In 2004, Barack Obama, a one-term senator from Illinois delivered an essential speech at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts. In his speech, Obama supported John Kerry’s selection as the Democratic presidential nominee. Through his speech, Obama mainly focused on the fact that he has achieved the American Dream, which has powered the hopes and aspirations of immigrants for generations. He addressed the fact that the Dream is enshrined in the United States Declaration of Independence: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Obama communicates to his audience that everyone in America, despite what race and economic circumstances in which a person was born, has the potential to achieve the Dream. Obama’s speech was …show more content…
He demonstrated that he was educated when he incorporated ethos in his speech. Ethos established the credibility of Obama, which helped his audience to take the propositions that he said as acceptable and true. Therefore, Obama gives proof of his education by referring to the authority of the state of Illinois and Abraham Lincoln. In the beginning paragraph, Obama makes an idea home to the audience that a person with a social background of so humble origins now is in the position of such a supreme place that he is expressing his deep gratitude on behalf of great state of Illinois and on the behalf of Lincoln. Consequently, the audiences are pursued in taking the speaker as a credible person. They accept his credibility as the delegate of the state of Illinois as well as the greatest president of America, Abraham Lincoln. The wise use of Obama's appeal to authority of the state of Illinois and of Abraham Lincoln increased his trustworthiness, integrity and reliability. Paragraph five reflected his personality in a very unique way by arousing the emotional force of the audience in favor of him. Here, the positive emotions are enthused not by recounting or narrating a story, rather by employing a careful collection of some episodes of mental pictures or images in very brief clauses. …show more content…
that any person in the U.S. is able to achieve the Dream. Hence this feeling of the audience increased the credibility of Obama's character. Moreover, the use of the first person singular pronoun “I” not only demonstrated Obama’s personal contribution in a matter under discussion, but also his narcissism. Obama later took advantage of using the plural pronoun “we” during more uncertain state of affairs. Nevertheless, the distance between him and the audience got minimized when he used the plural pronoun "we." Through the course of his speech, Obama said “we” 35 times and he said the pronoun "us" 9 times and the pronoun "our" 22 times. Hence, the frequent use of pronouns in his speech helped Obama build rapport with his audience. “We” gave the feeling that Obama and the audience are not different, but rather the same being. This feeling gave a sense of unconscious pride to the listeners, they began to admire and take side of the speaker. Consequently, this strengthened Obama’s credibility and he clearly demonstrated audience adaptation. Obama clearly tailored his speech to the needs, interests, and expectations of his audience when he used antithesis. Obama used this technique in the 13th paragraph when he states:
In addition Pr. Bush’s use of language of inclusion through words like “we” and “our” reaffirms that America is one unit that acts as one. Unifying the people of America and then identifying a problem were two integral steps in ensuring the nation saw through the same lens as Pr.
Utilizing personal pronouns such as “we” and “our,” Obama provides emphasis on the existence of global unity for any substantial change to become possible. For instance, “Science is how we were able to combat acid rain,” “We must continue to nurture our children’s curiosity,” “We must keep funding
In an attempt to persuade and gain voters for Bernie Sanders in the November 2016 election, Bernie’s campaign created a TV advertisement using different tactics. Bernie is running for the Democratic party in the election. By connecting to different audiences and stating his political positions, Bernie builds himself up by using ethos and pathos. The first is that Bernie is trying to reach as many voters as possible, young and old, by making claims that appeal to both sides.
Audience Answer: Obama talks to all of America, and the whole world hears. He is talking to America, but he is
The Rhetorical Elements of Barack Obama’s Speech President Obama uses rhetorical appeals throughout his speech. These rhetorical appeals help prove that each an every student should try their best in school. President Obama stated in his 2009 “Address to America’s Schoolchildren” that each student must take responsibility for his or her own education. President Obama uses many examples of ethos, logos, and pathos in his speech. In Obama’s 2009 “Address to America’s Schoolchildren” he has examples of ethos.
In order to have a compelling speech, one must utilize the use of pathos, ethos, and logos. In his second inaugural address, Obama uses all three of these in a very effective way considering his situation. Being his second term in office it would be unnecessary to rely on the use of ethos or logos, considering they already know his plan for office and his credibility level. Obama’s heavy dependence on pathos seems like an intelligent choice. Although, Obama did not completely remove the use of ethos and logos.
Abe Lincoln, in his second inaugural address, uses language with which the audience can connect and relate. Through inclusive pronouns, parallel sentence structure, pathos, and metaphors, Lincoln does not simply list off what the war has entailed or recommend a certain path the people must take. Lincoln instead consoles the nation as if it was a dear old friend whom is in dire need of advice. The first rhetorical strategy Lincoln used was inclusive pronouns such as “we”, “us”, and “all”. Additionally, the president began the address with the inviting words “Fellow Countrymen”.
Obama’s use of ethos and pathos in his “A More Perfect Union” speech further helps to persuade his voters to stick with him because he does not have the same views as Reverend Wright. It gives some context as to why some African-Americans feel the way they do towards the government and other races. In his speech Obama also uses irony by noting the old truism that the “most segregated hour in American life occurs on sunday morning” meaning that on a day that's supposed to be dedicated to love and God, the American people are still segregated and racially divided whether it be Black and White or Latino and Asian(Obama). The combined use of ethos, pathos, and irony strengthen Obama's message of unity and equality.
Therefore, Mr. Obama nailed the ethos step by gaining credibility with the audience by, stating to the members of the church that, he got a letter from a friend of some of yours named Reverend Otis Moss Jr. in Cleveland, and his son, Otis Moss III is the Pastor at my church and that he got an letter of encouragement from him saying how proud he was that he had announced his Presidential run and encourage him to stay true to his ideas (American Rhetoric, 2007).
The first statement that Obama makes is that “America is a country of strong families and strong values” (The Living Room Candidate). This is already telling the audience that he
Using this quote gave the readers a sense of the main idea, which was about racism. This helped to further improve the quality of Obama’s topic and support the points he was about to make. Then goes to give a brief information about Obama’s speech. He then began with his four rhetorical strategies, starting with allusion.
We do it all up front…”), he used “we” to show how the program was a service to all of the people and not just the government. Because the president is such a high figure in American society (being in a representative position), it made the speech more engaging by including the regular citizens in a group along with someone with such a high rank. With this unity, the audiences have a greater sense of empathy; when everyone is in the same boat, it is easier to understand the emotions and ideas that one person goes through because one has gone through them first hand. This aspect greater boosts the pathos technique in the
Every year many people around the world deliver speeches and other gatherings that are significant to the September 11th anniversary. On September 11, 2009 President Barack Obama delivered his 9/11 Pentagon Memorial Speech in Arlington, Virginia. This speech was primarily for President Barack Obama to give his remarks for the 8th year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attacks. This message was targeted to all who were affected from this day. President Obama diligently expressed his remorse and provided encouragement in a rhetorical speech involving examples of logos, pathos, and ethos.
The 44th and first African American President, Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Address, promotes a call to action. Obama’s purpose is to express his gratitude for his opportunity to become president and discuss his plans for economic advancement. In order to reach the American people of the U.S., Obama adopts a serious and thought-provoking tone to urge them to support his plans for advancement. During this time of economic crisis, Obama clearly conveys to the American people through his use of metaphor, allusion, and anaphora, that it is time to take a stand and make a change in America.
Barack Obama’s win for President in 2009 was a historical moment for the United States. His inaugural speech was much anticipated, because this was going to set the tone for his presidency. His speech told the American people that improving the economy is one of his priorities, but there were also other areas he would like to improve like healthcare and the education system. This was a speech that was meant to persuade the American public to take action for them to rise as a nation again, and for them to put their trust into him. His message addressed a couple of specific points like his gratefulness to the American people, the different crises America is facing, how America will overcome these crises, replying to his cynics, addressing the world, and then he reminded America again to be brave like they’ve always been to overcome the hard times (5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama's Inaugural Speech, (n.d.).