Question

English pls help!

Read the following excerpt from The Anti-Suffragist by William Lloyd Garrison before you choose your answer.

"Remonstra was a lady of conviction and of ease,
Who graced the best society with manners made to please;
She was exclusive in her tastes, and thought reformers frights,
Especially the female ones who work for women's rights.
As for herself, Remonstra said, she never wished to vote;
On sweet domestic privacy she dearly loved to dote;
To put a ballot in a box necessitated thought,
A disagreeable process, with many dangers fraught."

The rhetorical purpose of this satirical passage is to

A.) reveal that women's suffrage is necessary for the advancement of a free and civil society
B.) show that objections to suffrage are based upon stereotypical assumptions about women
C.) depict a woman who is desperate for the freedom and respect that suffrage would give her
D.) assert that women's suffrage is not needed as women are more than happy with life as it is

Answer 1

The satirical poem by William Lloyd Garrison aims to show that objections to women's suffrage are based on stereotypical assumptions about women, mocking the demeaning viewpoints and aligning with the historical efforts of suffragists to counter these stereotypes.

Step-by-step explanation:

The excerpt from The Anti-Suffragist by William Lloyd Garrison operates as a satirical piece, pointing out the absurdity of the arguments against women's suffrage at the time. Its rhetorical purpose aligns most closely with showing that objections to suffrage are based upon stereotypical assumptions about women (option B). This is evidenced not only in the derogatory language and trivialization of women's rights seen in the poem but also by historical context. Activists like Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton ardently challenged such stereotypes and demonstrated that they had no factual basis. Furthermore, the anti-suffrage propaganda of the period, as seen in cartoons depicting suffragists in a negative light, aimed to discredit the movement by appealing to these stereotypes rather than engaging with the suffragists' arguments.

Answer 2

Both options A and B are present in the idea exposed in The Anti-Suffragist by William Lloyd. But, when it comes to this specific passage, the answer that seems to be correct is B. show that objections to suffrage are based upon stereotypical assumptions about women.

This passage is about the misconception that women would rather worry - only - about domestic affairs and leave the thinking to men, since it is a hard task.

The woman characterized in this poem, Remonstra, ends up proving the exact opposite, however. She works so hard fighting against the suffrage, organizing speeches and committees, that everyone else admires her intelligence and abilities. People even say she would be better at running a city than half the men in office. The stereotype she is fighting so diligently to maintain is, thus, destroyed.