Reading Blog 15

November 10, 2011

ARCS Ch. 12 and Maria Stewart pp. 1031-1044; Frederick Douglass pp. 1061-1085

Delivery: Attending to Eyes and Ears
Delivery is the first time the audience sees and hears the tone of a presentation.  At the very beginning of a speech, one can determine how the rest of it will go.  The voice of the rhetor is very important, as is the facial and body language used during the presentation.  I think this is one of the most important aspects.  If you are leaning on the podium while trying to talk about an important issue, many people aren't going to take the speaker seriously.  Many ancient rhetors insist on rehearsing the speech out loud.  I think this is a very effective way of practicing.  It will be the most appropriate way of knowing how the speech will sound when speaking.

Maria Stewart
Maria Stewart was left as an orphan then became part of a Protestant family as an indentured servant.  Starting at a very young age, this woman has had a hard life.  She went on to marry James W. Stewart when she was only 23.  Walker was an advocate for African American rights as well as an abolitionist, an important part of the development of Maria started publishing comments in the Liberator to battle African American rights.  She also wrote religious meditations.  She also started preparing public speeches to give about issues that concern her. Because women were not supposed to call so much attention to themselves, this caused a lot of issues.  I find women's rights very interesting.  It has taken so long for women to have 'equal' rights in society, when even today there are still divisions.  I feel like there are many intellectual women who never had the chance to express their opinions.