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9/11 address to the nation rhetorical analysis essay
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On September 11, 2001, an American tragedy occurred. Four passenger planes were hijacked by nineteen terrorists later identified as being affiliated with al-Qaeda. The impacts caused the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City to collapse and the western wing of the Pentagon in Washington, DC to catch fire. A fourth plane is believed to have been headed to the capitol, but when a group of passengers and flight attendants who were successful in their insurrection caused the plane to flip and crash into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Nearly three thousand people lost their lives in the direct events and the following response efforts of the attacks. The people of the nation were confused, scared, angry, hurting, etc. An …show more content…
Members of Congress, leaders of other nations and their citizens, as well as any other al-Qaeda affiliates happening to be watching were also in the audience. This September 20, 2001, speech carried weight that defined a presidency and affected the course of a nation. It was a fiery call to arms and cry for vengeance of the American people, a warning for those perceived to be enemies or allies of enemies, and fueled by explosive pathos. The focus of this particular analysis will focus on five types of political rhetoric. Three types of propaganda: Bandwagon, Glittering Generalities, and Transfer as defined by a founder of The Institute for Propaganda Analysis and Columbia University professor Clyde Miller will appear. Rutgers University English professor and journal writer William Lutz’s definition of euphemism and its distinction as a type of doublespeak will appear. The purpose of this essay is to thoughtfully analyze a few prominent elements of Bush’s September 20, 2001, speech under elements of propaganda and doublespeak as identified by Clark and Miller and what some of their [Clark and Miller] criticisms of the speech might …show more content…
Lutz defined doublespeak as “Language that claims to communicate but doesn’t” (304). Euphemism is the first type of doublespeak as, “A word or phrase designed to avoid a harsh or distasteful reality” (305). Justice, it’s a rousing word, but what exactly does it mean or look like? In this context, it’s an euphemism for killing. Referring to killing as “justice” sounds noble when the acts themselves are not. In the American government system, justice usually involves the legal system, most notably the rights to trial and fair imprisonment. There are no trials held in an airstrike. This euphemism has allowed for multiple skirmishes with high foreign civilian and American troop casualties and few gains in the “war on terror,” all without many American civilians batting an eye or analyzing the real horrors of war. “Justice” segueing into a series of new, ethically questionable foreign policies tolling over a million Afghani civilians, two thousand American soldiers, and over two trillion dollars. As acts of terrorism continue to escalate, so does outcry about the policies immediately enacted after the 9/11 terror attacks. This “justice” has spawned more insurgent groups as a direct backlash to the ideal of stopping terrorism worldwide. This war rhetoric still continues to be
On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama delivered the speech announcing the death of the former leader of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden was responsible for thousands of deaths on the September 11th terrorist attacks in the US along with leaving children without a father or a mother for the rest of their lives. The speech was what Americans were waiting for after all the evil that bin Laden has done in the world. Throughout the speech, Obama uses rhetorical appeals such as ethos, pathos, and logos to address the nation saying that justice is served by killing Osama bin Laden and making the speech effective to the audience.
On September 11, 2001 America changed forever. At 8:46 a.m. American Airlines Flight 11’ crash into the North Tower World Trade Center Tower in New York. At 9:03 United Airlines Flight 175 crashes in the South Tower of the World Trade Center. Then American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the western façade of the Pentagon. While United Airlines Flight 93’ some believed this was destined for the White House, U.S. Capitol building, or other landmarks, crashes into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. At the end of this horrific terrorist attack approximately 2,977 died. Many families lost fathers, mothers, daughters, brothers. Who could possible inflict such a horrendous, despicable
“President’s Address to Nation/” The Fifth Anniversary of September 11, 2001. The 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of the 'Secondary' of 11 September 2006. http://whiteshouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060911-3.html. Reporters Without Borders. Press release: Worldwide Press Freedom Index, 2007.
Bush opens his speech by acknowledging the events of September 11, and those that lost the lives of loved ones and to those that gave their life trying to save others in the buildings. He appeals to those that remain strong by saying that, “These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.” His use of pathos helps Bush to calm and control the public in order to keep the country together. This
The day was September 11th, 2001, a moment in history that will never be forgotten by any American living at the time. It was in the early morning hours on this day that our nation experienced the single most devastating terrorist attack ever carried out on American soil. Images of planes crashing into the World Trade Center, news coverage of buildings on fire, and images of building rubble will forever be imprinted into the history of this great nation. However, it was on one of the darkest days for America that one of the most impassioned speeches ever given by a United States president was spoken. President George W. Bush’s speech addressing the nation after the “9/11” attacks was infused with pathos through his imagery of destruction and
Throughout the speech, the Former President George W Bush strives to empower Americans by instructing them to remain resolute, but to “go back to [their] lives and routines”. He uses the personal pronoun we and the common pronoun us repeatedly to indicate that the people of the United States, who either saw the event on television or experienced this event firsthand, were and still are involved in this national tragedy. He implements this emotional appeal into his speech to involve all Americans--people living in the United States of America, regardless of their ethnicity, race, or culture, and to acknowledge that the American people have endured this together, and that they will continue to advance after this event with stronger resolve, stronger than ever. In addition, he implements personification to motivate and empower the American people. “Our nation, this generation, will lift a dark threat of violence from our people and our future” (Bush, 2001). “This generation”, again a synonym for the American people, with its unwavering resolve, will fight for its freedom persistently. He intimates that the future of America and of democratic freedom is in the hands of the American people: that the American people have the power to control their fate. The next sentence leads into America’s “philanthropically” democratic nature: “We will rally the world to this cause, by our efforts and by our courage” (Bush, 2001). This statement has been followed up by action only a few years later, when the United States intervened in the Iraqi War, Libyan Revolution, and even more civil wars to ensure the freedom of citizens from dictatorships, which in Islāmic nations, were militant groups, like the Hamas and Taliban. Lastly, the president utilized anaphora, specifically a tripartite structure, by affirming that the American people “will not tire”, “will not falter”, and “will not fail”. He implies that the American people will relentlessly fight for the worldwide establishment of peace and democratic institutions, a promise which America has kept even in the face of its own national crisis.
It all happened in an instant. One minute thousands of civilians were on their way to work when everything changed. President George Bush gave an iconic speech that was not only memorable but gave hope to the Americans that justice would be served to those associated with the terrorist group al-Qaida. George Bush’s speech rallied the Americans to fight back against the terrorists because he used rhetorical devices such as parallelism, analogies, and repetition.
British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, says in his speech, following September 11, 2001, points out the terrorists attacks on the twin towers. Blair’s purpose is to have unity between the citizens to ensure that the United States does not fall apart. Blair’s speech was effective in persuading American citizens to stick together because of the crisis in the world, effects of September 11, 2001, and the fight for stability by using pathos, colloquialism, and connotation.
President George W. Bush use of symbolic strategies is admirable, regardless of one’s beliefs with politics. With his crucial tone combined with anaphoras and pathos, Bush created a speech that was inspiring and provoking. Looking back at everything, it is apparent that Bush used his successful speech as a stepping stone to go into Afghanistan, and then later Iraq. Bush’s 9/11 speech will go down in history and nobody will ever forget about this tragic, horrendous event that shocked our country worldwide.
September 11th, 2001 is one of the worst days in the United States of America’s history by far. It all began at 8:45am when a stolen airplane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Many people believed that this was...
On September 11, 2001, many people’s lives were changed. Not only Americans, but Muslims and Islamist alike, were affected. (A Nation Challenged 80). Family members and friends were lost, lives were taken away, and New York City was torn to pieces. Two planes hit the Twin Towers, otherwise known as the World Trade Center. One plane was flown into the Pentagon located in Virginia. One last plane was flown into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after being taken over by the passengers. The nineteen men who hijacked these planes were from the Islamist militant group known as al-Qaeda. (The 9/11 Commission Report). An editorial in the New York Times said, “It was one of those moments in which history splits, and we define the world as ‘before’ and ‘after’.”
On the brink of two different wars, two United States’ Presidents rose up to the challenge of calming the American people and fighting for the belief of justice. A day after devastation on December 7, 1941, Franklin D. Roosevelt gives his “Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation”. At the beginning of a terrorist crisis in 2001, George W. Bush announces a “‘War on Terror’ Declaration”. Both Presidents have many similarities in common, yet their differences set them apart with uniqueness. These two speeches, separate by nearly sixty years, weave an outright and assertive tone into their diction and detail.
9/11 was one of the darkest days in America, but some say the government could have been part of these attacks. For many years people have debated about the 9/11 cover up. This theory cannot explain why the government would do this. Once people understand why the 9/11 cover up is fake, they will begin to see the answer to their problem, could the government have done this? This conspiracy theory is wrong because, terrorists admitted to the attacks, so many people died, and there's no evidence against the government.
In “Terror’s Purse Strings”, Dana Thomas successfully persuades her target audience of general consumers to not purchase counterfeit products. Thomas’s purpose is to inform her audience that the notion of consuming counterfeit products being a victimless crime is completely false and the true harmful effects of consuming counterfeit products. In “Sweatshop Oppression”, Rajeev Ravisankar successfully persuades his target audience of general college students that they should take measures against corporations who knowingly use inhumane sweatshops to produce their products. Through the analysis of each writer's rhetorical strategies, the establishment of credibility, and stylistic techniques, I am going to compare and contrast Dana Thomas’s “Terror's
President George W. Bush is notorious for horrible public speaking, tripping over his words and making silly mistakes are not uncommon in President Bush’s speeches. When 9/11 struck the heart of America we turned to President Bush to guide us back to the path of calm and reason. The American population tends to lean on our President in time of tragedy to serve as a system of support. Instantly after the World Trade Center buildings were attacked President Bush addressed the nation on live television. Bush used neo-Aristotelian tactics: ethos, pathos, and logos to instate a sense of patriotism, argue that America will recover from this tragedy and bring justice to our nation.