Barack Obama Speech Rhetorical Devices

Martin Luther King then lead his followers to a peaceful march, a protest for equal rights, that landed them on a historical bridge. This march helped encourage the voting rights act, and to help the civil rights keep moving forward. Thesis: In his speech, Obama establishes a rhetorical situation with his of exigence, audience, purpose, and different rhetorical appeals and devices.

In President Bush’s address to the nation, he uses many rhetorical devices. A rhetorical device is a literary device that is used to persuade the audience to support the argument made. Bush’s address uses Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. They were invented and studied by the famous greek philosopher Aristotle. Ethos appeals to credibility, Logos appeals to logic or reason, and Pathos appeals to the audience’s feelings.

“Nobody cares how tough your upbringing was. Nobody cares if you suffered some discrimination. And moreover, you have to remember that whatever you 've gone through, it pales in comparison to the hardships previous generations endured - and they overcame them.” (Obama 6) In the speech Obama had presented at the graduation class of 2013 at Morehouse College, he wants them to remember their struggles and be able to overcome them to do what is right.

Obama’s use of ethos and pathos in his “A More Perfect Union” speech further helps to persuade his voters to stick with him because he does not have the same views as Reverend Wright. It gives some context as to why some African-Americans feel the way they do towards the government and other races. In his speech Obama also uses irony by noting the old truism that the “most segregated hour in American life occurs on sunday morning” meaning that on a day that's supposed to be dedicated to love and God, the American people are still segregated and racially divided whether it be Black and White or Latino and Asian(Obama). The combined use of ethos, pathos, and irony strengthen Obama's message of unity and equality.

At the beginning of his speech, he conveys emotion through telling his own story and putting the audience in his shoes. He states “On the one hand he is born in the shadow of the stars and stripes and he is assured it represents a nation which has never lost a war. He pledges allegiance to that flag which guarantees "liberty and justice for all. " He is part of a country in which anyone can become President, and so forth”. This shows the audience how African American children feel when living in a country made on the premise of equality, but feeling anything but equal to their Caucasian peers.

Obama’s use of repetition in his speech makes his praise of John Kerry more powerful and by using the same words in different contexts, he shows that his ideas are important and relevant to all people. For example, “It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire [...] the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant [...] the hope of a millworker’s son [...] the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name [...].” In this passage, the repetition of “the hope” applied to descriptions of different situations conveys the idea that everyone needs hope, and that America is a country built on hope. Obama also uses anaphora to drill certain ideas into the audience’s minds.

Using this quote gave the readers a sense of the main idea, which was about racism. This helped to further improve the quality of Obama’s topic and support the points he was about to make. Then goes to give a brief information about Obama’s speech. He then began with his four rhetorical strategies, starting with allusion.

During a funeral for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a Charleston shooting victim, President Obama delivered an influential eulogy. This eulogy turned out to be so powerful that it traveled throughout the internet and became known as one of Obama’s best speeches from the duration of his presidency. The speech resonated so well with many citizens because of its relatable content and connections to passionate issues in today’s society. The delivery of the eulogy played a gigantic part in its effectiveness to Americans as well. President Obama’s eulogy contained beyond relatable content and various connections to the issues racking society’s bones today.

On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr gave us one of one of the most rhetorically moving speeches ever given. Titled as the “I Have a Dream Speech,” he read this speech to the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”. As a civil right mover he gave this great speech to all Americans (black and white) so that he could give off the idea of equality on the same level. Because of his crowd of mix races King made sure to make his speech imploring to all no matter what the race that they may be. He uses metaphorical imagery, powerful diction,and symbolism to create an impact on the audience.

He brings examples of people from Europe and how just because they are the same color they are considered to be Americans, when in fact they are the actual ones who are not. He continues to give the speech in hopes to motivate the black nation to come together and unite to fight for their

Rhetorical Analysis Former Illinois State Senator and soon to be Forty-fourth president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, recounts what happened in the past to make America what is today and how he intends to maintain the ideas of America’s founding fathers throughout his term of presidency. His intended audience of the first inaugural address is the citizens of America and his purpose was to comfort them about the past and encourage the future of America. He creates a patriotic and empowering tone in order to appeal to pathos. His diction throughout the speech illustrates patriotism, allusions, and anaphoras. Obama opens his speech by discussing the views of our forebears and documents and how we have followed through with those views.

At the 1963 March on Washington, American Baptist minister and activist Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of his most famous speeches in history on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the height of the African American civil rights movement. King maintains an overall passionate tone throughout the speech, but in the beginning, he projected a more urgent, cautionary, earnest, and reverent tone to set the audience up for his message. Towards the end, his tone becomes more hopeful, optimistic, and uplifting to inspire his audience to listen to his message: take action against racial segregation and discrimination in a peaceful manner. Targeting black and white Americans with Christian beliefs, King exposes the American public to the injustice

The 44th and first African American President, Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Address, promotes a call to action. Obama’s purpose is to express his gratitude for his opportunity to become president and discuss his plans for economic advancement. In order to reach the American people of the U.S., Obama adopts a serious and thought-provoking tone to urge them to support his plans for advancement. During this time of economic crisis, Obama clearly conveys to the American people through his use of metaphor, allusion, and anaphora, that it is time to take a stand and make a change in America.

Barack Obama’s win for President in 2009 was a historical moment for the United States. His inaugural speech was much anticipated, because this was going to set the tone for his presidency. His speech told the American people that improving the economy is one of his priorities, but there were also other areas he would like to improve like healthcare and the education system. This was a speech that was meant to persuade the American public to take action for them to rise as a nation again, and for them to put their trust into him. His message addressed a couple of specific points like his gratefulness to the American people, the different crises America is facing, how America will overcome these crises, replying to his cynics, addressing the world, and then he reminded America again to be brave like they’ve always been to overcome the hard times (5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama's Inaugural Speech, (n.d.).

This is a great way to make his statements. Obama sets a logical argument when addressing the audience. He says this at the beginning of his speech. “Each of us has deeply held beliefs. And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country, it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy…