Barack Obama – Speech

On October 1, 2015 several people were shot and killed by a man at Oregon Community College.
On the same day Barack Obama gave a speech. First of all the speech was gave to express Obama’s grief, – but he wanted more than just to show empathy. Obama presents a clear message - of changing the U.S gun laws - in his speech

Obama delivered his speech to the press , so therefore all Americans are his receivers. In his speech Obama argues against the 2nd amendment, which gives every American the right to be armed. Obama blames the 2nd amendment for the recurrent mass shootings in America.

To convince his receiver Barack Obama uses several rhetorical devices, which this paper will analyze.

“I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save lives, and to let young people grow up.” In this sentence Obama clarifies his message about changing gun laws. He also emphasizes who his audience is; “the American people”. Furthermore, the quotation is an example of his use of the appeal form pathos. He mentions young people and their right to grow up, which most Americans can relate to.
Another example of the appeal form pathos is the phrase in the speech, where he mentions “American families, moms, dads, children, whose lives have been changed forever.”
Here Obama not only mentions family members so that everyone can relate to them, he also emphasizes that it is the American families and therefore appeals to the receiver’s patriotism.
However, Obama also uses the two other appeal forms, logos and ethos. He uses logos to persuade his audience, when he mentions the fact that states with the strictest gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths. Such a fact is evidence that ought to convince the receiver that he is right, when he says, that America needs to tighten the gun laws.