Rhetorical Analysis Of Napoleon Hill's Speech

The Seeds of Success

Napoleon Hill, an American self-help author born in 1883 once said, “Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another.” In her speech on June 1st to the graduates of the class of 1990 at Wellesley College, Mrs. Barbra Bush showed what it looks like to carefully compose words that plant success in the minds of an audience. On this occasion, Mrs. Bush spoke to the graduates of an all-girls college, graduates who faced an import transitionary period in their lives. They were no longer just students, but the next generation of powerful woman with high quality educations and the capability to make decisions that would impact the world. As these students transitioned to a new phase,

Bush urges her audience to cherish their human connections. Utilizing pathos, she pours passion and emotion into her words to hone her point. After appropriately recognizing the hard work of the students on their education, she guides them in a new direction saying, “you must read to your children, and you must hug your children, and you must love your children.” Her repetition and dramatic tone emphasize her point and demonstrate her deep dedication to this issue. In another brilliant turn of phrase she says, “Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but on what happens inside your house.” The timing of this message could not be more appropriate for her audience as each of these students will likely soon be parents with their own households. Her catchy wording, “in the White House” and “inside your house,” make her point memorable. Her audience will forever associate the White House with the importance of their own households as they remember the first lady’s address at their commencement. Through her passion and eloquent syntax, Mrs. Bush impresses upon her audience the importance of their human