In the article “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History”, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich argues that women can make significant impacts in history with words. Thatcher Ulrich expands how the unexpected population gave her a new point of view, which made her original quote an incredible influence in society. The author describes how a journalist used her original quote as an epigraph for history data. Thatcher Ulrich explains in details of how several people think that women were not important and useless in history. Thatcher Ulrich points out that history is about what later creations should be remembered in the present, not just the past. The author describes in detail of how three women changed history in sexual fantasies, segregation, and writing words in diaries in order to create understandings. Thatcher Ulrich pushes for remembrance by using her popular quote in order to be heard and include herself in the story. The author influences her quote to help women regain their lives by using words speak louder than actions (Thatcher Ulrich 656-65).
Throughout the article, the overall tones was a combination of inspiration and outspokenness. An example of the tone being inspirational was when the author was “making a commitment to help recover the otherwise obscure women” (Thatcher Ulrich 665). The author’s tone made a promise to help women understand that they can make differences in the community (Thatcher Ulrich 665). Another example for the author’s tone being inspirational was when Rosa Parks did the unexpected by saying no and refusing to give up her seat (Thatcher Ulrich 660). The tone also demonstrates inspiration because women can make historical implications by being heard. The tone was outspoken, because the author could relate to Martha Ballard’s story of how a diary of words created meaning in life. An example for the tone being outspoken was when Thatcher Ulrich stated, “sometime in my thirties I discovered that writing about women’s work was a lot more fun than doing it” (664). The author’s tone shows her discovery for writing about women’s performances instead of physically doing the work is enjoyable (Thatcher Ulrich 664). The tones of the article demonstrates inspiration and outspokenness, because Thatcher Ulrich enjoys writing about her own and women’s work more than doing the work herself.
When analyzing Thatcher Ulrich’s writing style, her choice of words was difficult to understand. The author states that “good historians are concerned with broad transformations in human behavior, things like falling death rates or transatlantic migration” (Thatcher Ulrich 658). This shows an example of the author’s writing style, because there were several words that were not recognizable. Another example of Thatcher Ulrich’s writing style is that her long, excessive sentences are too concentrated. For example, Thatcher Ulrich states that:
If women occupy the fixed center of life, and if history is seen as a linear progression of public events, a changing panorama of wars and kingdoms, then only those who through outrageous behavior, divine intervention, or sheer genius step into the stream of public consequence have a history. (658)
This identifies an example of how the author’s sentences are overdone and tough to comprehend. Thatcher Ulrich’s writing style of this article was challenging, because of her word choice and how she uses long sentences in order to get her point across.
The author’s purpose for writing this article was to inform and persuade that women have various significations in society. An example showing information is when Thatcher Ulrich states that:
Many people think women are less visible in history than men because their bodies impel them to nurture. Their job is to bind the wounds, stir the soup, and bear the children of those whose mission it is to fight wars, rule nations, and define the cosmos. (658)
This demonstrates the author’s purpose because the several people think that women were worthless and they didn’t have strong and effective roles in history (Thatcher Ulrich 658). Their job was to care and provide at home while men fight for their country (Thatcher Ulrich 658). Another example of the author’s purpose was when she was, “making a commitment to help recover the otherwise obscure women” (Thatcher Ulrich 665). This shows the author’s purpose to persuade because women have many rights to create history into memories that will be remembered.
Throughout the article, the intended audience would be for anyone who has strong opinions about men and women equally playing roles in history. For example, Thatcher Ulrich states that “history is an account of the past based on surviving sources, but it is also a way of making sense out of the present” (658). This pinpoints the intended audience because history is an explanation of the past based on originations that already exist, and an idea of creating understandings of what is currently happening (Thatcher Ulrich 658). Thatcher Ulrich also states that “we re-create past events from fragments of information, trying hard to distinguish credible accounts from wishful thinking” (659). This also identifies another example of the intended audience, because people can create situations over again from chunks of facts and analyze written descriptions from events in the past (Thatcher Ulrich 659). It also identifies the intended audience, because the author was not referring to a specific gender. Anyone could read this article and think that women can establish meaningful history.
The author uses both essay and article formats in order for the intended audience to understand in a more complex manner. Thatcher Ulrich chose the essay genre because she told a story of how her unintentional recognition became a success in public. For example, the author gives credit “to a single line from a scholarly article she published in 1976” (Thatcher Ulrich 656). Thatcher Ulrich gave appreciation form an article she issued a long time ago (656). Thatcher Ulrich also chose the article genre because she argues that women have the right to be heard. The author used Rosa Parks as example that “her willingness to say ‘no’ changed the world” (Thatcher Ulrich 663). Thatcher Ulrich used article and essay genre, because she told a story and was opinionated about feminism.
The article was hard to understand, but enjoyable to read at same time. What I liked about the article was that Thatcher Ulrich specifies of how history has failed to give women their voice, whether they were well-behaved or not. What I also liked about the article was that the author differentiates ways of how women have engaged with history and with women's rights. For many generations women were taught to prepare food, care for the sick, and take care of wounds after wars (Thatcher Ulrich 658). Today women are getting recognized of what they are doing, even as housewives. Thatcher Ulrich described the works of three women who had made history and their incredible stories influencing other women today. This article helped me understand that women are meant for something, and needing to be brave enough to accomplish goals in life.

Work Cited
Thatcher Ulrich, Laurel. “Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History.” The Norton Field
Guide to Writing with Readings. 3rd Edition. Eds. Richard Bullock and Maureen Daly
Goggin. New York: W.W. Norton and Co, 2013. 656-65.