Read the following passage carefully and then answer the questions below.
EXTRACT FROM 'WE SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS' BY CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
Some years ago, I wrote a novel about a man who beats his wife and whose wife, instead of leaving, becomes more and more dependent on him. A Nigerian acquaintance told me that this was a very male fantasy. 'You know this never happens,' he said. 'Nigerian women don't let themselves be beaten.' I looked at him and said, 'Are you joking?'
We do a great disservice to boys in how we raise them. We stifle the humanity of boys. We define masculinity in a very narrow way. Masculinity is a hard, small cage, and we put boys inside this cage.
We teach boys to be afraid of fear, of weakness, of vulnerability. We teach them to mask their true selves, because we have linked the idea of masculinity with the idea of strength, with the idea of power, with the idea of invincibility.
What if both boys and girls were raised not to link vulnerability with weakness? Boys and girls are undeniably different biologically, but socialisation exaggerates the differences, and then we claim that the differences are natural.
Some people ask, 'Why the word feminist? Why not just say you are a believer in human rights, or something like that?' Because that would be dishonest. Feminism is, of course, part of human rights in general — but to say that we are merely humans'-rights advocates is to deny the specific and particular problem of gender. It would be a way of pretending that it was not women who have, for centuries, been excluded.
My own definition of a feminist is a man or a woman who says, 'Yes, there's a problem with gender as it is today and we must fix it, we must do better.' All of us, women and men, must do better.
Guiding Question for Text
How does Adichie use rhetorical devices, personal anecdote, and structural choices to persuade her audience of the need for gender equality?
Identify and analyse TWO specific rhetorical or stylistic devices that Adichie uses in this extract. For each device, explain its purpose and effect on the reader.
How does Adichie's use of personal anecdote in the opening paragraph establish her authority (ethos) and engage the reader's emotions (pathos)?
Examine the structure of Adichie's argument in this extract. How does she build from individual experience to a broader social critique?
Analyse how Adichie's language choices — including the use of repetition, direct address, and metaphor ('a hard, small cage') — contribute to the overall persuasive impact of this passage.