The main part

Сontents.

 

1. Introduction………………………………………………………………3
2. The main part…………………………………………………………….4
1. Ethos, pathos and logos of the speech……………………………….4
2. Monroe principles…………………………………………………....6
3. Principles of persuasion…………………………………………...…9
4. Methods of persuasion……………………………………………...11
5. Propaganda……………………………………………………….…12
3. Conclusion……………………………………………………………....20

Appendix №1. « Freedom or death»……………………………………………....21

 

1. Introduction.

 

Success of any speech depends on two factors –  its context and the way in which it is orated. Comprising deep thoughts and smoothest textual symmetries, speeches of famous people are notable for changing the course of history and inspiring unfearing feats to fight against all odds.

Delivered on November 13, 1913, in Connecticut, “Freedom or Death” is so far considered as the most famous speech to advocate women’s suffrage in Britain. This significant speech was given by Emmeline Pankhurst, a notable British political activist and leader of the suffragette movement in England.

In this speech, Pankhurst lays out her motivations for pushing for suffrage in her particular way.  She justifies the tactics that she and the other suffragettes have been using in England.  She declares their determination to fight to the death (she meant this literally because one of the tactics used by suffragettes in England was going on hunger strikes when in prison) in order to try to obtain the right to vote.

The speech, then, is significant as a statement of goals and a vindication of the means being used to achieve those goals.

 

 

2. The main part.

2.1. Ethos, pathos and logos of the speech.

Three pillars of public speaking, they are the three persuasive appeals. In other words, these are the three essential qualities that your speech or presentation must have before your audience will accept your message three pillars of public speaking.

In simplest terms, they correspond to:

• Ethos: credibility (or character) of the speaker
• Pathos: emotional connection to the audience
• Logos: logical argument

Ethos (how the character and credibility of a speaker influence an audience to consider him to be believable).

• I do not come here as an advocate, because whatever position the suffrage movement may occupy in the United States of America, in England it has passed beyond the realm of advocacy and it has entered into the sphere of practical politics. - Emmeline Pankhurst shows that she does not related to the advocates of woman suffrage, attracting attention of those people who are against this movement.
• I am here as a person who, according to the law courts of my country, it has been decided, is of no value to the community at all; and I am adjudged because of my life to be a dangerous person, under sentence of penal servitude in a convict prison. – The author is not afraid to recognize that she is declared to be an outlaw. The audience knew this information in advance, in other words she says the truth which is even dangerous for own benefit, but she does not lie.

Pathos (the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience's judgment. This can be done through metaphor, amplification, storytelling, or presenting the topic in a way that evokes strong emotions in the audience).

• You have two babies very hungry and wanting to be fed. One baby is a patient baby, and waits indefinitely until its mother is ready to feed it. The other baby is an impatient baby and cries lustily, screams and kicks and makes everybody unpleasant until it is fed. Well, we know perfectly well which baby is attended to first. That is the whole history of politics. – The speaker uses storytelling, assimilating the process of the politics with what each woman can deal with everyday.

Logos (the use of reasoning, either inductive or deductive, to construct an argument. Logos appeals include appeals to statistics, math, logic, and objectivity).

• It is not at all difficult if revolutionaries come to you from Russia, if they come to you from China, or from any other part of the world, if they are men. But since I am a woman it is necessary to explain why women have adopted revolutionary methods in order to win the rights of citizenship. We women, in trying to make our case clear, always have to make as part of our argument, and urge upon men in our audience the fact - a very simple fact - that women are human beings. – The first two sentences act as construction of argument, after which begins deductive reasoning and the next example is inductive:
• We wear no mark; we belong to every class; we permeate every class of the community from the highest to the lowest; and so you see in the woman's civil war the dear men of my country are discovering it is absolutely impossible to deal with it: you cannot locate it, and you cannot stop it.

 

2.2. Monroe principles.

 

Monroe's motivated sequence is a technique for organizing persuasive speeches that inspire people to take action. It consists of five steps:

• Attention - Get the attention of audience using a detailed story, shocking example, dramatic statistic, quotations, etc.
• The first people, who were put out of a political meeting for asking questions, were women; they were brutally ill-used; they found themselves in jail before 24 hours had expired. – It is a shocking example which shows the difference between the attitude toward men and attitude toward women.
• Need - Show that the problem about which you are speaking exists, that it is significant, and that it will not go away by itself. Use statistics, examples, etc. Convince your audience that there is a need for action to be taken.
• I come in the intervals of prison appearance. I come after having been four times imprisoned under the "Cat and Mouse Act", probably going back to be rearrested as soon as I set my foot on British soil. I come to ask you to help to win this fight. If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when their time comes. – The author supposes that she wouldn’t be able to fight against this problem and she asks the audience to continue approaches to solve it. If the problem does not exist, the speaker would not be deprived of liberty.

But also we can see through Emmeline Pankhurst’s speech that if the problem is not left to its own, the forces of low that press women’s rights, will suppress the problem and the injustice will continue to exist. And the speaker assures us that there are only two ways to solve this problem:

• Women are very slow to rouse, but once they are aroused, once they are determined, nothing on earth and nothing in heaven will make women give way; it is impossible.
• Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won't do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death.
• Satisfaction - Show that this need can be satisfied. Provide specific solutions for the problem that the government and community can implement as a whole.
• Well, there is only one answer to that alternative, there is only one way out - you must give those women the vote. – The speaker shows that she is ready to cooperate with government only in one way – if women’s demands would be satisfied.
• Visualization - Tell the audience what will happen if the solution is implemented or does not take place. Be visual and detailed.
• Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won't do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death. – These words illustrate the stability of women’s decision.
• Action - Tell the audience what action they can take personally to solve the problem.

The speaker encourages the audience to attach themselves to the movement. She shows that only a large number of people can influence on the government’s decision:

• "Put them in prison," they said, "that will stop it." But it didn't stop it at all: instead of the women giving it up, more women did it, and more and more and more women did it until there were 300 women at a time, who had not broken a single law, only "made a nuisance of themselves" as the politicians say. Then they began to legislate.

The advantage of Motivated Sequence is that it emphasizes what the audience can do. Too often the audience feels like a situation is hopeless; Monroe's motivated sequence emphasizes the action the audience can take.

 

2.3. Principles of persuasion.

 

Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is strategy of problem-solving relying on "appeals" rather than strength. Manipulation is taking persuasion to an extreme, where the one person or group benefits at the cost of the other. According to Robert Cialdini, six "weapons of influence" are defined:

• Reciprocation – people tend to return a favor.
• Not found.
• Commitment and Consistency – if people commit, verbally or in writing, they are more likely to honor that commitment. Even if the original incentive or motivation is removed after they have already agreed, they will continue to honor the agreement.
• "Put them in prison," they said, "that will stop it." But it didn't stop it at all: instead of the women giving it up, more women did it, and more and more and more women did it until there were 300 women at a time, who had not broken a single law, only "made a nuisance of themselves" as the politicians say. Then they began to legislate. – The author shows us the women’s intentions to keep their ground till the end.
• Social Proof  –  people will do things that they see other people are doing.
• Not found.
• Authority – people will tend to obey authority figures, even if they are asked to perform objectionable acts.
• Not found.
• Liking – people are easily persuaded by other people that they like.
• Not found.
• Scarcity - perceived scarcity will generate demand. For example, saying offers are available for a "limited time only" encourages sales.
• "Put them in prison," they said, "that will stop it." But it didn't stop it at all: instead of the women giving it up, more women did it, and more and more and more women did it until there were 300 women at a time, who had not broken a single law, only "made a nuisance of themselves" as the politicians say. – The scarcity of women’s rights leads to the growing revolt instead of its decrease.

 

2.4. Methods of persuasion.

There are two methods of persuasion:

• By appeal to reason:
• It is not at all difficult if revolutionaries come to you from Russia, if they come to you from China, or from any other part of the world, if they are men. But since I am a woman it is necessary to explain why women have adopted revolutionary methods in order to win the rights of citizenship. We women, in trying to make our case clear, always have to make as part of our argument, and urge upon men in our audience the fact - a very simple fact - that women are human beings. – The speaker describes in detail what is the reason of the suffrage’s movement.
• By appeal to emotion:
• I am here as a person who, according to the law courts of my country, it has been decided, is of no value to the community at all; and I am adjudged because of my life to be a dangerous person, under sentence of penal servitude in a convict prison. - The speaker makes people to think about this words, and as a result they see that there is injustice. And this knowledge makes them to feel anger, dislike, and turn people against such injustice, hopping up their emotions. 
  

2.5. Propaganda.

Propaganda

is also closely related to persuasion. It is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behavior of large numbers of people. Instead of impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience. The most effective propaganda is often completely truthful, but some propaganda presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or gives loaded messages in order to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the cognitive framework of the subject in the target audience.

There are different types of techniques for generating propaganda:

• Ad hominem – a Latin phrase which has come to mean attacking your opponent, as opposed to attacking their arguments.
• Freedom or death. – The name of the article is the main phrase, which shows the very idea of women requirement.
• Appeal to Authority – appeals to authority cite prominent figures to support a position, idea, argument, or course of action.
• Not found.
• Appeal to Fear – appeals to fear seek to build support by instilling anxieties and panic in the general population.
• Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won't do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death. – The author makes the government to choose what to do: to agree with them or to kill them (but the second choice is something that they are afraid to do).
• Appeal to Prejudice – using loaded or emotive terms to attach value or moral goodness to believing the proposition.
• I am not only here as a soldier…
• … the strangest part of my coming - I am here as a person who, according to the law courts of my country, it has been decided, is of no value to the community at all; and I am adjudged because of my life to be a dangerous person, under sentence of penal servitude in a convict prison. – In both examples the author emphasizes her attitude to this problem.
• Argumentum ad nauseam – this argument approach uses tireless repetition of an idea.
• I do not come here as an advocate…
• I am not here to advocate woman suffrage…
• I am here as a soldier who…
• I am not only here as a soldier temporarily absent from the field at battle; I am here - and that, I think, is the strangest part of my coming - I am here as a person who…

All these repetitions show the audience that the speaker is an ordinary woman as those among the listeners, in other words she is only one of thousands in the world, so she can see everything through their eyes.

• Bandwagon / Inevitable victory / Join the crowd - invites those not already on the bandwagon to join those already on the road to certain victory. Those already or at least partially on the bandwagon are reassured that staying aboard is their best course of action.
• Women are very slow to rouse, but once they are aroused, once they are determined, nothing on earth and nothing in heaven will make women give way; it is impossible. And so this "Cat and Mouse Act" which is being used against women today has failed. There are women lying at death's door, recovering enough strength to undergo operations who have not given in and won't give in, and who will be prepared, as soon as they get up from their sick beds, to go on as before. There are women who are being carried from their sick beds on stretchers into meetings. They are too weak to speak, but they go amongst their fellow workers just to show that their spirits are unquenched, and that their spirit is alive, and they mean to go on as long as life lasts. – The speaker provides the reasons of inevitable victory.
• Black-and-White fallacy – presenting only two choices, with the product or idea being propagated as the better choice.
• Human life for us is sacred, but we say if any life is to be sacrificed it shall be ours; we won't do it ourselves, but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death.- In other words the speaker offers only two solutions of the problem.
• Beautiful people – the type of propaganda that deals with famous people or depicts attractive, happy people.
• If we win it, this hardest of all fights, then, to be sure, in the future it is going to be made easier for women all over the world to win their fight when their time comes. – The author shows that if people support this movement women’s life will be more successful and happier.
• Big lie / Disinformation - the repeated articulation of a complex of events that justify subsequent action. The descriptions of these events have elements of truth, and the "big lie" generalizations merge and eventually supplant the public's accurate perception of the underlying events.
• Not found.
• Common man – it is designed to win the confidence of the audience by communicating in the common manner and style of the target audience.
• I do not come here as an advocate. - The author shows the audience that she is an common woman as those among the listeners.
• but you cannot make omelettes without breaking eggs, - The author uses the common manner and style of the target audience.
• Demonizing the enemy - making individuals from the opposing nation, from a different ethnic group, or those who support the opposing viewpoint appear to be subhuman, worthless, or immoral, through suggestion or false accusations.
• Then they began to legislate. The British government has passed more stringent laws to deal with this agitation than it ever found necessary during all the history of political agitation in my country. They were able to deal with the revolutionaries of the Chartists' time; they were able to deal with the trades union agitation; they were able to deal with the revolutionaries later on when the Reform Acts were passed: but the ordinary law has not sufficed to curb insurgent women. They had to dip back into the middle ages to find a means of repressing the women in revolt. – Emmeline Pankhurst describes actions of the government as something unfair in relation to the women.
• Direct order – this technique hopes to simplify the decision making process by using images and words to tell the audience exactly what actions to take, eliminating any other possible choices.
• Not found.
• Euphoria – the use of an event that generates euphoria or happiness, or using an appealing event to boost morale. Euphoria can be created by declaring a holiday, making luxury items available, or mounting a military parade with marching bands and patriotic messages.
• Not found.
• Disinformation – the creation or deletion of information from public records, in the purpose of making a false record of an event or the actions of a person or organization, including outright forgery of photographs, motion pictures, broadcasts, and sound recordings as well as printed documents.
• Not found.
• Flag-waving – an attempt to justify an action on the grounds that doing so will make one more patriotic, or in some way benefit a group, country, or idea. The feeling of patriotism which this technique attempts to inspire may not necessarily diminish or entirely omit one's capability for rational examination of the matter in question.
• Not found.
• Glittering generalities – glittering generalities are emotionally appealing words applied to a product or idea, but which present no concrete argument or analysis. A famous example is the campaign slogan "Ford has a better idea!".
• Freedom or death. – The name of the article is the main phrase, which shows the very idea of women requirement.
• Half-truth – a half-truth is a deceptive statement which may come in several forms and includes some element of truth. The statement might be partly true, the statement may be totally true but only part of the whole truth, or it may utilize some deceptive element, such as improper punctuation, or double meaning, especially if the intent is to deceive, evade blame or misrepresent the truth.
• Not found.
• Intentional vagueness – generalities are deliberately vague so that the audience may supply its own interpretations. The intention is to move the audience by use of undefined phrases, without analyzing their validity or attempting to determine their reasonableness or application. The intent is to cause people to draw their own interpretations rather than simply being presented with an explicit idea. In trying to "figure out" the propaganda, the audience foregoes judgment of the ideas presented.
• I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of battle in order to explain - it seems strange it should have to be explained - what civil war is like when civil war is waged by women. I am not only here as a soldier temporarily absent from the field at battle; I am here - and that, I think, is the strangest part of my coming - I am here as a person who, according to the law courts of my country, it has been decided, is of no value to the community at all; and I am adjudged because of my life to be a dangerous person, under sentence of penal servitude in a convict prison. – The author turns audience against the government. But she does not describe her story in detail – she only makes people to think what she had suffered.
• Obtain disapproval or Reductio ad Hitlerum - this technique is used to persuade a target audience to disapprove of an action or idea by suggesting that the idea is popular with groups hated, feared, or held in contempt by the target audience. Thus if a group which supports a certain policy is led to believe that undesirable, subversive, or contemptible people support the same policy, then the members of the group may decide to change their original position.
• Not found.
• Oversimplification – favorable generalities are used to provide simple answers to complex social, political, economic, or military problems.
• but we will put the enemy in the position where they will have to choose between giving us freedom or giving us death. – The speaker presents two ways, which can help to solve the problem.
• Quotes out of Context – selective editing of quotes which can change meanings. Political documentaries designed to discredit an opponent or an opposing political viewpoint often make use of this technique.
• The home secretary said: "Give me the power to let these women go when they are at death's door, and leave them at liberty under license until they have recovered their health again and then bring them back.". – It was the absurd decision which makes audience to trust Pankhurst’s idea that the government do nothing to destroy the injustice.
• but directly women say: "We withhold our consent, we will not be governed any longer so long as that government is unjust." – The author shows that women can be strong if they want, they are not only softer sex.
• Red herring / Chewbacca Defense – presenting data or issues that, while compelling, are irrelevant to the argument at hand, and then claiming that it validates the argument.
• Not found.
• Repetition – this type of propaganda deals with a jingle or word that is repeated over and over again, thus getting it stuck in someone’s head, so they can buy the product.
• It has become the subject of revolution and civil war, and so tonight I am not here to advocate woman suffrage.
• …and so you see in the woman's civil war the dear men of my country are discovering it is absolutely impossible to deal with it…
• Not by the forces of civil war can you govern the very weakest woman.
• You won the civil war by the sacrifice of human life when you decided to emancipate the negro.

Pankhurst associates

• Scapegoating – assigning blame to an individual or group, thus alleviating feelings of guilt from responsible parties and/or distracting attention from the need to fix the problem for which blame is being assigned.
• Not found.
• Slogans – a slogan is a brief, striking phrase that may include labeling and stereotyping. Although slogans may be enlisted to support reasoned ideas, in practice they tend to act only as emotional appeals. The names of the military campaigns, such as "enduring freedom" or "just cause", may also be regarded to be slogans, devised to influence people.
• Not found.
• Stereotyping or Name Calling or Labeling – this technique attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable. For instance, reporting on a foreign country or social group may focus on the stereotypical traits that the reader expects, even though they are far from being representative of the whole country or group.
• Not found.
• Transfer – also known as Association, this is a technique of projecting positive or negative qualities (praise or blame) of a person, entity, object, or value (an individual, group, organization, nation, patriotism, etc.) to another to make the second more acceptable or to discredit it.
• Not found.
• Virtue words – these are words in the value system of the target audience which tend to produce a positive image when attached to a person or issue.
• Not found.

 

 

3. Conclusion.

Emmeline Pankhurst utilizes the ideals of the Declaration to establish the main idea of her speech "Freedom or Death"; speaking to a convention of women suffragists, Pankhurst is able to use the knowledge that all men and women are created equal and deserve equal treatment, rights, and privileges.

Emmeline Pankhurst speaks about real problem of her modernity which demands a solution. Her speech doesn’t agitate people to do something specific, she doesn’t name famous people. But her speech makes the audience to think about the attitude to the people.

Despite the fact that the speech is full of emotion and even shocking stories, it is logically built to show the listener or reader the injustice in the division of rights between people. After all, women are people like everyone else. And despite the fact that they are physically weaker than men, they are stronger than they in emotional feelings and some other things.

The speech is successful because it is riddled by the truth and easily finds the response in people’s hearts.

 

 

 

 

Appendix №1. « Freedom or death»

 

I do not come here as an advocate, because whatever position the suffrage movement may occupy in the United States of America, in England it has passed beyond the realm of advocacy and it has entered into the sphere of practical politics. It has become the subject of revolution and civil war, and so tonight I am not here to advocate woman suffrage. American suffragists can do that very well for themselves.

I am here as a soldier who has temporarily left the field of battle in order to explain - it seems strange it should have to be explained - what civil war is like when civil war is waged by women. I am not only here as a soldier temporarily absent from the field at battle; I am here - and that, I think, is the strangest part of my coming - I am here as a person who, according to the law courts of my country, it has been decided, is of no value to the community at all; and I am adjudged because of my life to be a dangerous person, under sentence of penal servitude in a convict prison.

It is not at all difficult if revolutionaries come to you from Russia, if they come to you from China, or from any other part of the world, if they are men. But since I am a woman it is necessary to explain why women have adopted revolutionary methods in order to win the rights of citizenship. We women, in trying to make our case clear, always have to make as part of our argument, and urge upon men in our audience the fact - a very simple fact - that women are human beings.