Rhetorical Analysis Of Robert F. Kennedy's Speech

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Intro
Attention Getter
A powerful speech can leave a huge impact and create a lasting memory, either good or bad.
Context
RFK
Robert F. Kennedy’s speech was about the tragic news of Martin King Jr.’s assassination. He engages with the senses, memories, and emotions of the audience to persuade them to not shed more blood because of this loss.
ANTONY
Marc Antony’s eulogy was for Julius Caesar. He was able to effectively change the Roman people’s optimistic view of Caesar’s death while simultaneously making Brutus and the conspirators look evil.
Thesis: Antony and Kennedy both effectively use rhetoric devices like ethos, repetition, and pathos to persuade their audiences in different manners.
Body Paragraphs
Ethos: By proving their credibility …show more content…

We’ve had difficult times in the past, but we — and we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it’s not the end of disorder.”
Contrasting the events of the present, past, and future.
ANTONY:
“The noble Brutus; Hath told you Caesar was ambitious; If it were so, it was a grievous fault, And grievously hath Caesar answered it. Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest—For Brutus is an honorable man; So are they all, all honorable men—Come I to speak in Caesar’s funeral. He was my friend, faithful and just to me. But Brutus says he was ambitious,And Brutus is an honorable man.
Antony’s repetitive and sarcastic use of “honorable” hints that Brutus’ intentions are not what they seem. Antony effectively undermines Brutus’ noble character and persuades the Roman people against him.
“To wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you/ Than I will wrong such honorable men.”
Antony would rather say horrible things about himself, about the dead and to the public then saying horrible things about such “honorable” men. Antony uses the word “wrong” to make the word reverberate in their minds. That the word “wrong” does not belong to Antony for Antony is noble and a plain man to the people. But rather “wrong” is being taken to describe Brutus, for his actions were “wrong” that he killed Julius Caesar and it takes away from Brutus being …show more content…

By doing this, he wanted to show the life’s work of Dr. King and that an uproar would undo this work and prove it was meaningless. He’s trying to prevent an uprising and feelings of

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