Elizabeth Cady Stanton's Analysis

Words: 400
Pages: 2

Through her use of harsh, descriptive language, Elizabeth Cady Stanton provokes emotion while describing the flaws in a unanimously male government and encouraging female suffrage as a means of preventing future tragedy. Describing the vast suffering, she ultimately proves that men are inhumane and incapable of leading morally, “through what inquisitions and imprisonments, pains and persecutions, black codes and gloomy creeds, the soul of humanity had struggled for the centuries”(Stanton). Stanton wants the audience to understand all of the tragedies that take place because the patriarchy has no place for empathy. Although the use of a similar style during this segment of “The Destructive Male” appears repetitive, Stanton uses repetition as a vessel, combining two similar words with “and” …show more content…
Their hearts, containing not a single drop of kind blood, allow a prolific amount pain and evil to occur without skipping a beat. Choosing the word “hearts” allows Stanton’s audience to understand, not only are man’s eyes blind to our injustice, but their hearts no longer feel sorrow for females, deprived of the most basic human rights. Using rich language, she highlights male’s harsh and aggressive tendencies when she claims, “the love of acquisition and conquest, the very pioneers of civilization, when expended on the earth, the sea, the elements, the riches and force of nature, are powers of destruction when used to subjugate one man to another or to sacrifice nations to ambition” (Stanton). In order to trigger an emotional response and create feeling inside the reader, Stanton uses language, such as “acquisition,” “destruction,” “subjugate,” and “sacrifice,” that holds an incredibly strong connotation. These four words prove men only want to demonstrate and gain power. Stanton slaps men in the face, hoping they realize their flaws, and she also gives women just enough of an idea that they can foster their own graphic image of the effect of an entirely male