Reading Response for 10/21

I felt that is was very refreshing to read about a woman involved in rhetoric. I am not some huge feminist, but I do believe in women's rights and that women should be treated equally so it was nice to hear that coming from a woman that was so heavily involved in the world of the rhetorics.

First of all, I found it very interesting that Quaker women were among the first to speak out and give an opinion. I had no idea that the Quaker women had made such an impact in the world of public social issues and social-activism. Margaret Fell made an impact on the history for women and making a trail for these women to engage in a man's world.

I do feel very grateful for Fell's presence in this world, however I am not a huge fan on the religious front. Fell used religion to help guide her through into speaking publicly. Given, at the time, it was very hard for women to speak their minds due to the role that men so heavily played in society, so I don't blame her for that. However, I am not a fan of people who try and push their religion on other. I do know that the Quaker society is a religious bunch, so that makes sense, however, it just doesn't sit well with me overall on that front.

Overall, Fell made an impact on rhetoric history so I found it refreshing to see a woman make a stand.

Thomas Wilson, also another refreshing read. Although he does spend a lot of time reiterating Aristotle and Cicero, it feels nice to read someone who was respectful, unlike Ramus from last week's reading. I found it nice that Wilson expands on these practices, questions them and also answers the questions for future readers, unlike Aristotle who just left.

In the reading it says this: 'The five-part structure is, of course, drawn from classical rhetoric, but Wilson's work goes further beyond translation and paraphrase than other rhetorics of the period do."

This was, in fact, was extremely helpful in for us as the reader's because it doesn't allow us just to interpret their information, but actually gives us an answer. In the end though, Wilson does the same thing every other rhetoric does though and reiterates the classical thinkers and turns it into his own.