Question

The only question left to be settled now is: Are women

persons? I scarcely believe any of our opponents will have
the hardihood to say they are not. Being persons, then,
women are citizens, and no State has a right to make any
new law, or to enforce any old law, which shall abridge their
privileges or immunities. Hence, every discrimination
against women in the constitutions and laws of the several
States is today null and void, precisely as is every one
against negroes.
-Susan B. Anthony, "Speech After Being Convicted of
Voting"
Why does Susan B. Anthony most likely use a rhetorical question in this
passage?
A. To show that she doesn't believe in her own argument

B. To leave her evidence open to the audience's interpretation

C. To have the audience focus on the main point of her argument

D. To allow the audience a chance to answer the question

Answer 1

D. To allow the audience a chance to answer the question

Answer 2

Susan B. Anthony uses a rhetorical question in her speech to direct her audience's attention to the fundamental point that women, being persons, are citizens and therefore should not face discrimination or be denied the right to vote. C. The correct answer is option: C) To have the audience focus on the main point of her argument.

Step-by-step explanation:

In her speech, Susan B. Anthony poses a rhetorical question to focus her audience on the main argument of her address: the rights of women as citizens and the illegality of their disenfranchisement. Anthony's question, "Are women persons?" underscores the absurdity of denying women the right to vote if they are recognized as persons and, thus, as citizens.

By framing her statement as a question, she challenges her audience to acknowledge the truth of her assertion without directly stating it, engaging them and leading them to the inevitable conclusion that women's rights are being unjustly withheld.