Commencement speeches are often a sending off to the graduates by a highly regarded person, and is suppose to have a purpose. The purpose of the speech is to: motivate, inspire, encourage, provoke, a call to action, and to give hope to the graduates as well as congratulate them on their achievements. Often the speaker is someone who is famous or have been successful in their life. In regards to how the speech is given, it usually starts out with the speaker congratulating the class. They will typically try to relate to the audience by making fun of themselves to lower them to the graduates level. A conventional speech follows these conventions, but not all stay within the bounds, mostly due to wanting to be remembered or heard. David Foster …show more content…
He immediately brings himself down to their level. "If anybody feels like perspiring [cough], I 'd advise you go ahead, because I 'm sure going to"(Wallace 1). Like Rowling who in her speech at Harvard in 2008 who had mentioned she was so fearful and had nausea that she lost weight, he poked fun at himself by showing that he was nervous. Unlike a conventional speech however, Wallace seems to bring himself down even further by imploring a didactic story about fish. In his first story he talks about two younger fish who are swimming along and come across an older fish. The older fish says "Morning boys, how 's the water?" however, when the younger fish keep swimming along, one turns to the other and says "What the hell is water?"(Wallace 1). Wallace tells the audience to not see him "wise, old fish". This is unorthodox in comparison because at a commencement, usually they would require a person who is seen as wise to give the graduates words of wisdom. Chiefly, It is important to note that while he is masking the obvious, he is trying to be relatable to the audience. It is at this point in his speech when the conventions start to take a turn, as he tries to guide the graduates to what he is getting …show more content…
This is seen as nonconventional and a tad mocking to the traditional commencement speeches in the sense that most speeches don 't refer to the clichés of a commencement speeches as Wallace does. Wallace mentions that the most prevalent cliché for the genre is to give more meaning to their degree than just a money maker. What is notable is that Wallace tries to not insult them over the fact that someone needed to teach them how to think, but rather of what to think about. He wants the graduates to understand that they have a choice in what to think about. This is reinforced with yet another didactic story about two men in a Alaskan Bar. The two men are arguing over the existence of god, and the Atheist mentions that he has played with the god thing, when he got stuck in a blizzard. He prayed to god for help and some Eskimos came across him and showed him the way back to camp. The atheist is so sure that it had nothing to deal with god. This story shows that by choosing to stay closed minded, the Atheist isn 't really open to the possible reasons for it. He isn 't choosing what to think about because it is so natural to him in what he believes and sees. This seeps into Wallace next main point. We all have a default setting as pointed out by Wallace. This is unusual from a traditional speech because in regards
David McCullough Jr., delivered the commencement at Wellesley High School in Massachusetts on June 1st 2012 to staff, the 2012 graduates, and their family and friends. The speech was straightforward and supplied valuable information for their future. . McCullough’s speech at times felt harsh, offensive, and insulting. His words and examples were given to achieve insight, knowledge, and awareness for each student’s future. The commencement expressed a great deal of achievement, but conveyed that there was more work to be done. His speech was effective and appreciated through humor parallelism, repetition, and anaphora. His point of view has obtained respect and determination by all those that have been challenged and have heard his words.
Martin Luther King Jr. and George Wallace both had opposing viewpoints on the civil rights movement. In 1963, George Wallace wrote the Inaugural Address and Martin Luther king Jr. wrote the “I have a dream” speech. In George Wallace’s speech, George had a calm tone
Life presents a wide array of obstacles as well as opportunities, and it is important to be prepared to take on whatever it is that life has to offer. In his Harvard Commencement Address, Will Ferrell reinforces this idea into the 2003 graduating class of the prestigious Harvard University as they prepare to move on to do greater things. His comedic approach is successful due to his ability to evoke feelings of laughter from his audience while also making them realize that they are entering a new stage of life. Although Ferrell is speaking directly to the class of 2003, anyone who listens to or who views his speech will experience humor in an otherwise serious event, and they will reflect on their own life or envision their future. Through
George Washington, the first president of the United States, had written a very important historical speech and document towards the end of his time in office. He had written the Farewell address which focused on helping America understand the importance of preserving unity, acknowledging the rise of political parties forming, strengthening religion and morality, and he stated his position on American foreign policy. He addressed these ideas with strong tone and used incredible amount of dictions that strengthens his tone as well as representing his appeal to ethos to a strong degree. However, today’s society seemed to forget Washington’s position on foreign policy and has created a new form of the policy. But nonetheless as time grew, change occurs. In today’s society Washington’s foreign policy would include many positive and negative manifestations, but it is still a speech and document that will always apply to America.
...old, xenophobic white men don’t want just anyone off the street joining them for intellectual discussions over Sunday tea . This is why Wallace advocates for students in high school and college to learn SWE; if students are able to present themselves in a more erudite and intellectual manner by using SWE, it can provide them with more opportunities to ascend the “social ladder” as they will have a stronger foundation for academic and professional success. Using SWE will not guarantee that a student will become a doctor or a lawyer, however, they will have the opportunity to expand their education and achieve that ranking if they wish.
In This is Water, Wallace effectively uses logical reasoning and the parable of the religious man and the atheist man to explain how consciousness is a choice, not an unalterable state. To do this, Wallace states that in many cases, “A huge percentage of the stuff that I tend to be automatically certain of is, it turns out, totally wrong and deluded.” Using logical reasoning, Wallace’s own admission reminds his audience that they are also often wrong, as, logically, humans are not perfect and make periodic mistakes. Once he establishes that people can be wrong, he returns to the parable of the two men and claims “…the exact same experience can mean two totally different things to two different people, given those people's two different belief templates and two different ways of constructing meaning from experience.” This idea is familiar to his educated audience, as he claims it is one of the primary foundations of a liberal arts education. Thus, Wallace uses his audienc...
Beginning a "Commencement speech" is tough, but once Powell gets confidence the words flowed normally. He said that making a Commencement Speech is a challenge. He mentioned that Commencement speaker always tries to figure out how long they would speak or what would talk about. However, the result will depend on how the audience will respond.
Growing up my parents always taught my sister and I that we should always be grateful for what we had. Take care of all our toys and expensive things that they brought us. They taught us that you have to work hard for what you want and nothing is handed to you. Even though me and my sister always got what wanted we also knew that we worked for it and that made getting it even better. I believe my parents raised me pretty good. I always respected them and knew my limits, me and my sister had chores we had to do and if they weren't done by the end of the week we would have a consequence. This taught us responsibility and that in the real world if you don't do your job you would be fired or there would be a consequence you would have to pay. Lately I have noticed that a lot of kids in today's society are very ungrateful. They feel entitled and believe that they shouldn't have to work for anything. They think things should just be handed to them without any questions asked. I think I have a way to stop this rising trait in today's youth.
The philosopher is presenting complex image with many aspects to illustrate relatively simple problem which makes his writing appealing only to narrow circle of people usually enough educated to find an absolute truth by themselves. His style is too complicated to be appropriate for masses; complicated vocabulary and syntax that is not used anymore. Plato’s relating to the real problem right in the end of his work giving no time to think about it throughout his argument. Basically what he is doing is explaining the problem and then presenting it. In the end he just leaves the reader all alone without further explanation. David Foster Wallace has also tried to convince people that there is something more to the world that can be seen. However, Wallace’s Commencement Speech is very different from Plato’s allegory. I his speech Wallace is presenting his ideas in a simple manner by short stories that anyone can relate to and because of this it makes him more convincing and persuasive. Right in the beginning of the speech he relates to the main topic by story about fishes that allows his audience to think about the main problem along his speech. This move is undoubtedly more effective because it lets audience focus and contemplate on what is important, on what relates to the main topic during whole
...tes understand that life is hard, and anything worth having does not come easy. Life is not handed to a person on a silver platter. Even a life of fame takes dedication and hard work. They wanted the students to feel like they were all on the same level of equality. The graduates will walk away from the ceremony hopefully retaining some of the words of the speakers. Having a famous speaker will at least make them remember who the speaker was. It does not matter who speaks at a graduating ceremony, but it does matter what words get spoken and remembered.
Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans in 2005. Everyone at Tulane University had an uncertainty if they would be able to regain back their future. It was an obstacle for the students to overcome, but they later on prevailed and attended their graduation. Being a comedian you wouldn’t expect someone to give such a wonderful commencement speech. The guest speaker for the Katrina class of 2009 at Tulane University was Ellen DeGeneres. Ellen gives a speech that not only acknowledges the class’s achievements but inspires them to be greater. I will analyze how Ellen uses Ethos and Pathos by allusion, imagery, repetition, and tone. It is an emotional and inspiring speech that I believe can convince almost anyone.
In June of 2011, Conan O’Brien gave the commencement address to the 2011 graduating class of Dartmouth College. O’Brien uses humor and anecdotes to deliver a powerful speech which resonated with most viewers. O’Brien also used many literary devices for the graduates to better understand his primary points. Conan O’Brien delivery of his commencement address was effective because of his use of pathos, ethos, and antidotes, which contributed to his fantastic speech.
Commencement is a critical juncture in our lives; it is a momentous occasion where we believe we are about to start anew. However, graduation is the bittersweet moment where the forces of past and future are simultaneously acting on us. Consequently, the past is not dead. Alfred, Lord Tennyson, suggests that our past experiences will be with us forever as he states, " [we] are a part of all that [we] have met; yet all experience is an arch where through gleams that untraveled world." That is why graduation, similar to other turning points in our lives, possesses two halves, which accentuate each other. We are looking forward, but the "arch" of experience beckons us to remember, value, and learn from our past experiences. Thus, I feel that in order to appreciate commencement fully, we must remember our own past, and in particular, the last four years:
I consider Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005 to be one of the most effective speeches. He uses mechanics of speech to craft a well-rounded speech that is crowned by his use of rhetorical devices. Jobs gives relevant and fundamental knowledge of his life and experiences with his rhetorical approach. In his speech to the Stanford’s graduation class, he tells different stories of love, loss, discovery and difficulty he faced in his life to encourage new graduates as they continue to mature in life. He encourages students to pursue their dreams and not be discouraged by failures they might experience in life.