Madeleine Albright Rhetorical Analysis

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Madeleine Albright, the United States Secretary in 1997, gives a speech to the graduating class at Mount Holyoke College, an all female university. Albright uses hyperboles, metaphors, a futuristic lens, and a confident tone to establish a sense of community amongst the young women in the crowd, in order to breed them into America's next female leaders To begin her speech, Albright speaks of the choices that every American citizen has. “Each of us must choose whether to live our lives selfishly or act with courage and faith.” In this statement The secretary is making it clear to the females in the audience that they have the power within them to change the world, only if they choose to do so. Later in her speech, Albright aims to create a common ground for …show more content…

So that they will be exactly like every female in the world, especially since they are American women and throughout history Americans have always played the role of a heroic leader. In conclusion of her speech, the secretary took a moment to acknowledge the struggles many of the females will have to face in pursuit of their dreams. “It is certain that if you aim high enough, you will find your strongest beliefs ridiculed.” Obviously the graduates wouldn’t be actually aiming using any type of object. On the contrary, Albright is claiming that no matter how much these young women succeed or dream, there will be a point where their dream is called immature or foolish, whether by men or fellow females. Quickly, the secretary follows up to this certainty with “I summon you to embrace the faith that your courage and perseverance will make a difference.” Here Albright is ensuring her confidence in the abilities of the young women before her. Despite the hardships that are to come and the barriers that they will face, they are never going to lose faith in themselves or their

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