Rhetorical Analysis Of A More Perfect Union

Breaking Down Obama

Obamas A More Perfect Union establishes ethos by including past events that have affected America, this really presents the audience with a sense of compassion pertaining pathos,ethos, and logical (logos) arguments to persuade the audience. This speech is so moving because race can be such a difficult topic to talk about, especially when you have a whole nation watching you. In this speech Obama addresses the issues of race and addresses the comments that were made by his pastor Reverend Wright. With combining these appeals so well Obama is able to make a fluent and articulative speech that connects the audience and persuades the people to step away from the problems in the present and think about the solutions in the

future.
At the beginning of this speech the first appeal that jumps out is ethos. The definition of ethos that most of us know is establishing credibility. If someone has credibility then we are going to respect them and trust the choice they make. Obama is able to establish ethos in the way that he presents himself in the fourth paragraph, “I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together – unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for of children and our grandchildren.” (Obama 1) Right from the beginning of the speech Obama is getting the people on his side. He is expressing that he can’t change the nation on his own that he needs the people to come together in order for change. Ethos is also supported by Obama expressing that he’s “gone to some of the best schools in America.” (Obama 1). This establishes ethos because it shows that Obama has experience and he is well educated.
Another appeal that Obama uses to strengthen this speech is pathos. The simple definition of pathos is to show emotion towards the audience. In Obamas speech pathos is a very important tool. Pathos is able point the audience in an emotional direction, which questions their judgement. Now that Obama has the audience in a sentimental state he is able to go into talking about his experience with Reverend Wright. Reverend was a man who cared for the homeless, helped the sick, and baptized Obamas children. Obama had a good relationship with him, but after his offending ceremonies about America. Obama quoted, “race is an issue that I believe this nation cannot afford to ignore right now.” and split his acquaintances with him. “We can play Reverend Wright’s sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we’ll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.” (Obama 7) “This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don’t have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.” (Obama 8) By addressing these issues Obama is able to establish pathos to make the audience feel a sense of melancholy in the problems that they may have to face.
To make this speech come together Obama uses the last appeal, logos.

Logos also known as logical means persuading the reader by the use of reasoning. Logos is able to make logical arguments in order to persuade the audience. In A More Perfect Union Obama is able to make questionable arguments on a subject such as race and make a logical solution for what us Americans should do. Obama uses logos to represent that this union is not perfect yet, to become perfect we must come together as one. “The fact is that the comments that have been made and the issues that have surfaced over the last few weeks reflect the complexities of race in this country that we’ve never really worked through – a part of our union that we have yet to perfect. And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American.” (Obama 4) Obama is persuading logic by targeting the audience applying reason and logic. By working together we are able to conquer so much more and move past our racial profiling. Then we will become the perfect union that we have once imagined. Through these issues of race Obama is able to make a persuasive logical argument on the issue of race and unite the United States as

one.
Another rhetorical devices that Obama uses throughout this speech is Anaphora. An Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or phrase. “I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother” (Obama 4) Using the anaphora in this text really allows Obama to achieve artistic effect. Obama also uses claim types his speech. One claim type that stands out to me is the proposal claim. The proposal claim is usually used when they need to figure out a solution to a problem. Obama uses it in a way of showing that people need to work together to patch up the wounds of America. “But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.” (Obama 6)
It is clear throughout Obamas speech he has a very rhetoric display of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.