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Rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches
Rhetorical analysis of political speech
Rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches
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Who knew in 2004 that we would have our first black president? In the Democratic National Convention, senator Barack Obama spoke for the presidential candidate, John Kerry. As the keynote speaker for the Democratic party, he emphasized the principles of his party and unity of American people . With his audience members being democrats, republicans, liberals, and conservatives, he knows that they have their differences, but in the end, they pledge their loyalties to the same country; Obama effectively captures the mind of his audience in a well-orchestrated speech, his character and spirit spoke volumes about him as an individual, and his expert storytelling made the audience members think. In his speech, Obama sets the stage …show more content…
One such story was about a young marine he met on his trip to Illinois. The anecdote had enough detail to create a mental picture to get his point across. He did not want to give too much detail on that story because if he did then the picture that the audience was drawn in their heads would be ruined and their opinions on the marine would change. Obama expertly weaved his story into a rhetorical question that would make the audience vulnerable. He questioned, “Are we serving Shamus as well as he is serving us?” (Obama). The question turned heads and his audience members listened with awe, he had convinced them into believing every little word by one short story. He also entices fear within his audience’s heart by talking about the safety of the nation and the safety of children. The two things that the …show more content…
That’s what exactly happened to Barack Obama, but would we want him dressed in his pajamas, giving a speech? It would make him look lousy and make the pubic dis-interested. If they are wearing suits and have great posture, the charisma would flow through the room like fresh ocean breeze. The listeners did not know who Barack Obama was before this speech but with his introduction story about his family and the hardships they had faced. The members could piece together that he came from a hard-working family and it made him credible. Additionally, he spoke with clear and strong voice that compelled the audience by his charm. His character was outlined when he talked about the people he met during his journey and what he wants to do to help them and
The purpose of an “inaugural address” is to inform the people of his or her intentions as a leader. Two of the most prominent inaugural addresses throughout history are Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s and Barack Obama’s. Franklin Roosevelt’s inaugural address stands the test of time because it gave the American people hope that they may overcome the terrible Great Depression. Similarly, Barack Obama’s address is well known because it inspired millions that we will be lifted out of economic crisis, but it was also remembered as the first inaugural address from an African American president. The inauguration speeches of Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama use the rhetorical devices parallelism, allusions, and emotive language to convey their messages
President Obama’s Address to the nation was presented on January 5, 2016. His speech was shown on all of the major network stations. The main goal of his speech was to get the point across to the nation about the increasing problem of gun use. His speech really focused on the issue of gun control and if it would benefit the country. Overall, the biggest idea of his Address was that gun control is a large issue in the United States. The way to prevent deaths caused by firearms can be prevented in other ways than taking peoples guns away. The examples brought up in this Address really stood out to me. The use of personal, national, and global examples really made his speech stronger on the topic of effectiveness.
In contempt of Obama’s humble giving spirit, vivid personality, and many accomplishments, a debate is always at hand upon hearing the infamous name Barack Hussein Obama. From his place of birth, religion, and ethnicity Obama’s face a fair share of controversy. At the heels of adversity along with sheer determination to help others Obama became a leader that delivers and one of the most influential people of America. Adversity was introduced to Obama at an early age. With a Kenyan father and Caucasian mother residing in Hawaii, Obama has always stood out in numerous ways. In 1959 Barack Obama Senior was selected from a number of candidates to go to school in the US where he attended The University of Hawaii in Honolulu to
He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and at hiss. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his statement of unity. Using various examples of parallelism, anaphora and refrain, Obama brands the theme of equality and togetherness in our country throughout the speech, vital to gaining the respect of his audience. Obama recalls the ‘enduring strength of the constitution’ by delving into the past alluding to America’s allegiance to the Declaration of Independence by quoting “we hold these truths. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
Roy Peter Clark, author of “A More Perfect Union”: Why It Worked, takes a stance on President Barack Obama’s speech while analyzing it. President Barack Obama delivered a speech titled “A More Perfect Union.” His speech focused on the prominent issue of racism in America. In this article, Clark talks about President Obama’s known power and brilliance. Clark makes references and comparisons to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and W.EB. DuBois. “A More Perfect Union” features writing techniques that makes the message more defined and effective. President Obama utilizes four closely related rhetorical strategies. Clark broadly explains the purpose of the rhetorical strategies. Allusion, parallelism, two-ness, and autobiography helped to shape President Obama’s speech that that was meant to create
President Barack H. Obama has always used rhetorical strategies in his political speeches. He used these strategies to present important points and views of his in front of the public. Delivering points and views properly and logically got him to be the president in the first place. President Obama used mostly ethos and pathos, yet some logos, to deliver his inaugural and the state of union speeches. Being that, he was able to reach the audience emotionally and make the speech flow efficiently while preserving his credibility.
One of his most emotionally driven speeches is his eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney. Obama appeals to his audience which happens to be the loved ones of the victims of the Charleston shooting. Obama eulogy is very effective since he uses rhetorical appeals to honor Reverend Clementa Pinckney and the victims of the Charleston shooting as well as bring to the light the struggles faced by African Americans. With his unique style of speaking, Obama makes it easy for his
Remarks by President Obama at the eulogy for the honorable Reverend Clementa Pinckney; A man who was killed when an another man rushed into a church in South Carolina and killed 9 people while they were immersed in an afternoon mass. President Obama created different appeals and feelings through the use of different Rhetorical Devices such as Logos, Ethos, and Pathos. The use of logos ethos and pathos help the president convey his central idea which is to ensure the people of South Carolina and the people of the United States that not only are they safe, but they will unite to take this opportunity to create a more united U.S. This will happen through the establishment of new gun reforms.
Obama didn’t just sidestep Congress in the international game, but he also tried to sidestep Congress on the domestic stage. After the Supreme Court’s ruling in 2007 in Massachusetts v EPA where the EPA was given authority to regulate greenhouse gases, Obama used the EPA’s newfound power to pass regulations that may never have made it through Congress (Kincaid and Roberts 2013). In 2014, the EPA created new regulations on the emissions of greenhouse gases in electric production plants, mostly coal power plants (Davenport 2014). This regulation was challenged in court and in February of 2016, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the new regulation (Liptak and Davenport 2016). This seemed to be a major setback in climate change action, especially since this
When Barack Obama ran for presidency, there were a lot of questions about his race, color, and whether he was born in the U.S.. The comments from his pastor Jeremiah Wright put him in an awkward situation, so he decided to give this speech to prove the point that we are all the same and live in the same country, so there shouldn’t be any discrimination among anyone. In his speech, Obama uses rhetorical devices to explain how race discrimination is affecting our country and us in every way possible. The use of rhetorical devices in this speech has strong effects on the audience. The use of allusion, symbolism, optimistic tone, and repetition of words gives the speech a strong argumentative tone. He argues the fact that to be able to achieve such big goals and how out country was supposed to be from the beginning, we need to stay united and rely on younger
From the beginning, and throughout his speech he used in the most effective way rhetorical tools to support his beliefs. The rhetoric tool such as ethos, pathos and logos. He used ethos used to gives his audience a better understanding of who his character is. For him to establish an effective speech of ethos, Obama had to present himself in a way that will make the audience believe in his beliefs as well. In this speech Obama creates his ethos in many different ways that gives his speech not only credibility but, validity also. Obama does
Bush’s method of topic by topic argument along with many emotional appeals was a rather effective way of winning the audience’s support. By appealing to the emotions of the audience Bush was able to give the audience issues they could relate to as well as issues they would feel strongly about. With an emotionally involved audience Bush was able to gather a great number of supporters of his party, just as he intended in his original purpose. The further reference to the character of the people involved in the issues really paid off by drawing the crowd closer to the people working for them. With the topical structure and the appeals used, the speech was a very effective tool in gaining support for the Republican Party from the northern Arizonan audience.
By placing himself in this role, he creates the impression that as the father figure he is also in a position to give advice and serve as an educator. Obama then goes on to soothe and insure his nation that questioning and reflecting is natural, stating that “When a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations –to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless,” and then goes into the role of an educator by telling the story of each of the victims of the shooting. By telling each victim’s story, Obama further elicits an emotional response from the audience by effectively humanizing each person. This further creates a sense of unity, making it seem as if Obama really knew the victims, and making each person more relatable to the audience so that each member of the audience might feel as though any one of the victims could have been their neighbor or beloved family
Barack Obama’s eulogy of Nelson Mandela is a beautiful, passionate speech which uses a range of different techniques: rhetorical, non-verbal, and language styles – to be able to connect and communicate his messaged effectively with his audience. Obama’s ability to combine his strong voice and tone control along with his powerful words create a sense of emotion which cannot be underestimated. Obama understands the means needed to influence others and understands how to execute presentations to benefit his professional and political credibility. It’s unfortunate surrounding the circumstances in which Barack Obama had to present this speech, but it’s a speech that will be known as one of the most powerful, moving, inspiring and passionate tribute to someone who was beloved by millions, and will be missed.
On July 27, 2004, Barack Obama made arguably his most important speech, “The Audacity of Hope”, at the Democratic National Convention Keynote Address. These conventions are for political parties to announce a winner for nomination. All the way through his piece, Obama focuses on connecting Americans and himself to the audience. In fact, at the time, Barack Obama was a US Senate candidate for the United States president, and in making this speech, was offered a window for raising his popularity. Throughout “The Audacity of Hope” speech, Barack Obama implements three main devices to raise his political popularity: repetition, abstract language, and structure.