Ellen DeGeneres Commencement Speech 2009
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.
Ellen is successful and is encouraging to the students, so that they can become the same or greater. She repeats this a few times throughout this speech. The speech is about being the person you want to be, no matter what hardships that you may face in life. The speech is mainly directed towards her emotional reality.
Ellen uses her emotional phase through pathos. She connects to the students through the things that have happened in her life. Her first explanation was how she was originally from New Orleans. She explains how the hurricane didn’t only affect the students, but her as well. She explains this by letting the students know that she loves New Orleans. “I’ve spent my favorite years here.” Ellen says. She spent most of her young adulthood trying to figure out who she was. She uses heartbreak to show how her life has become what it is today. She shares the story of her girlfriend dying in a car accident. At that point, she started writing as “a one way phone call to God”. S...
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...ou. And as I said before, some of the most devastating things that happen to you will teach you the most.” Ellen says. She uses Pathos to make it emotional for us. She exits the stage dancing off, going aisle by aisle dancing to Lady GaGa. She makes sure the graduates are having a good time and dancing with her.
Now, Ellen DeGeneres does not live in fear because everything turned out for the better. She can still use ethos to prove to everyone that she is a down right awesome celebrity. She can use pathos to explain her life to us and to tell us it’s not easy to get where you want to go but you’ll eventually get there. Her speech was definitely effective because she caught my attention. She worded everything to make the graduates feel like they have lived her life with her. And she went from comedic to serious in a great way that changed the tone to a great speech.
In the book Toliver’s secret Ellen changed and grew in many ways. Like she gained confidence and learned to get out of her comfort zone.
A storm such as Katrina undoubtedly ruined homes and lives with its destructive path. Chris Rose touches upon these instances of brokenness to elicit sympathy from his audience. Throughout the novel, mental illness rears its ugly head. Tales such as “Despair” reveal heart-wrenching stories emerging from a cycle of loss. This particular article is concerned with the pull of New Orleans, its whisper in your ear when you’ve departed that drags you home. Not home as a house, because everything physical associated with home has been swept away by the storm and is now gone. Rather, it is concerned with home as a feeling, that concept that there is none other than New Orleans. Even when there is nothing reminiscent of what you once knew, a true New Orleanian will seek a fresh start atop the foundation of rubbish. This is a foreign concept for those not native to New Orleans, and a New Orleanian girl married to a man from Atlanta found her relationship split as a result of flooding waters. She was adamant about staying, and he returned to where he was from. When he came back to New Orleans for her to try and make it work, they shared grim feelings and alcohol, the result of which was the emergence of a pact reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet. This couple decided they would kill themselves because they could see no light amongst the garbage and rot, and failure was draining them of any sense of optimism. She realized the fault in this agreement,
inspired. What makes ethos so prevalent in Ellen’s’ speech is that she is now a
Helen Keller, against all odds, became a mouthpiece for many causes in the early to mid-twentieth century. She advocated for causes such as building institutions for the blind, schools for the deaf, women’s suffrage and pacifism. When America was in the most desperate of times, her voice stood out. Helen Keller spoke at Carnegie Hall in New York raising her voice in protest of America’s decision to join the World War. The purpose of this paper will analyze the devices and methods Keller used in her speech to create a good ethos, pathos, and logos.
The goal of Hillary’s speech is to persuade her audience that her ideas are valid, by using ethos, pathos, and logos. Hillary is the First Lady and Senator, she shows credibility as an influential activist for woman rights. “Over the past 25 years, I have worked persistently on issues relating to women, children, and families. Over the past two and a half years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the challenges facing women in my country and around the world” (Clinton 2).
Hazel Grace, is a teenage girl who unfortunately suffers several of the cruelties of life, yet she is shining symbol of hope. Even though since she got diagnosed she quit school, her friends don’t exactly treat her like the girl she used to be she is as smart as can be, and kind at the same time. She has stayed alive lo...
Her slow yet concise way of speaking, coupled with easy to follow transitions allowed for a speech that was enjoyable to listen to. Her use of examples from her personal life allowed her audience to get a picture of who she was if they did not know, and allowed her to better relate to them by provided examples of how she is related to the college they are graduating from. Her reference to many modern political problems allowed her to bring up her important role as an activist and facilitated further understanding from the audience. While some areas of her speech were weak, such as the longer than needed pauses and her lack of consistent eye contact, to a few points where she didn’t speak clearly enough, the overall picture that was her speech was fairly strong. Looking at this speech, I hope to incorporate some aspects that I failed to include in my previous speeches. Some of these include her use of hand gestures to emphasize and exaggerate certain phrases and topics, and her combined use of appeals. While my initial thoughts going in were “This is boring” and “This is too slow”, it evolved into me wanting to hear more, and overall my defeat in the beginning turned into a victory at the
Commencement speeches, which are presented in American graduation ceremonies, aim to inspire and motivate. Successfully, Nora Ephron 's commencement speech addressed to the Wellesley Class of 1996; inspired her audience to "be the heroine of [their '] li[ves], not the victim". Through anecdotes, Ephron explored the differences between her education and the graduates at Wellesley College, to remind the women graduating that whilst society was different in many ways, in particular for women, "there was still a glass ceiling".
From the outset of the story there is an overwhelming sense of hope that has enveloped the entire community and school with the upcoming graduation. The communitie's involvement strengthens the authors excitement in her rite of passage. Everyone is preparing for the ceremony and seeking to see how it will affect the lives of those involved. "Only a small percentage would be continuing on to college" (835) and others were just excited for the "glorious release" (834) from school. She felt like she was on top of the world, after all, "the graduating classes themselves were the nobility" (834). It is obvious how much pride she takes in her community by the way she describes her class as "an extended family." (834). The author's school was not the most impressive school compared to the white schools in the area but that could not damper the spirit that was filling the air. Parents who were buying or making new outfits for their graduates made everyone including the author the center of attention. Her "momma launched out on [hers]," (835) and she was swollen with pride that she was going to be a walking mod...
The presidential election in year 2016 has been described as both outrageous and strange. Media from all over the world has covered every debate and the reactions at the outcome have been apparent in almost every country. The choice between businessman Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate, has caused several politicians and notable people to publically endorse their personal favorite - both on social media or at formal political gatherings. An example of the latter is Michelle Obama’s speech “Remarks by the First Lady” at the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
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.
This graduation speech is apt for a graduation and substantial in conveying messages judging from the speech contents. Similarly, Gault’s “commencement speech genre” (2008, p4) suggests that a graduation address should create bonds, recognize efforts, unveil the world and instill hopes. First, Bono opens the speech with his personal anecdotes, narrating his story that he ...
...ealized that experiences happen and that time doesn’t wait so you have to just keep moving on. The mood was heavily affected by each of these characters narration of each story and seems to take a reflective outlook throughout the duration of each story.
In Paul Toughmay’s “Who Gets to Graduate,” he follows a young first year college student, Vanessa Brewer, explaining her doubts, fears, and emotions while starting her college journey. As a student, at the University of Texas Brewer feels small and as if she doesn’t belong. Seeking advice from her family she calls her mom but after their conversation Brewer feels even more discouraged. Similar to Brewer I have had extreme emotions, doubts, and fears my freshman year in college.
My high school graduation was one of the saddest moments of my life. Although I was excited about graduating, I did not know what I was going to do with the rest of my life. In Maya Angelou’s “Graduation,” Angelou was excited and proud of all that she had accomplished. In Flannery O’Connor’s “A Late Encounter With the Enemy,” Sally Poker Sash was proud that she was finally graduating and just wanted to show that off to all the “upstarts”. In the two readings the pupils are contrasting in a few different areas, and a couple of those areas are in pride and feelings that their families have being involved in the graduation.