35 pages • 1 hour read
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Anecdote
By far the most frequent means the author uses to justify her arguments is by relating personal anecdotes. These anecdotes either touch on events from her own life or they relate the experiences of her friends and people she has met.
Sometimes, the anecdotes are very personal: “I stopped playing football when my breasts first appeared because all I wanted to do was hide the existence of my breasts” (42). Other times, the anecdotes reminisce about some humorous event in the past: “Do you remember how we laughed and laughed about an atrociously written piece about me some years ago?” (23).
This is indicative of the fact that this work was originally written as a personal letter to a friend. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, that many of the people involved in the anecdotes are people known to the recipient, Ijeawele. The stories are not just meant to inform, but also to make Ijeawele laugh, to bond with her over shared memories, to divulge personal secrets, and to ground the essay in the shared world of the two friends.
The overall effect is to give the essay a very light-hearted and intimate flavor. The personal anecdotes also help to make the more theoretical points understandable by relating them to very real, everyday scenarios.
Assertion
In the third paragraph of the book, on page 8, Adichie tells us that every feminist should have a personal premise. This premise should serve as a sort of axiom for life that is never to be doubted and should guide every choice you make. That premise is “I matter.”
Note that this is not an argument; it’s an assertion, and it’s far more rhetorically powerful in that way. Somehow, providing a justification for this statement would only dilute its impact. Providing a justification would communicate that this statement is in need of one, and therefore, it would open up a space for doubt in the reader’s mind.
On the contrary, this statement is not meant to be open to dispute. It is simply a direct expression of self-affirmation and self-respect. It serves as the unwavering, uncompromising driving force of the entire book.
Rebuttal
Another rhetorical device the author frequently uses is rebuttal. This technique involves laying out an opponent’s argument, in this case, an argument made by an anti-feminist, in order to unpack and deconstruct it. Adichie does this when she discusses Feminism-Lite:
A feminism-Lite adherent once told me that the fact that our society expects men to make proposals proves that women have the power because only if a woman says yes can marriage happen. The truth is this - the real power resides in the person who asks. Before you can say yes or no, you first must be asked. I truly wish for Chizalum a world in which either person can propose (56-57).
The structure of rebuttal allows the author to refute her opponent’s argument, set up her own viewpoint by contrast, and propose a constructive solution all within the same movement. Her use of rebuttal is also more rhetorically effective than it would have been had she merely stated her point of view, since by reproducing her opponent’s argument in his own words, she demonstrates that she is willing to listen and consider it on its own terms. She bolsters her credibility further by not attacking her opponent’s character, but only considering his words in a cool and rational tone.
Unlock all 35 pages of this Study GuidePlus, gain access to 8,800+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
Related Titles
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
