...Barack Obama’s Victory Speech: What rhetorical devices does he use and what is the intended effect? When Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech to thousands of Americans in 1963, nobody would have thought that one day America will be led by a black president. In November 2008, 45 years later, Barack Obama was elected as the first African American president in the history of the United States. From that day on he represented the dream come true of millions of his fellow citizens. In his victory speech, Barack Obama makes use of multiple rhetoric devices, in order to catch the people’s attention, make them strive for his goals and predominantly call for unity. By a frequent use of the third person plural pronouns “we”, “us” and “our(s)”, Obama creates a sense of community and also puts himself on a level with his audience. To emphasize the role and importance of every single American for the future of the Nation, he lists some contrasting characteristics: “young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled”. All of these people play an important role and are part of the United States of America. Additionally, Obama expresses his dependence on the audience by expressions like “I cannot happen without you”. All of these devices, used to speak on behalf of the audience, create a strong feeling of unity. Furthermore, Obama chooses the rhetorical devices of...
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...What typical oratorical devices does Barack Obama use in his inauguration speech and how would they influence the audience? Barack Obama’s speech utilises a lot of anaphoric references which is a generic feature of this particular genre. The repeated usage of the possessive determiner ‘Our’ in quotes such as ‘…to the ideals of our forbearers’ and ‘true to our founding fathers’ creates a feeling of reassurance towards the American audience in that the newly elected president will work beside them, not ahead or behind them; it is a reassurance of unity which is a large part of what the United States of America stand for. The use of a semantic field of oceanic lexis demonstrates both a positive and negative pathetic fallacy towards these metaphors. Firstly, the pathetic fallacy appears more positive in the quotes ‘tides of prosperity’ and ‘still waters of peace’. The use of the post modifiers ‘prosperity’ and ‘peace’ denote awareness to the American history and presidents who have taken said presidential oath in good faith and in bad, which works favourably within this genre as this recognition is sometimes the reassurance an audience requires. The negative pathetic fallacy appears under ‘gathering clouds’ and ‘raging storms’, this time using pre modifiers ‘gathering’ – in conjunction with clouds – and ‘raging’ to illuminate the unsettled time, again stating his awareness of the American presidential history. These indications of pathetic fallacy also induce pragmatics, as the...
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...Written Assignment 4: Essay on Barack Obama’s speech at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial (2006) Even when a life ends, a soul can manage to live on with the people who it has left behind. This can appear through memorable deeds that a life can have managed to make before it passes. The above is what Barack Obama’s speech at the Groundbreaking Ceremony of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial from 2006 is about. Through the use of many of the same rhetorical instruments that Martin Luther King used before him, Obama establishes not only what Martin Luther King meant to America but also what he means to Obama on a personal level. In the following, I will make a rhetorical analysis and interpretation of the speech. The speech can be described as being an occasion speech which means that Obama’s aim is for him to entertain his audience at the memorial, by interpreting his vision of Martin Luther King Jr. The speaker is Barack Obama who is an African-American senator and soon-to-be presidential candidate in the United States. The audience for his speech is the participating to the national memorial, but primarily the speech is meant for the African-American inhabitants. He entertains his audience by reminding them of the great things that King has accomplished for the African-Americans in the United States of America: “I will tell them that because he did these things, they live today with the freedom God intended...
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...There are few societies in the world’s modern history that have been more invested in the concept of race than the United States. In fact, the first black president, Barack Obama, will end his term in office in 2016 and while this may seem like a respectable accomplishment for the United States in regards to our history with racism and inequality, I only have to speak to my relatives to understand we have a long way to go until Americans see individuals for their accomplishments rather than their race. In President Obama’s inaugural address he made a hint to the end of a racial era. “…because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds...
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...Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to School Event America is a country that historically has had a strong economy. Being a part of such an economy implies responsibility. Throughout time engineers, scientists and politicians have evolved, and new generations will soon take over the process. In addition, it will be the student’s responsibility to carry on developing in all of these professions. In order to do this, they must focus on their education. Both them and their country depend on it. This is highlighted in President Barack Obama’s speech at the “Back to School Event”. Obama’s main claim is the fact that education is not only important for the student alone, but also for the country. An example of this is seen on page 8, line 62: “(…) if you don’t do that – if you quit on school – you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country.” Obama says indirectly that the country depends on your actions. Moreover, the students are expected to do anything they can to provide to the country at their potential maximum – it is their duty as citizens. Therefore, giving up on your education is like quitting on your country. Another part of the main claim is seen on page 8, line 46: “(…) No matter what you want to do with your life – I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it.“ As well as the country depends on your actions, so do you. In addition, Obama claims that in order to pursue and achieve your goals, you must have an education....
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...BARACK OBAMA'S SOUTH CAROLINA SPEECH Introduction In this paper, I shall analyze US Presidential hopeful Barack Obama's South Carolina victory speech from a particular pragmatic perspective. In particular, I shall explore the idea that this speech is constituted by many voices (in other words, it displays polyphony, to use an idea due to Bakhtin 1981, 1986) and that the audience is part of this speech event, adding and contributing to its text in a collaborative way (in particular, in constructing meaning). As many are aware (including the journalists who report day by day on Barack Obama's achievements), Obama uses the technique of 'personification' (The Economist, Dec 13th, 2007). When he voices an idea, he does not just expose it as if it came from himself, but gets another person (fictitious or, plausibly, real) to voice it. Since in an electoral speech, he cannot reasonably get people on stage to voice his ideas, he personifies ideas by narrating what people told him. His stories are his way of personifying his ideas. The discourse strategy he uses serves to reverse the direction of influence from the people in control to the people controlled (see van Dijk 2003). Duranti (2006b) writes that The language of politics has been presented and studied in terms of its ability to persuade an audience (of peers, subjects, and superiors) to go along with the speaker's view of the world and his or her proposal (Perrot 2000). In much of this literature, the successful political...
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...President Trump and who he is and what his accomplishment was, now I will talk about Former-President Obama's farewell speech and Trump's speech; I will...
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...44th president, Barack Obama, in his 2009 inauguration speech, he implies different types of actions he would make to make America greater than it was. Barack’s purpose of the entire speech was to bring back change to America. He adopts an inspirational type of tone about the crisis of America. Obama begins his speech by stating all the ups and downs that America has had. He then states in the article”Today I say to you that challenges we face are real”, which mean his appeal was to logos because he relies on logic.Obama also uses appeals to ethos and pathos to inform what he will do for his future plans.For example, he states “And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held to account to spend wisely, reform from bad habits...
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...responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action” (MLA citation). Obama’s application of repetition in this passage puts emphasis on how the US have come together to make necessary changes to a rapidly growing society. Together, the people of the United States recognize that certain aspects of life require changes and that collectively, everybody has worked together to make those changes possible. The use of repetition in this text keeps the word ‘together’ in the listener’s mind and the more they hear it, the more likely they are to remember the...
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...A More Perfect Union Barack Obama’s speech, “A More Perfect Union” (2008), explains that all people should come together as a whole rather than focusing on small things like race, religious views, and gender. He backs this claim up by stating that if everyone were to come together, we can all move past some of the old racial words that have been shouted and occurred in the past and become a stronger union. Obama’s purpose is to use the concept of “a more perfect union” as the prime focus for the American people and to not choose to ignore the conflicts of racism that is still occurring. The main audience that Obama is addressing his speech to are the American people. One of the main points that Obama talks about is race. He conveys...
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...On January 20th, 2009 President Barack Obama made an inaugural speech in front of millions of people all over the world. His purpose was to inform others that he would help change the world if others would too. In order to make his vision stick in the minds of his audience, Obama speaks about the country's past history, and how we should join together as a country. Obama uses rhetoric to present his message of creating hope and change together in America while fixing the economic and social issues that we had at the time. Throughout his speech, he uses anaphora, allusion, and reputation to appeal to have a better connection with his audience. Obama uses allusion throughout his speech to reference past presidents and events. The speech begins...
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...Part A My Video Title | | SourceUnderline as appropriate | http://www.englishcentral.com/video/10084/introductions-meet-the-boss | Part 1(~ 50 words) | This is a video about Obama speech, every word of his speech was so powerful and in this half and a minutes long speech, he brightly pointed out what the follow speech is all about and also made the good atmosphere that everyone draw attention to that speech. | Part 2 & 3(~ 100 words) | Some one said that Obama’s speech is like a symphony. His speeches are so powerful because it has a shape, it has forms. During his speech he used the technique like Fast/slow, loud/quite, all of which may be separated by a short pause or silence. He has different movements and forms, also it has a harmonious whole. His powerful symphony and well crafted and delivered speech, in his ways, move the listener. Audience pay all their attention to Obama. I learnt a lot as I was lack of symphony preformence. | Do either Part B OR Part C to complete your reflection record for this module. Submit only one part. Part B My Activity Language ActivityUnderline as appropriate | CILL activity Others pls specify | Title | Movie watching – The Ring | Part 1(~ 50 words) | It is a horror film that produce from America , adapt from a famous horror film from Japan-----Ringu. Its about a girl who become a ghost and the story behind it. All that history is discover by the Main character. | Part 2 & 3 (~ 100 words) | At first,...
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...1:30-3:00pm Phone: 480-965-5095 (HDSHC main office) and by appointment WELCOME TO COM 225! The purpose of this course is to enable you to better understand theories and practices of public speaking. This course is designed to improve not only your delivery techniques but also your speech-writing and persuasion abilities. Additionally, this course is arranged to develop the skills necessary for you to critically evaluate both written and spoken speeches of others and to enter the public dialogue on issues that are important to you and your life. I am confident there is much to gain from the study of public speaking. The skills developed by engaging in this course work have practical applications in each of your lives. Although your participation may take place in various forms and environments, each of you will inevitably face the task of delivering, constructing, or consuming speeches. Developing your public speaking skills will prepare you for school or work presentations, job interviews, political campaigns, community meetings, and many other situations as well. BENEFITS OF THIS COURSE The objectives of this course are to: • Improve your speech delivery • Understand the ability to create effective speeches • Improve your listening skills • Improve your ability to think critically on a variety of subjects and genres • Improve your research skills • Develop skills to analyze your own and other’s speeches ...
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...Overcoming Obstacle One of the most challenging obstacles I have had to overcome was learning a second language. To be successful I established two specific few goals to help guide me in the right direction. First, and I feel the most important goal, was to speak the language at all times. The second goal I made was to read the language whenever possible. Speaking the language was the most important goal to me because the act of speaking words helped ingrain those words and their definitions into memory. I always carried a dictionary/translator with me so I could look up words I did not know. In the beginning, not having a proper core knowledge of the language made this goal extremely difficult. As time progressed, however, I realized that it was becoming easier and easier to not only speak, but I required less time to think of what I was trying to say. Reading the language was another important goal to help me learn a second language. Reading the language was very helpful for increasing my vocabulary. I would always read out loud while working on this goal, which in turn also helped me achieve the first goal, as well. As I did with speaking the language, I kept a dictionary close by as to look up the words I did not know. Again as time went on, I noticed that the frequency of having to look up words began to decrease. Having to learn a second language is a difficult task to accomplish. The setting of goals was crucial to the success of my accomplishment...
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...Journal #1 My speech wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it could have been better if I put more time into getting more information from my partner. The body paragraphs needed to give more information and go into more detail. Although it wasn’t that bad of a speech giving the thought that we met up for about thirty minutes. Back in high school when someone was giving a speech, we, the audience always tried to make them laugh, or simply just didn’t pay attention to the speaker and did something else. Now the audience was paying attention and being respectful which calmed me down when giving my speech. As the speaker I needed to be more enthusiastic while giving my speech, because how is the audience going to be interested if I don’t even seem interested. I noticed very few people glancing at their phones or just with a blank look in their face; this made me relax a little more for some reason. Even though I could have had more information and gone more into detail, my speech did flow from the thesis statement to my conclusion paragraph. I was getting more nervous as the names kept getting closer to mine, once my partner Aldo, brought me up when he gave his speech, which calmed my nervousness down a bit because it wasn’t that bad being in front of the class and having everyone’s eyes looking at you. Once my turn came to speak, I took deep breaths as I made my way to the front of the classroom, and once there I paused, and took one last deep breath, and then...
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