, the woman, as he indicates, has
only the home to depend upon, so she should be terrified of his leaving her
secluded and her not having any company. Even more so, since the woman has
no outside social life or, at least, should not have one, she cannot run to another
for comfort (Jennings). What a woman is left with is nothing---no hope, no
happiness, no pleasure if the man is not happy and satisfied with his home, and
therefore, his advice to women is to make her husband happy though she be
miserable.
Body Paragraph #2
Aside from pathos, jennings’s advice also incorporates some ethos,
especially with regards to a man’s happiness. “Wives submit yourselves unto
your own husbands as unto the Lord” (Jennings). By alluding to the Bible, the
wives would understand that their submission is the will of God, and to go against
this submission is to go against God, as Jennings insinuates. Though it is a
slippery slope, this appeal to ethics forces Christian women to evaluate their role
in their marriages, which helps men maintain control over them. Aside from
religious appeals, Jennings suggests that it is a woman’s duty to make sure that a
man should never be seen as inferior or unintelligent in business matters. A
woman’s ability to make and create business transactions demeans the man’s
place in society and makes him the butt of jokes among other men. Therefore, it
is a woman’s duty to protect her husband’s fragile ego because it is only right that
he seems superior to the woman in public. The ethical advice Jennings provides is
meant to guarantee that women are not to overpower men because of Biblical
and social reasons.
Counterclaim

Though Jennings presents sound advice to women about protecting the man’s ego and peace of
mind, Young suggests through logos and abundant use of ethos a more positive message that can better
both husband and wife. When speaking to the wife, Young uses logos in the form of card stacking to
show the causes and effects of her choices. With regards to money, Young advises women to be frugal
with their money and, in turn, show the men the benefits of frugality so that their own business
practices will follow the same pattern. Thus, the woman’s financial balancing act will help the family
and secure their well-being far into the future. On the other hand, Young speaks to the men in the form
of ethos, since women are supposed to learn their ethical and moral behavior through their husband’s
guidance. Instead of portraying a strong hand in a relationship, Young encourages men to remember
that they were the ones who took the women from their safe parental homes and they should do their
due diligence in continuing the women’s education in all matters moral, social, and intellectual. Even
though Jennings says that men have more social opportunity to mingle with others, which is denied to
women, in his article, Young reminds men they should remain faithful to their wives and, more
importantly, never to go somewhere that he would deem as “not a fit place for his wife.” Overall,
Young recognizes the balance that is needed in a marriage, something Jennings lacks.

Main Claim

Though Young presents sound advice, Jennings uses rhetoric in a myriad of ways, especially
logos, which makes him have the better advice. For example, through logos, Jennings suggests that men
are stronger than women, and thus, that makes them naturally superior. In terms of accuracy, Jennings
uses what is logically apparent in nature to support women’s subjugation. If physical strength should
guarantee control in the marriage, then being more intelligent, especially in business matters, ensures
men’s superiority. To be more specific, men are the ones responsible for the household income, and
women are there to use it, not for pleasure, but for simple means of running a household. Should a wife
come to abuse the income, she would be deemed unfit in the marriage (Jennings). Thus, by using logos,
Jennings depicts what would be common knowledge in science as means to advise women on their
natural place—making this the best advice for men to encourage and women to follow.

Conclusion

Reasoning with a group of people in the 1800s requires one to understand the prevalent
problems plaguing women. They had no voting rights or property rights, so to ask men to create a
shared partnership was incongruous to the times. Young’s novel ideas would have suited a modern
audience, but he undermined the fabric of the 1800s culture. Therefore, Jennings may have succeeded
in his persuasive diction, even though his purpose and intent were off-putting, to say the least.
Rhetorical devices are powerful tools that need to be handled with care. Young presented advice that
was appealing and sensible to both wives and their husbands, but when analyzing for rhetoric, he lacked
the kind of passion and depth that Jennings had.