Jessie Gallagher Mrs.

Armstrong Period 6 04/23/12

Florence Kelly, a renowned womens rights activist and also against child labor, conveys her message regarding the issue of child labor through her use of rhetorical strategies. Her affirmative message toward the topic is expressed with a sympathetic tone and by means of persuasive appeal, imagery, and repetition. Kelly uses the persuasive appeals of pathos and ethos while taking her stance on child labor. She describes the little workers as, just tall enough to reach the bobbins. Her use of pathos encourages the audience to sympathize with her point of view. Moreover, it emphasizes how young and innocent the children are, who are putting in long hours to satisfy demanding parents. Kelly also appeals to the audience through her use of ethos as she speaks directly to the audience, ..we shall none of us be able to free our consciences from participation in this great evil. By using second person as she addresses the audience, Kelly holds them personally responsible, making them feel remorseful for not taking action. Not only does her use of persuasive appeals convey her affirmative message, she uses imagery as well to reiterate her point. The imagery used in Kellys speech allows the audience to visualize her arguments, making it more sentimental. For instance, Several thousand little girls will be working in

textile mills, all the night through, in the deafening noise of the spindles and the looms Her imagery induces guilt in the audience, as they picture the treacherous conditions their children were forced to work in. Correspondingly, Kelly uses imagery to describe the frivolous tasks children were assigned, Children braid straw for our hats, and, They stamp buckles and metal ornaments of all kinds. She goes on to state how they make artificial flowers and other things that are not necessities. Her imagery supports her message that children should not have to work such lengthy hours in horrid conditions making things people do not necessarily need, but want. The child labor activist additionally uses repetition to reiterate her message. Throughout the passage, Kelly repeats how the children work while we sleep and all night long. The repetition of those phrases form to sound similar to a lullaby, further demonstrating the innocence of the child laborers. Instead at nighttime, when they are slaving in factories, they should be in their warm, cozy beds with their parents singing them sweet lullabies to sleep. Kellys use of rhetorical strategies reiterates her affirmative position against child labor. Although numerous families could use the extra money, it is not fair to rob children of their childhood in order to earn a few measly dollars for the family.