Thursday, April 23, 2015

Explain why the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Sentiments was written the way it is. Do not explain content, merely explain why it was written in that particular style.

Overall, the Declaration is an argumentative piece which lays out evidence supporting the assertions made therein.
In the first and rather long single-sentence paragraph, the writers locate “one people” as the central subject. They also state that it is “necessary” for this unified group to act in a distinct way. Toward the end of that sentence, they say that this necessity requires said people to “declare” the causes of their future actions. The purpose of that whole long sentence, therefore, is to set up the following sentence, which enumerates the specific factors. As they have already established that the people are acting as one, the reader has formed an idea of who the “we” are in the next sentence. That “we” is confirmed as “the governed." While the paragraph begins with a long sentence, using “that” as a lead-in multiple times establishes it as a list of the “truths” referenced in the sentence’s beginning.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...