In the State of the Union address, Obama’s main purpose was to give optimism and confidence to his fellow citizens for the future of America. Obama concedes that there are several issues at hand such as climate change and the vast bipartisanship division that need to be resolved as soon as possible. Obama is successful in achieving his purpose by frequently using antithesis and parallelism in his speech. The effect of using contrasting relationships between two ideas and using recurring syntax strengthens the importance of what Obama is saying and leaves a lasting impression on the listener. By hearing a certain phrase over again or by noticing the similar structure in sentences the audience is able to remember and recall what Obama has said