Rhetorical Analysis Of Patrick Henry's Speech

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Recommended: Religious conflict and war

War is the science of destruction or the purpose of peace. Hundreds of wars took place in history including World Wars, Revolutionary wars, Civil wars, and Religious wars. The outcomes of these battles varied widely, ranging from victorious wins to disastrous defeats. However, soldiers and major historical figures have different perspectives on fighting, both unfavorable and positive. Two of these men include Patrick Henry and Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce Indians. Patrick Henry delivered a speech to the Virginia Convention in the prelude of the Revolutionary War and ended with the immortal words, “Give me liberty or give me death!” On the other hand, Chief Joseph recited a speech upon his surrender to the US Army. Patrick Henry believes …show more content…

He uses an exasperated tone to confess his exhaustion and explains the lists of hardships upon his people while escaping the U.S Army. The message he tries to imply is that he will no longer risk thousands of lives to solely fight in war and continue to make their Native American population extinct. Similar to Patrick Henry, Joseph also uses rhetorical strategies to communicate his message. He uses simple and short sentences to place a straightforward and honest tone which allows strong emotion to filter through. The tone is immediately established in the first few sentences when he states, “Our chiefs our killed. Looking glass is dead. Toohulhosote is dead.” The uncomplicated sentences allow the audience to focus on the emotion of human suffering behind the words instead of confusing them in a maze of advanced language. Moreover, he also uses imagery to display the cold and tragic images of “little children...freezing to death.” Chief Joseph's search for the missing children to see “how many [he] can find” is an intense appeal to pathos as well. The minor, yet genuine details express his heartache and he ceased to fight so he can assist survivors after a traumatic

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