...Erin Ryan wrote an article featured in Spotlight in First Year Writing, called “Telling it from the Mountain: A Rhetorical Analysis of Fannie Lou Hamer’s Speech before the Democratic National Convention”, analyzing the rhetorical qualities of Mrs. Hammers speech in 1964. My notebook entry will use material covered in the class text “Write about Writing” to highlight what Erin Ryan used in the rhetorical analysis of this emotional speech. In the retelling of Mrs. Hamer’s speech, Erin Ryan uses two forms of Aristotle’s proof (pistis) to elicit a response in the analysis. Reading through the article, I found two methods of appeal: emotion (pathos), and logic (logos). The emotional appeal of the article, describes Mrs. Hammers speech style....
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...Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” Likita M. Taylor ITT-Tech English 1320: Composition I November 12 2012 Rhetorical Analysis of Martin Luther King’s Speech “I Have a Dream” “I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.” These are the opening words of Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream speech”, which he predicted will be the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement and the turning point in finally ending segregation. Time and time again, his speech is credited as being “one of the most successful and most legendary speeches in United States history.”(Martin, 2010, 10 par 1). He was an astonishing, intelligent speaker who often relied on using strong rhetoric devices to get his message across. Through his articulate use of logos, pathos, and ethos, King was able to persuade his generation that "the Negro is not free.” (Martin 2001 par3). His speech became the rallying cry for civil rights and lives on to this day as a perpetual masterpiece. Before one can really understand the analysis of his speech, it is important to understand King’s arguments. His main point is that blacks are not free or equal according to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution. He argues that African-Americans must claim their full rights and demand liberation from inequality and suppression. King's audience is not only Black Americans, but his message...
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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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...Rhetorical Analysis: “The Challenger Address” The rhetorical situation refers to “a situation in which people’s understanding can be changed through messages.” (Zarefsky, 12). The rhetorical situation analysis consists of four elements: audience, occasion, speaker and speech, each assessing the quality of speech. In this essay, I will analyze the rhetorical situation of the historical speech “The Challenger Address” delivered by the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan. Americans had high expectations of the space programs which intended to provide the United States a great sense of achievement. The significance of the space program lies in essence in which symbolized American glory in science and technology. (Lambright) Therefore, the audience of Reagan’s speech was American public; those who had experienced the tragic national loss of seven American astronauts resulted from the failure of space regime. Evidence of Reagan constantly involving American citizens prevail throughout the speech. He specifically engaged the audience by employing words such as “we,” “us,” “schoolchildren of America,” giving the audience a sense of involvement in the national matter. Reagan also acknowledged pain of the families of the seven astronauts. He showed his understanding of pain of families by saying “we feel the loss, and we are thinking about you so very much,” “your loved ones,” which was an attempt to console them by implicitly suggesting that the families are the primary...
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...2012 Victory Speech Task: Analyze the rhetoric used in the speech. This is a Special News report on the 7th of November - President Obama has won second term the elections for president of the USA - we are now live in Chicago at the McCormick Centre , where President Obama just held his victory speech, and I am going to do a quick analysis of what the newly re-elected President said. It is an absolute pandemonium after Barack Obama has just delivered a 20 minute speech, during which he expressed his gratitude towards his family, his friends, his supporters, and laid out his vision of what America has already achieved, what it can achieve and what it will achieve after he has been re-elected President of the United States to Mitt Romney with 281 electoral votes to 191. Through the use of various rhetorical tools like Anaphora, rhetorical term for the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or verses, President Barack Obama delivers a speech through which he fully expresses ideas like the American dream and the future. Similarly to other speeches of his from the past, as for example the 2008 speech at the Democratic Convention, this one contains different forms of repetition and "between the line political views" - for example in the first paragraphs he purposely begins his sentences with the same couple of words - "You'll hear", "We want...", "That's ", followed by his ideas for the future of the USA and the Americans. Anaphora is...
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...vision of the country (United States) and to set forth their goals for the nation. With that being said, this paper will use the strategy of genre analysis to critique to examine Barack Obama’s second Inaugural Address and John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech. Genre analysis is a type of rhetorical analysis that examines speeches based on the artifacts or commonalities that contain. The artifacts of speech are created by the rhetor as a response to a specific exigency. So as Bitzer’s essay, The Rhetorical Situation, saw it, in order for a text to be rhetorical, it must come in response to a rhetorical situation. Furthermore a rhetorical situation has three characteristics, an audience, an existence of constraints, and as mentioned above, an exigency. One manner, in which we can analyze an artifact, is through...
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...Woods 4/14/2015 Module 3 lab Speech Analysis 1. What is the thesis statement ? The purpose of this statement was to help black and white people come together and be peaceful all around the world. Plus he mention the dream he had one night when we as blacks and whites and different race would be around each other and live life beautifully but the racist stuff would have to stop. He gave a very powerful speech and it means a lot still to this day. 2. Give the context of the speech. Why was it given? What historical events led to the speech? The context of the speech was made in Washington D.C. and it was brought upon blacks fighting for their rights in America. It was given so every race could be aware of the horrible ways African American people were being treated. The historic events that led to the speech was in 1955 blacks where getting treated like they were not even human. Also they couldn’t walk into any bathroom; they had to go to the restrooms that said colored. They couldn’t vote so they had to fight for those rights. And some whites just didn’t agree with being in the same area or room the African Americans was in. 3. How do rhetorical patterns help the author support his or her argument? It helps real well. It gives the author some time to plan how he’s going to support the discussion of winning the argument. Plus it move’s other individual’s attention stating if they can try to develop a closer analysis of what the writer or speaker is trying...
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... General Topic: Richard Nixon’s “Checkers” Speech (1952) Why: It is the first great demonstration in America of the use and power of television to shape politics. As with Nixon himself, the speech was brilliant, bare knuckles and mawkish, all at once. By going over the heads of the press in directly appealling to the American people, this speech saved Nixon’s political career, delivered a hard (and some would say low) blow back on his political opponents (especially Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican nominee for the presidency, whom Nixon was running with in 1952), and seriously embarrassed his wife. Possible subtopics: • Richard Nixon’s early political career • Nixon’s relationship with Eisenhower • American political parties • Presidential elections and campaigning • Campaign finance • American media • Television and American society • Public response to the speech • Effects of the crisis on Richard and Pat Nixon • Canines Research Question: What effects did the “Checkers” speech have on Richard Nixon’s career and on American presidential campaigning and politics in general? Working Thesis Statement: Richard Nixon’s desperate, hastily organized “Checkers” speech not only saved his political career—while souring the relationship between himself and Dwight Eisenhower—it fundamentally altered the nature of political campaigning in the United States by its enormously successful, direct appeal to the American people through the new medium of television...
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...ITT-Technical University Rhetorical Analysis of Dr. Martin Luther Kings “I Have A Dream” (Revised) Introduction On August 28th 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave the “I Have a Dream” speech which was addressed to not only the 200,000 white and black Americans but people all around the world. The “I Have A Dream” speech has been considered one of the most greatest and powerful speeches in history. Why was it given? Simply to rectify that all me were created equal despite their race or color. In this Analysis I will be explaining some literary terms he used as strategies in his speech, and also explain how Dr. King used two rhetorical patterns to help him support his argument, those two patters are Ethos, & Pathos. Strategies Dr. King used many literary terms in the “I Have a Dream” speech such as Alliteration, which is the repetition of sounds. For example he says, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” The “c” in those three words of that sentence gives it a repetitive rhythm feel which will make that important part of the speech catch and memorable. Also from that same sentence he used Anaphora, which describes the most famous part of the speech, where in this case is “I Have a Dream”. Although he used it many times just buy naming this speech “I Have a Dream” it will make everything...
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...Richard Nixon Checkers Speech On September 23, 1952 Richard Milhous Nixon sat down to address the largest television audience ever amassed by a politician this was no ordinary political speech. Nixon’s future in politics was on the line. In one speech Nixon had the daunting task of not only clearing his name of the allegation that he had received illegal campaign funds, but he also had to present himself as a viable asset to the Republican ticket. Nixon bared his heart to the American people, and in turn was applauded for his honesty and good character. Nixon’s speech was met with nearly unanimous acceptance and praise. But, audience acceptance alone is not what makes a speech unforgettable or worth writing about. Good speech analysis involves evaluating the speaker, audience and environment surrounding a speech. Before Nixon’s speech can be analyzed there must be a clear understanding of the events leading up to his speech. After only six years in politics as the California state Governor, Richard Nixon was chosen by Dwight Eisenhower as his running-mate in the Presidential election. Being only 39-years old and having relatively no political experience it was an honor for Nixon to be chosen. The main issues being debated by the presidential and vice-presidential hopefuls were the Korean War, communism and corruption. Nixon focused most heavily on addressing the issue of communism because of his contributions in exposing...
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...Literary Analysis of “Battle Royal” I’m writing an analysis of “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison. It is told from the first person point of view. This is a story about a young African American named Ralph Ellison, who is trying to be accepted by white society. He is offered the opportunity to read his speech he had written for his graduation at a gathering of the town’s leading white citizens (p.286). Ralph Ellison is told that he should partake in the Battle Royal before giving his speech as part of the entertainment. The Battle Royal is a fight in which several young African American boys are blindfolded, given boxing gloves, and forced to fight each other until one person is left standing in a boxing arena. There are no time limits or breaks. When there are only two boys left the big shots pause the fight and remove the boy’s blindfolds for the final fight. Also, as part of the entertainment they make the boys scurry after fake coins on an electrified carpet after the fight. Telling them this is there prize to get all the coins they could. The boys were burned by the electrified carpet as they grabbed cooper coins. Then the white citizens started pushing them unto the carpet so that they would get electrocuted. In the end, they do pay the boys for being their entertainment. Ralph finally gets to deliver his speech in the end, but he is harassed while giving his speech (p.296). They talked and laughed the entire time and made him repeat words every time he...
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...Intro to Speech Communication UNYT Fall 2011 Instructor’s name: Ermal Hasimja Student’s name : Viola Kora Assignment : Analysis of a Good Speech Date : 24/11/2011 Analysis of a Good Speech This is the analysis of President Ronald Reagan’s speech which addresses people on the Challenger Disaster. This analysis is divided on five categories: analysis of the thesis=attention catcher, of the Introduction, Body, Conclusion and Non-verbal language. Thesis- Attention Catcher “Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the Union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. Today is a day for mourning and remembering. Nancy and I are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle Challenger. We know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. This is truly a national loss”. Ronald Reagan addresses the American people in a very delicate moment. The seven members of the Challenger space shuttle have lost their lives after a few moments from taking-off. Understanding the delicate situation he starts directly with the thesis leading his way into the tragic incident that has affected all of the people around the country. He also has mentioned his wife by giving the tragedy a very personal tone in order...
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...forces of the Empire of Japan” (Roosevelt, p.1). This was the opening statement of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s address to the nation the day after Japan invaded American territory. Following the Pearl Harbor attacks, Roosevelt gave a powerful speech that was a call to arms and in his speech he expressed outrage towards Japan and confidence in the job of our armed forces. The speech was a request to declare war against Japan and to bring the United States into World War II. His use of rhetorical techniques effectively aided in grasping the attention of his audience and reminded the...
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...Pentadic analysis incorporates five basic elements of drama called pentads. These include act (what is being done), agent (who is doing the act), agency (the means employed by the agent to do the act), scene (the backdrop against which the act occurred), and the purpose of the action (the reason why it happened). Act is the artifact itself whatever it may be such as speech, poem, monument, event, etc as it stands for what is actually being done or happening. Agent refers to the main communicator of the artifact which could be an actor, orator, writer or manager of the act. Agency refers to the main medium of communication which includes a book or televised film, presentation or personal communication. Scene is the backdrop against which the action occurs including the actual, physical scene and the context in which something happens and is meant to be understood. Lastly, purpose is the motive or the message which is conveyed and understood. Pentadic analysis has its roots in Burke's Theory of Dramatism which looks at life as a play where symbols and language are used to express thoughts as a way for humans to comprehend the reality of the world. Burke developed this theory as a way to attempt to understand the bases of human conduct and motives. Thus, the purpose of a pentadic analysis addresses the content of what is being done and what are the motives of a certain artifact as crafted by a rhetor. Burke believed that ratios interconnect important terms and map out a clearer...
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...One of the most influential speeches in American History and it was only about three minutes long. It is one of the most recognizable speeches known to Americans, quoted often that even the beginning is enough to catch your attention. Starting with “Four scores and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation”, the speech mentions the founding fathers, back in 1776, signing the beginning of our glorious country. With a total count of two hundred and seventy-two words, the Gettysburg Address had a huge impact on the Civil War and country as a whole. The speech falls under the informative category because at the dedication ceremony he wanted to inform people mostly about the impact the Civil War had, but also the freedom and equality between men. “... we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have concentrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”. The message received from this part of the speech is...
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