Their finest hour: Rhetorical analysis
A Research Essay
Byung-Chan Park, Gerardo Ydrogo Jr., Jose Aguirre
Texas A&M International University
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Their Finest Hour: Rhetorical Analysis
A Research Essay
Listening to Winston Churchill’s speech “Their Finest Hour” one can feel the powerful message delivered by one of the greatest orators of his generation. Before this speech, England was subject to German bombing campaigns, and the people’s moral and support for the continued war wavered. By using examples of successes on the battle front, Churchill rallied the people of Britain with patriotism and loyalty to the country, and gained support against the German invasion. Churchill gave this speech to the House of Commons on
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June 18th, 1940, about a month after becoming the Prime minister of Great Britain. Europe had just emerged and was recovering from a bloody and devastating World War 1. Germany had suffered heavily as the other nations put heavy sanctions on them and made them pay 132 billion gold marks (US$33 billion) in reparations to cover civilian damage caused during the war, through the Treaty of Versailles. Germany viewed this treatment as unfair as they took the brunt of the costs for the war. During their time, Germany sought a powerful leader that could alleviate their heavy yoke and thrust Germany back to its former glory. Hitler took this opportune chance and made himself leader of post war Germany. spurring a new movement of nationalism that caused Germany to ramp up industrialism and allow them to become a major power house on the European continent. On September 1ST, 1939, Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles by invading Poland in a joint effort with Russia. France and England afraid of another world war avoided confronting Germany with accusations. Soon after Germany invaded France, they took Paris and started a bombing campaign on England with their Luftwaffe. With these details in mind, Churchill uses logos by just staying logical in his speech. Outlined in the speech were the tragic truths about the war and the sacrifices made by the British forces. He appealed to the British that the only logical course of action would be to defend the country and defeat the fascist German Nazis. After introducing these grim facts Churchill turns the conversation by saying that he was willing to die “fighting for his country ", these patriotic words inspired the audience and helped Churchill garner support for his war campaign. He also explains that if there were to be more infighting amongst parliament and government, that they would not have a future as a prosperous and independent nation. With these appeals, Churchill sought to unify the nation against the threat of Nazi Germany, hoping that the set fear of losing the country due to petty conflicts would allow the parties to set aside their differences, and set a course for action. These approaches tie in with the appeal to emotion or pathos. Another logical appeal made by Churchill was when he mentioned that if they could withstand the onslaught of attacks from the Germans, they could liberate Europe from Hitler's clutches and tyrannical rule. With this he proposes that England has a great military force comparable to the Nazi Germans and that they have hope to stand their ground, and stop the German push. Churchill uses pathos in his speech by appealing to the values of the British people through the persuasion that they should not allow the Nazis to trample over them as if they were a doormat. This further reinforces his message regarding a call to arms against the Nazis, and bolstered the confidence of the British people. During his speech, Churchill mentions his sympathy for his audience who are afraid, but gives them this quote, "Never mind. Win or lose, sink or swim, better die than submit to tyranny-and such a tyranny." (Churchill 1940). These inspirational words helped relay the message that they, Great Britain, should fight to defend themselves or die trying. Also, he reminded his audience that if they cannot come to fight the Germans, that they would just become another stepping stone in Germany's conquest for world power. The lines of the speech that gives it its title also bears much appeal to emotions of the people as they are "Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour." (Churchill 1940). Another example of Pathos is the emphasizes that Churchill had about the horrors that France had suffered at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis.
“Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life and the long continuity of our institutions and our empire.” (Churchill 1940) Churchill uses this phrase to show a stark contrast between themselves and Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Making it seem as if it is a battle between good and evil and the ultimate outcome of it will result in an entire new landscape for the people of Great Britain. “If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister” (Churchill 1940) Winston is using this speech as a message for all the nations of the world and his allies, saying that if Hitler is not brought down, that he will bring in a terrible dark age to the European continent. This line creates a fear, that if they, as a people, do not act swiftly they, will lose their way of …show more content…
life. Churchills call to Ethos was that he was already a distinguished man. “Having served in the British Navy as first lord of the Admiralty Churchill helped modernize the British Navy, ordering that new warships be built with oil-fired instead of coal-fired engines. He was one of the first to promote military aircraft and set up the Royal Navy Air Service.” (Nicholas 1998) As well as being appointed first lord of the Admiralty and a member of the war cabinet, and by April 1940, he became chairman of the Military Coordinating Committee. Churchill has had a past history dealing with conflict before and, when Germany invaded and occupied Norway Churchill was assigned as Prime Minister and Minister of Defense by King George VI. Another example of ethos is used by Churchill in his description of how they could have had more reinforcements for the French if they had not hesitated as a nation. "I recite them to explain why it was we did not have, as we could have had, between twelve and fourteen British divisions fighting in the line in this great battle instead of only three." (Churchill 1940). With quotes such as these he appeals that they should have been able to help their ally in their time of need, however due to inter-parliament conflicts and indecisiveness they could not send more than three divisions of their soldiers. He called for unity amongst the parties and the people for a joint effort against Germany in order to fulfill their sense of ethicality by stopping an evil that has already defeated their ally. In addition, to this he promotes his strong belief in patriotism and loyalty to Britain to gain support for holding out against the Germans. When conveying that he was willing to fight to the death, he showed his strength and resolve as a leader, which is how he applied the rhetorical tool of Ethos. Looking at this speech from a modern perspective, it is a well written speech that has withstood the test of time as one of the greatest speeches ever written and, gives insight to the difficulties that the nation of Great Britain would have had to overcome to come together with patriotism and loyalty to their country.
When this speech is orated by Winston Churchill, it is approximately thirty-six minutes long. Churchill would speak with much emphasis and clarity regarding the subject matter at hand. He would use emphatic pauses to create an atmosphere in which the audience could reflect upon his words and give earnest consideration before Churchill spoke again. This speech will be remembered as the speech that spurred a nation into never giving up hope and to continue the fight against tyranny. It is a testament to the amazing writing and oratory skills of Winston Churchill and will be reviewed and examined for many more generations to
come. Page Break References Stern, F., & Despard, L. E. (n.d). FINEST HOUR: WINSTON S. CHURCHILL. Foreign Affairs, 62(2), 468 Churchill, W. S. (2017, March 29). Their Finest Hour. Retrieved April 21, 2017, from https://www.winstonchurchill.org/resources/speeches/1940-the-finest-hour/their-finest- hour Nicholas, H. G. (1998, July 20) Sir Winston Churchill PRIME MINISTER OF UNITED KINGDOM Retrieved April 25,2017 https://www.britannica.com/biography/Winston-Churchill
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).
1) Eisenhower served as the President of the United States for a period of eight years. On January 17, 1961 he gave a memorable farewell speech which was broadcast on TV. The speech is known for the vision of Eisenhower who predicted the strong influence that military-industrial complex will be created on the citizens of the United States in future. His speech narrates his fears on the massive spending, concerns on planning and deficit spending. He is concerned for the Federal funding that might be more towards the technological and scientific developments.
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered a powerful speech before Congress on December 8th 1941, the day after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. His purpose in addressing the country in this way is his attempt to calm the American People and avoid chaos across the country. Roosevelt is aware of the impact that the event has had on the Citizens. As their leader, he forcefully reassures the population that they will be safe. The President emphasizes that the United States would not allow the attacks to affect the country though his use of rhetorical devices, including pathos.
“Yesterday December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy” (Roosevelt). The attack on Pearl Harbor was an event that many Americans will never forget. The day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave a speech to address the public and Congress. His speech started by discussing how Japan had deceived America into thinking that they could create peace between the nations. He spent three paragraphs on how the attack was planned and deliberate and how America was completely unaware of Japan’s intentions. Roosevelt spent only a little time on paying respects to the lost lives of the soldiers. After that, Roosevelt talked about how many other nations Japan has attacked. Then Roosevelt started the “pep talk” portion of his speech. He talked about the strength of the nation and how America will defend themselves against evil forces. He ends his speech with a call for war and asked Congress to declare war against Japan. The goal of his speech was to persuade Congress to declare war on Japan, as well as to get the American people to support him in his endeavors. Roosevelt gave his speech in front of Congress, but the American people all over the nation tuned into the radio to hear his speech. Roosevelt uses many rhetorical devices to get American to unite against Japan. His speech uses the rhetorical devices logos, ethos, and pathos to argue his side. He uses
He gains their trust and respect, while appealing to their emotions to unite in their decision to fight for their freedom from the British. Through ethos and pathos appeals, Henry’s persuasive speech delivers his strong feelings toward the country and his fellow men. Henry’s speech is relevant even today and encouraging to anyone willing to stand up for what they believe in and fight for their
... people to let nothing keep them from contributing to the war effort as much as they can. Had Dowling been British rather than American, Churchill’s speech would more than likely stir him to take arms for his country.
“Hitler is a monster of wickedness, insatiable in his lust for blood and plunder” (Churchill). These are the words of Winston Churchill, who was the British Prime Minister. Churchill, in my opinion, is the most effective political leader when it comes to power of language, manipulation, and words. Despite being known as a great speaker, the speech he made after Germany invaded Russia was what really showed how powerful he is. He used the elements language, words, and manipulation to make the people understand his side.
He showed real beneficial points of production which I agreed how production could change the population especially changing the variety of working, but I criticized on the disadvantages of mass production he mentioned. This is because one company could offer more money to their people which having money is the aim of most of us, so when a place offer money, it has more beneficial rather than disadvantages. However, Churchill described the main differences of WWI and previous wars which were significant points because it is true that a lot of damages were caused in WWI that destroyed most people’s lives, and the cause of the wars is not indicated in any places. Also, it told the way of how Generals and armies are not heroes which I precisely disagree his point because people fight for their families and protect them from enemies. That’s why they need to fight and are seen as heroes but not heroes of their country, heroes of their family. In addition, he also described future wars which WWI had recently ended in his time, but he predicted to have another war which will be much cruel. It was true because WWII happened and caused more damages to the world; many women and children died with it. This was an extraordinary prediction because how someone can predict the future and become reality? However, as he mentioned peace was in people’s heart and was more important than having wars as
During 1931, a second grand war begin with national powers uniting together. Many nations instantly took arms, but the US decided to stay neutral. As a result, European countries established a new flourishing fear of being overthrown by eastern communist foes(“World”). Then the dreadful event on December 6, 1941, caused the US to reconsider its own stance on the war. Allied Powers realized their opportunity to use Pearl Harbor to gain a chance to determine their own fate in war. On December 26, 1941, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, presented a speech eventually known as “Masters of Our Fate” to the US Senate and the House of Representatives(“Winston”). Through the use of esoteric rhetorical questions, vivid metaphors,
Churchill, Winston. "Their Finest Hour." Their Finest Hour. The Churchill Centre, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013.
Through his speeches, he tried to persuade America to join in the fight against the growing power if Nazism. One of his speeches are “The Lights Are Going Out”. He said this speech in 1938, to the people of the United States. The purpose of his speech was to encourage the US to join forces with Britain to overtake Nazi Germany. The subject of his speech is the loss of other countries, and America joining the war, and the tone of the speech is urgency. Churchill’s word choices in his speech “The Lights Are Going Out” are effective through his use of rhetoric and vocal techniques.
In order to fully comprehend the reasons for Churchill’s speech and the vast response of relief from the population, one must understand the events leading up to its giving. On June 4
Winston Churchill was perhaps one of the greatest public speakers in history. Some of the best speeches have come from being in life or death situations, Winston was known best for this. His small sound clips like, “this was their finest hour”, and “this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning”, encourage his troops and his people that they will win this war and will overcome the greatest odds. Although Churchill told many speeches, his speech on June 18, 1940 showed the most emotion and courage of any other speech he told. In this speech he explained that the war in France is over and the war in Britain would begin. He said that if we fail then the world sink into an abyss. This emotion that he shows would give Britain hope, courage and most of all determination.
To this very day, this speech remains as one of the most influential and unforgettable speeches concerning World War II. Churchill’s remarkable speech was delivered after the events of the Dunkirk Evacuation, which forced 336,000 Allied troops to retreat from Dunkirk to Britain. Because of this Nazi power being exerted over allied forces, Churchill had to make sure his speech was profound and direct. He wanted to enthuse and excite the British people and to cause urgency that difficult times were upon them and an inevitable crisis was on the horizon. Churchill’s had articulated an essential determination and urgency to defend Britain “no matter what the cost”. He conveyed a message of necessary unity that was required to win the war and to fend off the Nazi influence and assault. Churchill wanted ...
Gaunt’s message was very harsh and direct towards King Richard. Gaunt’s son had been banished for reasons Gaunt did not agree deserved such harsh punishment. Act 1 Scene 3 236-245 Gaunt explains that his judgement against Bolingbroke was not fair or even his judgement at all; he argues that he made his judgement out of fear of committing slander. “Violent fires do soon burn out themselves; Small showers last long but sudden storms are short…” (Shakespeare & Bevington, 2014, p. 340 Act, 2 Scene 1, 33-35).