Rhetorical Analysis Of Michelle Obama

On May 9, 2015, Michelle Obama gave the commencement speech at Tuskegee University in Alabama. Michelle Obama is the first African-American first lady of the United States. She has become known for advocating in causes such as higher education and fighting against childhood obesity. She has created a platform for herself that no other first lady has ever done. In her speech she mentions her struggles to get to her current position, but she also reflects on the history of the Tuskegee Airmen. She adds despite the bumps during the road with constant work and dedication success is possible. All three appeals were used to attract the audience, but an abundance of what was established throughout Obama’s speech was logos and pathos. In her 2015 commencement

speech at Tuskegee University, Michelle Obama uses logos, ethos and pathos to effectively relate to the audience.
In Obama’s speech, she aims her message to the graduates of Tuskegee University. Among the crowd were also the parents, professors and other faculty members at the institution. When First Lady Michelle Obama spoke at the commencement ceremony her purpose was to inform the audience as well as convince them. The overall theme of her speech is to rise above our trials by constantly working to do so and that no one is able to get where they want to be without striving for it.
Obama was able to draw in the audience with her use of logos. Logos is the rhetorical appeal of using logic, facts and even numbers to attract the reader. During her speech, Michelle Obama reflects on a time in which it were especially hard for African-Americans to be acknowledged. Throughout her speech she uses the stories of the Tuskegee Airmen to compare to the graduates. “…many already had college degrees and pilot licenses—they were presumed to be inferior,”(par. 15). During World War II although many of the pilots were well skilled at in their position, they still were looked at as if they were less. Obama also gives an example of the time the school needed a new dorm, but they had no money to pay for it. Booker T. Washington pawned his watch to buy a kiln and the students built the dorm and some other buildings on campus (par. 22). The students that made up the university during that time period paved the way for those sitting in seats, ready to graduate. They were determined to give themselves a better opportunity that would ultimately lead into the future generations following in their footsteps. Obama was able to use the history of our country as well as the history of the school to appeal the audience.
Michelle Obama also used ethos to capture the attention of her audience.

Ethos is the rhetorical appeal in which a speaker establishes credibility for themselves, where the audience begins to trust them and are someone they want to listen to. Obama does this by saying she has had her fair share of bumps on her way to success. When her husband was running for president there were an uproar for questions on what kind of first lady she would be. Would she “too loud, or too angry, or too emasculating?” (par. 28). This statement makes the audience see that she, like any other person, has had rumors speculating about her and they begin to be a little closer to the kind of person she is. And finally, she discusses how as first lady she wanted to use her platform to make a difference. “I took on issues that were personal to me -- …helping families raise healthier children, honoring the incredible military families…, inspiring our young people to value education…”(par. 36). Obama shows the audience that she is someone who cares about the difficulties faced in our country. Michelle Obama forms a trust with the listeners by creating a podium for herself that the audience can

admire.
Pathos was the final approach Michelle Obama used to connect with her audience. Pathos is the rhetorical appeal that touches the listener or reader’s emotions to draw them into the argument. Obama’s first example of pathos was when she stated how she was portrayed as a cartoon on a magazine cover (par. 29). She claimed that it knocked her down because it made her wonder how people were seeing her. As the audience, one probably begins to feel like “if someone could look at the first lady and come forth with such negativity then what would someone think about me? A regular person.” Obama wants the audience to know that she is a person just like them regardless of her status. Another way Michelle Obama used pathos was when she brought up what people across the country deal with everyday. “Nagging worries [of getting] stopped or pulled over for no reason; the fear that your job application will be overlooked because of the way your name sounds;… how hard you work to be a good person—for some folks it will never be enough.” (par. 45). Her statements makes the audience, primarily African-Americans, think about no matter how hard they try they still have to work twice as hard just to be half as good as their fellow man. Inside it may make the audience feel saddened, but it may also start a drive to “rise above the bumps in our path” (par. 21). Through her use of pathos, Michelle Obama connected with the audience’s emotions to make a better argument.
In her 2015 commencement speech, Michelle Obama was able to effectively use all the appeals to capture the audience.

In her speech she spoke about the history of the school, the courageous airmen she admired and overcoming one’s trials and tribulations. With logos she was able to give facts and analogies the audience could relate to. Because of her pedestal, Obama created a trust and established an authority to show she is someone worth listening to. And finally, with the use of pathos Michelle Obama touched the hearts of the audience. She was capable of connecting with them on a personal level, sharing a private story of her own feelings and what other African-Americans experience everyday. Overall, Michelle Obama delivered a successful speech that was informative as well as

convincing.