Killing Silence: A Rhetorical Analysis of “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” Zoe Carter 11th Grade

Oppression can come in many forms; the one people identify least is the one that could harm people the most. Audrey Lorde speaks with a personal level of reflection as she states how silence is a version of oppression that many confuse for protection at the MLA’s “Lesbian and Literature Panel” in 1977. Lorde’s statement that language is power is meant to show women that their voice is important in the battle against oppression. After using figurative language to create a solemn tone, and reinforce that silence is also an oppressor, Lorde also appeals to the pathos to sway her audience’s belief that silence protects, and to argue that one must abandon silence to gain the power to reverse oppression.

Lorde uses personification in her 1977 speech to bring her personal experiences and society’s uncalled oppression to life to exemplify the true essence of how silence is not protection to convince her audience to abandon silence. As Lorde reflects on her life, she recalls a moment with her daughter and how she easily tells Lorde that “ [language] gets madder and madder and hotter and hotter, and if [Lorde doesn’t] speak it out one day [language] will just up and punch [Lorde] in the mouth from the inside” (Lorde 42). Lorde’s point is...