After the Watergate Scandal in 1972, the House Judiciary Committee needed to decide whether or not to start the process of impeaching President Nixon. As a new member of the committee, it was Barbara Jordan’s job to convince everyone else to vote for the impeachment of Nixon. In Jordan’s speech, pathos is effectively used to persuade the House Judiciary Committee to impeach President Nixon. Through the use of rhetorical questions, repetition, first person pronouns, and dramatic imagery Jordan impacts her audience’s opinion on the impeachment of Nixon. Jordan first utilizes pathos to relate to her audience. “I felt somehow for many years that George Washington and Alexander Hamilton left me out by mistake… I have finally been included in “We, the people.” Jordan begins her speech with an extremely personal statement. She tells her audience that she, as an African American woman, felt excluded when the preamble was first written. This forces her audience to feel sympathy for her; …show more content…
creating an emotional connection between her and her audience. By opening her speech with such an intimate statement, she pulls her audience in and makes them see perspective on the quote “We the people.” Another approach Jordan takes to use pathos for persuasion is by comparing Nixon’s actions to impeachment criteria. At the end of the paragraph, she quotes the Virginia ratification convention: “If the President be connected in any suspicious manner with any person and there be grounds to believe that he will shelter him, he may be impeached. ” Through this quote and other quotes from the Constitution that she uses in her speech, she proves Nixon is guilty and should be impeached. She knows both of her audiences, the Judiciary Committee and American citizens, feel a patriotic connection to the Constitution, creating an emotional appeal to her speech and viewpoint. Throughout her speech, Jordan presents all of the reasons Nixon fits the criteria of impeachment. To emphasize this, she asks, “Has the president committed offenses, and planned, and directed, and acquiesced in a course of conduct which the Constitution will not tolerate?” She uses this rhetorical question to confirm the answer in audiences’ mind, forcing them to see her point of view. Another rhetorical device Barbara Jordan uses in her speech is repetition.
She says, “which must guide our deliberations, guide our debate, and guide our decision.” Jordan is attempting to guide her primary audience through the process of impeachment. This is not forceful or a law, just guidance. She is letting her audience make the decision, not forcing them to impeach Nixon. She is also appealing to the audience’s patriotism toward the constitution. She knows they feel strongly about what the constitution says, and that it should be followed. Jordan uses repetition again when she states, “a President is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the Constitution.” This quote is used at the beginning and the end of a paragraph. Jordan states the quote, Nixon’s involvement in the scandal, and then she states the quote again at the end of the paragraph. She does this for two reasons- emphasis and to make a clear connection between Nixon’s involvement in the scandal and the terms of
impeachment. Jordan refers to when President Nixon arranged to have all documents that could relate him to the Watergate Scandal be shredded when she says: “Then perhaps that 18th-century Constitution should be abandoned to a 20th-century paper shredder.” This is statement is exaggerated for emphasis. If Nixon is not voted to be impeached, the committee is disregarding the Constitution or saying it is worthless, and it should be shredded as well. She uses this to grab her audience’s attention right before the end of the speech. Knowing how firmly they believe and agree with the Constitution, they are compelled to see Jordan’s perspective on the situation. Furthermore, Jordan uses “we” to make American citizens feel responsible for the decision whether Nixon is impeached or not. For example, Jordan says “We know that”. She uses the pronoun “we” throughout her entire speech to make both of her audiences feel a connection to her speech. By using “we” this also makes them feel like they have a say in the decision. She wants everyone that hears her speech to feel like they have a voice in what happens. Although President Nixon resigned before being impeached, Barbara Jordan efficiently used pathos, repetition and other rhetorical devices to persuade her audiences to vote for his impeachment.
In his "Letter," Martin Luther King Jr.'s ability to effectively use pathos, or to appeal to the emotions of his audiences, is evident in a variety of places. More particularly in paragraph fourteen, King demonstrates his ability to inspire his fellow civil rights activists, invoke empathy in the hearts of white moderates, and create compassion in the minds of the eight clergyman to which the "Letter" is directed.
In Lyndon B. Johnson’s acceptance speech he utilized rhetorical features to validate his upcoming role as president of the United States. At the beginning of the speech the biggest burden to discuss is handled with immense care when Johnson says “no words are sad enough to express our sense of loss.” Here he is explaining that the tragedy is unfathomable and incomparable circumstances. The emotions instilled in his audience at this point are perceived as being filled with grief and a continuing mourning process of a popularly beloved president. This introduction initiates a sober mood in accordance with the very recent events. A second example of pathos within the Let Us Continue speech is exposed through his pl...
Through the accompaniment of rhetorical devices and pathos, one can strengthen an argument to the point where others see no other option. When spoken at the right occasions and with enough of supporting evidence, an argument will intrigue the audience and make people find the argument logical and appealing. Patrick Henry made his speech less than a month before the Revolutionary War came to pass. Thomas Paine commenced a series of articles when the call for men to fight was urgent. When someone makes an argument, even the smallest detail counts.
Then, the speaker of this letter is Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player in America. However, without Robinson as the speaker this text wouldn’t be preserved as it is today, specifically if the speaker was a little known person of color or even a white person speaking on the behalf of the black community. The audience includes President Lyndon B. Johnson directly; then Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York; and lastly the people of America, the black community, and those fighting for civil rights. This audience is important because if Robinson hadn’t written to the President, and indirectly to the others, then, similarly with the speaker, the text might not be as preserved or well-known nor carry the same influence it has. The subject, as mentioned before for the text’s purpose, is the Civil Rights Movement and the President’s involvement in it during the Vietnam War, which is affects the text as Robinson is a
Politicians frequently receive negative publicity at the hand of their own use of language. Their uses of words as they relate to persuasion typically fall within one of the three dimensions of language functions, semantic or thematic. Often their persuasive language can be found to closely resemble any of these three categories simultaneously. There are many tools for analyzing persuasive symbols, many of which should be utilized when analyzing great communicators such as President Ronald Reagan. In response to the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion on January 28th, 1986 where seven brave American’s gave their lives. President Ronald Reagan made history with his famous speech, which didn’t only serve to address the great tragedy, but served as a focal point of comfort for the grieving nation. He commemorated the seven heroes who had fallen that morning in route to outer space; he expressed gratitude to NASA for their past developments and encouraged further explorations. Ronald Reagan was a great communicator, a charismatic persuader whose words delivered focus of the message through utilization of persuasive symbols. This paper aims not to be an all-inclusive guide for analyzing persuasive symbols, but will sufficiently guide the reader to be a more perceptive of persuasive language.
On the turntable of American politics Dick Morris has established himself as a masterful disk jockey. However, his ability to artistically mix campaign messages has earned him a scratched personal reputation. The rhetoric of Dick Morris transcends partisan boundaries to such a degree that it lacks foundation. His career has earned him praise but at the expense of intense scorn. His political strategy and poll based campaigning have earned him a reputation as both a genius and amoral. In many ways the controversial aspects of his messages reflect contemporary discussion of American politics. The flaws of his character reveal some of the flaws in our representative system. The recent Impeachment Trial of President Clinton has also brought attention to flaws in our representative system. Dick Morris's political commentary on the Impeachment and the work of his career offers insight with which to examine a growing discontent among the American public towards our nation's politics.
Have you ever wondered how influential people write great speeches that grab people's attention? They use a literary device called, rhetorical appeals. As supported in Hillary Clinton’s November 03, 2016 speech, uniting the American Public, will lead to an advantageous country. In her speech for the Democratic National Convention it states that, as elected for president, she will get everyone saying “We” instead of “I”. To reach out to the American Citizens and grab their attention, Clinton uses many rhetorical devices as she speaks. Using Logos, Pathos, and Ethos, the people of America jump on board with Clinton's ideas.
In his prominent 1961 Inaugural Address, John F. Kennedy extensively employs pathos, parallelism, antithesis, and varied syntax to captivate millions of people, particularly to persuade them to stand together and attempt to further human rights for the “betterment” of the world. Kennedy’s effective use of various rhetorical styles succeeds in persuading his audience –the world and the U.S. citizens—that his newly-seized position as the U.S. President will be worthwhile for all. Evident throughout his entire address, Kennedy employs a cogent pathos appeal to keep his audience intrigued. This can be demonstrated when Kennedy initially proclaims: “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans.” who he urges to be “unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of.human rights to which this nation has always been committed.”
In Shakespeare’s play, The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, pathos, logos and ethos are evidently and effectively used to persuade the audience into believing Caesar was not ambitious and that he was an innocent man. Throughout the speech the citizens were easily persuaded, but Anthony’s intellectual speeches made the audience question and imagine what they have turned into. Anthony used these three rhetorical appeals to win back the citizens just like many people do today. The power of pathos, logos and ethos in a speech can change one mind in an instant and if successfully used can change a mind to be fully persuaded without confusion.
Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X manipulate the audience’s emotions, pathos, throughout the speech. However, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X use pathos in different ways. Martin Luther King Jr. uses pathos to create a patriotic and welcoming feeling throughout the audience. In his opening paragraph, he greets the audience by stating he is “happy” to speak to the audience. Throughout the speech, he includes positive words to reinforce the welcoming feeling such as “hope” (101), “joyous” (101), “magnificence” (101), and “great” (101). In addition, he adds a patriotic feeling in the crowd to show that people of color are not different from white people. He includes an American song, My Country Tis’ of Thee, as well as repeating the word “together” (103) in another paragraph. He uses the last line of My Country Tis’ of Thee, “let freedom ring” (104), towards the end of the speech to emphasize that the people of color are similar to white people. By using the song, he is showing that both African Americans and white people know the song.
President Obama’s memorial speech following the Tuscan shooting carefully utilized the Aristotelian appeal of pathos, or emotional appeals through his word choice, which aligned him with the American people while still conveying a sense of authority, and his use of biblical allusions, which drew his audience together on the basis of shared ideologies.
Throughout King’s speech, he uses the rhetorical mode, pathos, to give the audience an ambience of strong emotions such as sympathy. For example, whites had sympathy for African Americans and parents had sympathy for their children. The way that King tells his speech takes the focus off of race and reestablishes it on the aspiration of a world without racism. “…by making his audience no longer hate Negroes and instead hate racism and wish for a new, better world…” (L., Anson). Dr. King made the audience sympathize with African Americans, helping the audience realize that racist people and bias ideas caused the true dilemma of discrimination. Through making the audience realize this, he also gave them hope for a world reborn without racism, without segregation, without discrimination, and without hate. King wanted his children to live in a world without judgment of race, but with the consideration of personality, for nobody should not endure judgment because of the way that they look. He spoke of his own children, which introduced a reinforced emotional attachment to the audience; this gave many parents a scenario to relate to because no parent wants ...
He used these examples in his speech so that whites could see the truth about the wrong doings towards people of color. He wants these unjust acts to emotionally capture the hearts of America. Johnson also uses other examples of pathos throughout his speech to reach out to the hearts of the American people. He states many times that he believes that Americans can change the future not only for us but also for all generations to come. Johnson implied that it was a general feeling of American citizens that something needed to be done about the current situation of voting rights for African Americans.
King uses in his speech is Pathos, which is the appeal to someone 's emotions or beliefs. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. presented a strong feeling towards African-American people about how they were treated as equal individuals “But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination” (King par. 3). Another example of pathos that Dr. King used was when he uses vocabulary and phrases, such as “I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream” (King par. 12). He uses the appeal of emotion, especially the word of choice and diction to let his audience’s know what he would like to see in the
To conclude, Blair uses literary devices throughout his speech such as connotation, pathos, and anaphora in an effective way to persuade American citizens. Blair uses connotation to give the reader a sense of urgency. Blair uses pathos to give the reader a sense of emotion towards his speech. Blair uses anaphora to emphasize what “American power” is. Blair’s speech comes out to be effective because of the way he used literary devices to persuade the