..."Make America Great Again" carries implications that In the current state of being, America no longer is great and that the goal is to recapture a point of glory in the past. In terms of the Republican Party as the events have unfolded and the stage set for November, I can't help but wonder to myself when exactly does their newly found party leader think America lost its greatness? What about his speeches, actions, and his party's anti-inclusive platform emulates the peak of when America was great? Or, what about it inspires the emersion of the American Dream and its potential to once again be achieved through the views of Donald Trump? How does one excuse his rhetoric or the Party's desire to oppress specific groups of fellow citizens? How can a self-respecting woman look beyond misogyny and place her support for a man who publicly promotes negative-body image and shaming. How can an American citizen, blessed with Democracy and...
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...Hillary Clinton’s campaign. These are all examples of a rhetorical artifact that fits within a political-slogan-type genre. For my second paper, I will be analyzing Barack Obama’s slogan from his 2008 campaign. His slogan is as follows: “Change We Can Believe In” (Obama 2008). I believe this slogan follows the proper guidelines and structure of the many political slogans that have come before...
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...white house for four more years. He praises the president of that time: “We are one America, and President Bush is defending it with all his heart and soul. That’s what I admire most about the president. He’s a man of perseverance.” (l. 41, p. 3) As the speech is given on the Republican convention, the audience is probably all Republicans, and throughout the speech, it is clear that it is given to an audience that has already been convinced. Especially in the introduction to his speech, we see that Schwarzenegger speaks to his sympathizers: “My fellow immigrants, my fellow Americans, how do you know if you are a Republican? Well, I tell you how. If you believe that government should be accountable to the people, not the people to the government, then you are a republican. If you believe that a person should be treated as an individual, not as a member of an interest group, then you are a Republican. If you believe your family knows how to spend your money better than the government does, then you are a Republican.” We see here that he focuses his speech on an audience which he addresses as "my fellow Americans". Although he seems to be speaking to all American citizens, he actually focuses in on the Republican citizens. Upon identifying his audience, Schwarzenegger angles his message and rhetorical purposes to them to reinforce their Republican beliefs and create a feeling of pride in America. It is clearly his fundamental belief and intention to convince the audience that this...
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...EN1320 EN1320 04/13/2013 04/13/2013 Essay 3.1 Rhetorical Analysis Obamas “A More Perfect Union” Speech Essay 3.1 Rhetorical Analysis Obamas “A More Perfect Union” Speech On March 18, 2008, Senator and future President Barack Obama delivered a speech that was titled “A More Perfect Union” (Obama Race Speech, 2008). This speech took place in Philadelphia, PA at the National Constitution Center. This speech was given during the 2008 Presidential race and looks to address the concerns regarding video of controversial and racially charged comments made by former pastor Jeremiah Wright which seemed to playing on loop in every media outlet possible. He also addressed the subjects of racial tension and race and inequality in the United States. From the beginning of the speech, it is evident that the most effective appeal that Obama chooses to use is ethos. As a rhetoric tool, ethos is used to establish character. Ethos is an appeal to ethics, and it is a means of convincing someone of the character or credibility of the persuader (Examples of Ethos, Logos, and Pathos). In order to establish an effective ethos, the speaker must present themselves in a way that will make the audience believe what they say. A strong example of this is when he uses the quote “We the people, in order to form a more perfect union”. In referring to the U.S Constitution, this compels the audience to make a connection of significance and importance between his speech and that of the Constitution...
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...University of Danang. 3 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. RATIONALE The effectiveness of a speech depends on many factors, including the mood of the crowd, the ability of the orator, the situation the crowd confronts, the topic of the speech and the using of words- the using of stylistic devices. The goal of any political speech is persuasion - you want to bring the crowd around to your point of view, whether that means convincing them to vote for you. So the frequent and wide use of stylistic devices is an important characteristic of political speeches which is an effective way to make these speeches more attractive, lively and more persuasive. A stylistic device is an example of the figurative use of words, which produces a particularly rhetorical effect when people use the language creatively in a specified context so all politicians use stylistic devices in political speeches. In the realm of discourse analysis, the typical linguistic features of political speeches have so far been the focus of attention of many linguists and researchers. However, there are not many studies of the language used in political speeches, especially stylistic devices used in political speeches of...
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...is to defend the demonstrations that were taking place. As Dr. King is trying to defend the demonstrations to these white clergymen, his language choice is quite interesting. One brilliant way that he chooses to defend the demonstrations is by appealing to the white men through his choice of Anglo terms. For instance, in the letter, Dr. King writes, “Just as the prophets of the eighth century century B.C. left their villages and carried their “thus saint the Lord” far beyond the boundaries of their home towns…I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town” (King). This choice of wording makes Dr. King’s argument stronger since as these white men disagree with Dr. King and his form of peaceful protest, the white clergymen will not be able to argue back because he is using religious references that if the white men chose to argue against, it would make them look like hypocrites (Eubank). While there are some differences between “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and the “I Have a Dream” speech, there are also similarities. One similarity that the two share is in how King is incredibly understanding of his audience and thus chooses the proper wording to keep his audience aware. The way that King argues in both his letter and speech appeal to everyone in some way, however, the way that...
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...Rhetorical Analysis of The Letter from Birmingham Jail Influential leader of the Civil Rights Movement and active agitator for justice, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. in his letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, argues passionately that injustice anywhere automatically creates the timely situation for organized retaliation in seeking freedom for the oppressed. King was arrested and placed in Birmingham Jail after a peaceful protest in downtown Birmingham. King was “the foremost civil rights leader in America in the 1950s and 1960s” (Kirszner and Mandell 799). “An ordained minister who held a doctorate in theology, King was the head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference” (799). “King and his followers met opposition not only from white moderates but also from some African-American clergymen who thought King was a troublemaker.” King’s opposition labeled his demonstrations and acts against segregation as “untimely”, “unwise”, and...
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...Rhetorical Analysis of MLK’s “I Have a Dream” Speech Martin Luther King Jr. was an American civil rights activist who boldly called an end to racism in the United States. On August 28, 1963 he delivered a speech in front of more than 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; a speech that became famous for its inspiration; a speech that was a defining moment for the American Civil Rights Movement; a speech plainly known as “I Have a Dream.” This infamous speech was so influential and moving because of the many rhetorical devices and appeals used that effectively related to the emotions and knowledge of the common people. Techniques used so beautifully and words spoken so genuinely that the hearts of those listening...
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...the scenes showing Balboa at work, as a loan shark for a larger operation. This job requires Balboa to confront and physically assault debted customers if unable to make their respective payment. This lays the groundwork for the journey of achieving the “American Dream”. Balboa working such a low-end, odd job just to make ends meet symbolizes the working class, more specifically the lower class. This gives insight to the struggles these people face everyday, not only through Balboa’s work as a loan shark, but the dock worker in a dirty environment who is unable to pay his loan in the same scene. Many signs throughout the early exposition align with the reasoning within the rhetorical framework. For example, Rocky attempts to go to the boxing gym but because of his lack of success and low amount of money, Mick gives Rocky’s locker to...
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...author to illuminate their main theme, discuss how I personally related to the themes of each story, define Non-Fiction, and explore the use of imagination in Non-Fiction works. Martin Luther King Jr. was a powerful motivational speaker. His passion shined through in not only how he spoke, but the words themselves. This is because he used imaginative metaphors and rhetorical questions to pull his audience in. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” rhetorical questions are used sporadically throughout to engage the reader and continuously present the main theme: injustice. Sometimes King uses it to show that he and his followers have considered the other side of the issue, “One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others"” (King, 1963, p 1305)? Other times, it's to gently force the reader to consider King's point of view, “Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice” (King, 1963, p 1309)? Rhetorical questions are defined by Merriam-Webster as “a question not intended to elicit an answer but asked for rhetorical effect often with...
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...Steve Jobs’ Stanford Commencement Speech In 2005, one of the great entrepreneurs and inventors of the 20th and 21st century, Steve Jobs, gave the commencement address at Stanford University. Speaking to the graduating students at Stanford and their guests, Steve Jobs desired to provide the new graduates advice and motivation as they began to go into the “real world”. No matter where, why, or when a speech is given, in order for the speech to be good, it must use contextual and textual rhetorical analysis such as ethos, logos, pathos, and have proper structure and style. Structurally, Steve Jobs had an extremely well formed speech. Jobs related three stories he felt had taught him major life lessons which helped form who he has become today. These stories are related by him in chronological order of his life. His first story was about “connecting the dots”. He explained some of his struggles in regards to the successes of his early life and ended this first anecdote by saying, “Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something -- your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever -- because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.” Jobs’ second story is about “love and loss”. He shared...
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...Students in this introductory college-level course read and carefully analyze a broad and challenging range of nonfiction prose selections, deepening their awareness of rhetoric and how language works. Through close reading and frequent writing, students develop their ability to work with language and texts in order to establish greater awareness of purpose and strategy, while strengthening their own composing abilities. C16 Students examine rhetoric in essays, images, movies, novels, and speeches. They frequently confer about their writing by conferencing in class. C 14 Feedback is given both before and after students revise their work to help them develop logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence. Rhetorical structures, graphic organizers, and work on repetition, transitions, and emphasis are addressed. I comment on individual drafts, and I write memos to the class in a blog about whole-class concerns such as specificity of quotations, parallelism, and transitions. C13 Simultaneously, students review the simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentence classifications. We examine word order, length, and surprising constructions. Loose and periodic sentences are introduced. We examine sample sentences and discuss how change affects tone, purpose, and credibility of the author/speaker. In addition, feedback on producing sentence structure variety is focused on critical thinking skills, evaluating sources and resources, using...
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...Dylan Weber Kim Priest English 101 Rhetorical Analysis During the beginning of this article, Tom Bissel has a back and forth comparison of his opinion about the video game Fallout 3, and telling his imaginary children, Kermit and Hussein, what he was doing the day that Barack Obama was elected to be our first African-American President of the United States. He tries to make an argument that even though there was a widely-known national, and even global, event that took place, he felt like playing the open world game of Fallout 3 was just more important. He goes on to say, “And so, my beloved Kermit, my dear little Hussein, at the moment America changed forever, your father was wandering an ICBM-denuded wasteland, nervously monitoring his radiation level, armed only with a baseball bat, a 10mm pistol, and six rounds of ammunition, in search of a vicious gang of mohawked marauders who were 100 percent bad news and totally had to be dealt with. Trust Daddy on this one”. This analogy of two events shows that beating a video game like Fallout 3 was just as important as watching the election of the 44th President of the United States. And while the excruciating detail of the game makes it seem like there was a lot of responsibility on his hands and he makes it sound like an assertion, it wouldn’t matter in the end, because we all know it was just a virtual world, and he missed out on reality. His anecdote was very detailed, however, and I’m sure if there was anyone who was skeptical...
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...Krystal Tebbetts Dr. Sarah Swofford Writing 1310 12 October 2015 The Rhetorical Analysis of Heather Boushey’s “Values Begin at Home, but Who’s Home?" (In the Struggle to Balance Work and Family, Work is Winning) In Heather Boushey’s article on The American Prospect 2007 is a special report titled “Values Begin at Home, but Who’s Home?” This article reflects America’s current family values. This is an older, but effective report. Heather Boushey was formerly a Senior Economist with the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee and before that, with the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Economic Policy Institute. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and authored numerous reports and commentaries on issues affecting working families. “Heather Boushey.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 13 July 2015. Web. 29 September 2015.” In this article Boushey argues that work has been winning the work/life battle- beginning with Mothers working outside of the home. Boushey also uses her skills as a former Senior Economist, to hone in on statistical data to prove the decline in family values, since Mother’s began working outside of the home. Heather Boushey article serves a dual purpose- or kairos. Boushey wrote this article stating her negative opinion toward today’s economy and how it affects family values. First, Boushey believes that mothers leaving the home to join the workforce has a negative effect on the well-being of...
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...speech on Gun violence Gun violence is a huge problem in the United States of America. Each year thousands of people are victims of mass shooting, and mass shooting is a growing problem. Many Americans see this problem but the gun law stays the same. The gun law and the gun culture go way back in American history, and many Americans feel it is their right to bear arms because it is written in the second amendment from 1791. But times have changed, and today most Americans believe that the gun law needs to be stricter. Therefore it can be difficult to understand why nothing happens when the majority of the US population supports stricter gun laws. So why is it that the law cannot be changed? And what can the politicians do to end this nightmare? Barack Obama is trying to highlight this issue in his newest speech on gun violence – “Remarks by the President on Common-Sense Gun Safety Reform” – that he presented at the White House Press Conference on the 5th of January 2016. This paper analyses Obama’s speech. The analysis will focus on the communicative and rhetorical devices in the speech. The sender of the speech is Barack Obama, the current president in the USA. He is representing his own party, the Democrats. Obama is speaking for all Americans and against the gun lobbyists. The speech is built on the foundation of all the gun tragedies, which have happened over the last years, and therefore makes use of al lot of pathos. He expresses his compassion for all the people who have...
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