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Rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches
Rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches
Rhetorical analysis of presidential speeches
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Trump’s Inaugural address is written during a sensitive time in America. Besides being divided by political parties, an even greater divide was, and still is, prominent between the Citizens and the Government. Trump addresses this great divide and his thoughts about it in depth through his Rhetorical strategies. To specify, Trump’s belief that the Government has been the cause of the People’s problems, and that he, as the voice of the people, will solve America’s problems by giving the power back to the people. Trump’s most prominent display towards his overall message is seen through his use of Tone that can be found throughout the text. The simplest example being his use of the pronouns “We”, “You”, and “Our” shown multiple times throughout his speech. This creates a feeling that Trump is an average citizen, and shows his idea that he will be the voice of the people. He further strengthens the idea that power will be given back to the citizens through his declaration, “January 20th, 2017 will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again”. Besides these reasons, Trump also uses tone to imply that the Government …show more content…
The main use for this device is to further cement Trump’s idea that the Government has been the cause of the People’s problems. Words such as “robbed”, “stolen”, “crime” along with phrases such as “Mothers and Children trapped in poverty”, “rusted out factories scattered like tombstones”, and “our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge” create a powerful atmosphere of gloom and despair. This is clashed later on in the speech when Trump describes what will happen when power is given back to the people. “A birth of a new millennium”, “Free the Earth from the miseries of disease”, and “heal our divisions”. In context, this Imagery is meant to support that giving power back to the People will help to move past America’s
Perhaps one of the most notable devices used is Logos, Obama does not speak of the state of the nation without calling out numbers and statistics of the positive effects that recent decisions have had in creating better conditions for the country. In order to get his audience to believe that the change is happening and that the United States have improved greatly the President starts by presenting the results. A few minutes in he begins to speak of how after years of “grueling recession” their businesses have created “over six million new jobs”. He states how now they buy more “American cars” than in the last five years and “less foreign oil” than in the last twenty. After showcasing his proof that the problems that some of the problems that existed before have been eradicated Obama then proceeds ...
Bush opens his speech by acknowledging the events of September 11, and those that lost the lives of loved ones and to those that gave their life trying to save others in the buildings. He appeals to those that remain strong by saying that, “These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.” His use of pathos helps Bush to calm and control the public in order to keep the country together. This
There have been many historical events in history that have impacted America in many ways. For example, famous Speeches given by important people such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the united states which his main goal was to help America recover from the severe economic issues during the 1930’s. Roosevelt used rhetorical devices to persuade desperate Americans, wounded from the Great Depression, by introducing a plan which it will be the best way to recover from the severe crisis that affected Americans. In Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, he used personification, diction, and antimetabole to convey his conflicting feelings about the New Deal, in order to face the economic issues
Throughout the speech, the Former President George W Bush strives to empower Americans by instructing them to remain resolute, but to “go back to [their] lives and routines”. He uses the personal pronoun we and the common pronoun us repeatedly to indicate that the people of the United States, who either saw the event on television or experienced this event firsthand, were and still are involved in this national tragedy. He implements this emotional appeal into his speech to involve all Americans--people living in the United States of America, regardless of their ethnicity, race, or culture, and to acknowledge that the American people have endured this together, and that they will continue to advance after this event with stronger resolve, stronger than ever. In addition, he implements personification to motivate and empower the American people. “Our nation, this generation, will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future” (Bush, 2001). “This generation”, again a synonym for the American people, with its unwavering resolve, will fight for its freedom persistently. He intimates that the future of America and of democratic freedom is in the hands of the American people: that the American people have the power to control their fate. The next sentence leads into America’s “philanthropically” democratic nature: “We will rally the world to this cause, by our efforts and by our courage” (Bush, 2001). This statement has been followed up by action only a few years later, when the United States intervened in the Iraqi War, Libyan Revolution, and even more civil wars to ensure the freedom of citizens from dictatorships, which in Islāmic nations, were militant groups, like the Hamas and Taliban. Lastly, the president utilized anaphora, specifically a tripartite structure, by affirming that the American people “will not tire”, “will not falter”, and “will not fail”. He implies that the American people will relentlessly fight for the worldwide establishment of peace and democratic institutions, a promise which America has kept even in the face of its own national crisis.
On a bitter cold, snow-laden, 1961 January morning, twenty thousand people waited in front of Capital Hill to listen to John F Kennedy’s (JFK) inaugural address. Besides that, his audience included eighty million Americans viewing it on televisions, and about three billion listening over the radio. JFK was elected during a time period in which the United States seemed to be at its peak. The mood from the 1950’s was that of an affluent society, a capitalistic golden age where there was a classless middle class, a rise in white-collar job, and very high paying unionized blue-collar jobs. However, there were also underlying inequalities, like the race divisions in the south, and a great fear of confrontation with communistic countries. Additionally, JFK’s predecessor created an inactive government of insufficient action and only went so far as to placate problems but not solve them. JFK needed to convince the country to change. His purpose was to challenge to young generation to get involved and contribute to society,
John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered one of the most important American speeches after being sworn in as president on January 20, 1961. His inauguration speech was so influential that it seized the nation’s attention, and quotes from it are still clearly remembered by people today. It is considered one of the best speeches ever written and ever delivered. It presents a strong appeal to pathos, ethos, and logos and accomplishes what any speaker strives for – it speaks straight to the heart of the audience and inspires people.
“Today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another – but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C. and giving it back to you, the American People.” With this statement, Trump had set the tone for his entire speech, and exhibits another of his main points in uniting the American people. “Rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system, flush with cash, but which leaves our young students deprived of knowledge.” Trump’s use of descriptive language, to create vivid imagery for the audience here is one of the most powerful statements he makes in his speech. The emotional response Trump is able to strike in the listener, and the feelings he creates with his appeals to pathos throughout the speech is a big part of what makes this an effective inaugural
After narrowly winning the popular vote over former vice President and Republican Candidate Richard Nixon by only two tenths, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected as the 35th President of the United States of America. President John F. Kennedy delivered his Inaugural Address in the cold on January 20, 1961 with roughly 8 inches of snow on the ground. Before the inauguration could take place, Army flamethrowers had to clear the snow from Pennsylvania Avenue so fellow Americans could make their way to the swearing in. The newly sworn in President began his address by letting his fellow Americans know that he was willing to work with everyone, to make not only the United States, but each country a greater place for everyone to live rather than
Part I: Reasoning in the Inaugural Address. President Roosevelt in his inaugural speech first realized the importance of his presidency, the speech and the US. He mentioned that the thing the US nation needs to fear is the fear itself. He further mentioned it as unreasoning, nameless and unjustified terror which constraints and paralyzes the efforts needed to make a retreat (Davis, 2014).
has helped other nations yet has seen “the very sad depletion of our military”. He does not want to see other militaries grow while their own is being minimized and depleted. Another point was about where he addressed the spending of trillions while the infrastructure decays. This messages can connect to other voters, such as those from Bernie Sanders, on the issue of infrastructure. It is a real problem that many are being affected by it, and needs a solution. Trump later talked about how American factories are closing down, leaving the country, and millions of workers left behind. This resonates to those who have been affected by the closing of factories and have lost their jobs due to this. He then stated how “from this day forward, it’s going to be only America first - America first”. He wants America to be the number one priority, America comes first, the rest comes later. Trump then starts repeating the word we in many ways like “we will bring back our jobs”, “we will bring back our borders”, “we will bring back our wealth, and we will bring back our dreams”. This repetition is used to pronounce what he will do under his
In the speech, President Bush uses several metaphors to show that the United States is a strong country. Bush leads into the comparison of America, to the bending still occurring from the planes flying through the
There are three major events that the rhetor, Bush, talks about throughout the course of the speech. In addition to major events, Bush also includes minor stories which, according to Foss, are known as “satellites” (p. 313). These satellites, while not essential to the rhetoric in terms of purpose and content, are important because they elaborate and complete the main event, also known as the “kernel”, of the narrative (p. 313). These are used by the rhetor, President George W. Bush, in order to form a connection with the
The president’s inaugural address allows the president to lay out his plans and intentions to excite and motivate people across the country. Since the main reason for his sermon is to inspire rather than educate, Kennedy rarely uses any logical pleads. Yet, Kennedy adequately uses passionate dialect to make the people sense their involvement in what the President says. Kennedy composes the assignment to bring back tranquility and good-wealth as not only his aim, but of the public as well.
President Obama’s Inaugural Speech: Rhetorical Analysis. Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be in safe hands. The speech is similar to ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve his ethos.
On January 20, 2009, President Obama was officially inaugurated and sworn in as the forty-fourth president of the United States of America. The tradition of being inaugurated requires the president to give a speech about the goals they want to reach during their presidency. The president must make a speech that appeals to the audience while being professional. Rhetoric is a useful strategy to utilize in speech making. Obama uses rhetoric to achieve presenting his message of creating hope and change together in America while fixing the economic and social challenges and issues left behind from the previous president. Barack Obama uses syntax, the rhetorical triangle, and diction to portray his message.