Essay Response

Let me start off by stating that I commend Sojourner Truth for taking a stand. Most women, and many others of her time, would not have made the brave decision to stand up for what they believe, and she was not only a woman but also an African-American, doubling the barriers, opposition, and obstacles against her. Her purpose was clear; she was human and didn't think herself any lower than a man because she was a woman and no other woman should either. Not only did she take a stand in making her opinion known she also demolished anything that anyone had to say that was negative concerning the status of women equality. The most compelling part was that she did it by stating that though she was a woman, she could do anything any man could and more.
Her first compelling argument was that men thought women were fragile and needed help and deserved the best. But she states how she was a woman and no one helped her in these areas and that she provided for herself, without the help of a man. The next really made me feel, I can't think of the word, but its like whoa!!! She pulls out her arm, showing muscle power and says she has worked plantations and farms and that no man could've topped her, but yet she is a woman. She then goes to say that she works just as much as any man, eats just as much as any man, and as a former slave got beatings like a man and took it, unlike most guys who can't even take a punch, but yet she was still a woman. She then pulls at the strings of the heart by telling her story of grief that she went through as a mother, as her children were taken from her and sold into slavery, but no on ever heard a peep out of her about it, when most men where their outrage and grief on their shoulders and face, but she was STILL a woman. Her last two most compelling arguments involved the two most important women of the bible, showing Truth as a credible and intelligent source. The man she was debating had the audacity to come out and say that women weren't equal to men because Christ wasn't a woman, and instantly Truth said that Christ came from God and a woman. She also expounded on how Eve, the very first woman God created was strong enough to flip the world upside by just biting into a piece of forbidden fruit. In both cases man had nothing to do with what took place.
The most powerful part of her speech was when she took the time to encourage the women in her midst while still talking to the man. She was letting them know if Mary, the mother of Christ, and Eve took part and had the strength to change the world, and that she herself could do the things she could, and be stronger than any man, and stand there openly state her mind, that they could do it and do it better. And she still held herself in a lady-like manner and thanked the man for listening to her opinions.