Rhetorical Analysis Of A More Perfect Union

Darrius Jackson

Cavasoa

English 101

July 2016 If anyone were to understand what it’s like to go through the difficulties of racial discrimination and the hardships of being colored; it’d be non other than Mr. President Barack Obama himself. Despite being the first African American in history to be elected President of the United States, Obama had his fair share of being discriminated against throughout his long journey to office. On March 18, 2008, Obama delivered the speech “A More Perfect Union” at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In his speech, he responded to the criticisms of his relationship with his Pastor whom was said to have been making inflammatory statements about the U.S government and race relations

Ethos connected on an otherworldly level by saying his present confidence and making Biblical references. He says that "over a quarter century he was introduced… to Christian confidence with commitments to love each other, to tend to the wiped out and lift up poor people" (Obama). He noticed how "dark individuals merged with the stories of David and Goliath, Moses and Pharaoh, the Christians in the lion's nook, and Ezekiel's field of dry bones.". Representative Obama is changing the dialect. Christians did not really exist in the Old Testament story of Ezekiel, yet Senator Obama is successfully associating with each meaningful religion. At the same time, he is connecting with the ordinary world too. Being mindful of the fact that everybody does not effectively hone a religious confidence, Obama picks stories that everybody, Christians and non-Christians, could distinguish and perceive. In this way, these religious references interface with masses and additionally individuals from the three noteworthy religions. Besides, Senator Obama utilizes ethos to collect believability with his insight into social issues that swarm our general public today. He expresses, "The most isolated hour of American life happens on Sunday morning.” Pathos is greatly achieved by allusion and imagery. He explains, “The anger of Blacks and the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away, nor has the anger and bitterness of those years. Later he offers resolution and states that the African-American community must embrace our past without becoming victims of our past” (Obama). Many African-Americans will identify with Obama’s assessment of race within the African-American community, and they will be inspired to act on a positive manner. At the same time, he recognizes "a comparable resentment inside the white individuals. They feel they've buckled down every one of their lives. They appear on