Sojourner Truth

Question

by
Joanna Evans
NARRATOR
: Did you know that women in theUnited States weren’t allowed to vote until 1920?That’s when the 19th Amendment to theConstitution was ratified, extending voting rights toall women. If you do your math, you’ll find thatwomen couldn’t vote for nearly 150 years after ournation was created out of the Revolutionary War. ..talk about injustice!
I have a very interesting story to tell you today. It’sabout how women got together, starting in 1848with the first Women’s Rights Convention inSeneca Falls, New York, to fight to end slaveryand secure the right to vote for all Americans.
It took a long time, but the fight they started paidoff.
Two of the women at the forefront of thesestruggles were Susan B. Anthony and ElizabethStanton. They traveled widely, meeting withwomen, speaking to audiences large and small,urging an end to slavery and voting rights for all.Often traveling with them was a six-foot-tall blackwoman, a freed slave named Sojourner Truth. Hervoice was heard in every hall and at everymeeting, declaring “liberty throughout all the landunto all the inhabitants thereof,” the words etchedon the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.
For 70 years, women battled against thewrongfulness of the early laws that refused theirrights as voting citizens. They also battled withinthemselves and with each other. That’s where thisstory begins, a year after the end of the bloodiestwar in our history, the Civil War. Two generationsof women find themselves in a room filled withtension, frustration, and fear.
(NARRATOR exits ascurtain opens.)
Sojourner Truth
, by Joanna L. Evans © This play isreprinted from Plays, The Drama Magazine forYoung People with the permission of the publisherPlays/Sterling Partners Inc. 897 Washington Street#600160, Newton, MA 02460
A)
Use the passage to answer the question.
How does the playwright use language toengage the audience?
(1 point)
The narrator asks questions and uses
exclamations to appear more animated
to the audience.
The narrator uses contractions like
“that’s” and “weren’t” to make the text
casual for the audience.
The narrator addresses the audience
directly with words like “you” and “our.”
The narrator discusses historical figures
like Sojourner Truth and Susan B.
Anthony that the audience might be
familiar with

Answer 1

The playwright engages the audience effectively by using language that addresses them directly with words like "you" and "our." This creates a connection between the narrator and the audience, making the historical context feel more personal and relevant. By involving the audience in the narrative and making them feel part of the conversation, the playwright enhances their engagement with the story being told.