"'Ain't I a Woman' Speech"

by Sojourner Truth

Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter. I think that ‘twixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North, all talking about rights, the white men will be in a fix pretty soon. But what’s all this here talking about?

That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place everywhere. Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud-puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm! I have ploughed and planted, and gathered into barns, and no man could head me! And ain’t I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man – when I could get it – and bear the lash as well! And ain’t I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain’t I a woman?

Ain't I a Woman, Sojourner Truth, 1851

Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

Which phrase contains an allusion?

(1 point)
Responses

“I think that ‘twixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North.”
“I think that ‘twixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North.”

“And ain’t I a woman?”
“And ain’t I a woman?”

“But what’s all this here talking about?”
“But what’s all this here talking about?”

“Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter.”
“Well, children, where there is so much racket there must be something out of kilter.”

1 answer

The phrase that contains an allusion is:

“I think that ‘twixt the Negroes of the South and the women at the North.”

This phrase refers to the ongoing discussions and struggles regarding rights for both enslaved African Americans in the South and women’s rights in the North, alluding to the broader social and political issues of the time.