9/11 Rhetorical Devices

Throughout the speech, Bush uses his credibility and ethos to build up his purpose. He has automatic credibility because he is the one giving the speech, creates trust with his beliefs, and was the president at the time that the attack occurred. Bush created ethos by saying, “tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those

Bush uses appeals throughout his formal speech to help advance the argument he proposes. While doing this Bush takes his listeners on a roller coaster of emotion, appealing to pathos and to logos, then to ethos and back to

Former President George W. Bush’s speech, “Bullhorn”, was given through a megaphone on top the rumble of 220 floors of a horrific event. On the day of September 11, 2001, an Islamic group, called Al-Qaeda, hijacked four American passenger airliners to carry out suicide attacks against targets across the United States. The potential targets included: the twin towers, the Pentagon and the White House. Three of the four hijacked airliners accomplished their goal as the lives of 3,000 innocent civilians were taken. A cloud of grief and mourn covered the country as they experience the worst tragedy since 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Soon after the attack on September 14th, a ray of hope appeared as President Bush took the stage. Throughout his speech, three rhetorical devices were shown are: ethos, logos, and pathos. Bush used these three devices to connect with the audiences’ emotions, appeal to the audiences’ ethics, and appeal to the logical side of the audience additionally, all while creating a sufficient speech to the comfort the country.

One of the most catastrophic events America has faced were the September eleventh terrorist attacks. Our nation faced one of the most damaging attacks in our history and it was up to our president, George W. Bush, to address the entire nation and assure everyone that America still remains a strong and functioning country. Our President George Bush was called upon to address the nation, a nation that was currently suffering from loss, fear, and despair. His goal was to persuade Americans to take comfort in the effort being put forth in resolving the aftermath of the attacks and the fear they caused. Recognizing his audience as being innocent victims of an unknown evil, President Bush ultimately had to present a speech that mastered various techniques

On September 11, 2001, George W. Bush delivered his 9/11 Address to the Nation at 8:30 PM to all Americans. This speech, broadcasted throughout the nation from within the Oval Office just hours after the terrorist hijacking and the crash on the Twin Towers, reassured American citizens during a time of devastation and need of proper leadership. (Eidenmuller). Through rhetoric intended to convey strength and the actions America had already taken to combat this tragedy, Bush instilled hope in the American people and provided them with a sense of unification.

Bush uses the appeal of ethos in an effective manner. Bush had prior experience being a governor in Texas before his presidential experience. He is very clear and confident throughout this entire speech that the American people will recover from this event. Bush knows how the American military functions more than any other person out there, and he states, “our military is powerful, and its prepared” (Bush, 2001, para. 3). That statement is very bold and it would give any American the sense of protection they needed to feel during this time. Bush had the experience to lead this country in a time like 9/11 and he and congress worked together hand in hand to work powerfully on these attacks (Bush, 2001). Although most of the American people did not know Bush on a personal level, when he delivered this speech, he made it his top priority to feel a personal connection with the entire country. Having the title of the President of the United States gives Bush the credibility he needed to use ethos effectively in the 9/11 speech.

On September 11, 2001, George W. Bush gave a speech to the American citizens following the horrible and tragic terrorist attacks that had taken place. Bush’s purpose is to create unity among the nation and to build his presidential credibility. United States President, George W. Bush, in his speech, 9/11 Address to the Nation, emphasizes how everyone should move forward and remain strong after the tragic events. Bush appeals to the audience using pathos, logos, and ethos while adopting a grieving, yet hopeful tone in order to tranquilize the people of America.

President Bush, shares his view on the matter throughout this speech. Bush’s purpose is to try and help Americans not panic during such a terrifying situation that has changed American history. Since Bush understands what Americans or people in general the world must be feeling, he is able to address the matter in a calm and collected way. In “Bush’s 9/11 speech,” the author, President George Bush, uses various rhetorical devices to reinforce his position on the 9/11 attack.

    George W. Bush uses the word “terrorist” various times in his speech. President Bush stated, “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundation of our biggest building, but they cannot  touch the foundation of America.” President Bush use the word terrorist in his speech by giving a name for the enemies that tried to take down America but couldn't. He reassures America safety and security by indicating America foundation cannot be shaken by any terrorist attacks.

Bush was not only successful with creating an emotional connection with the audience, but he also showed Americans the realness of the

In the beginning of the speech he uses pathos, or emotion, which is a way of convincing an audience of an argument by creating an emotional response. George W Bush says, “Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge -- ­­huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat” (1). He tries to catch his audience by talking about all the bad things, and lives ended, but then states, “But they have failed. Our country is strong” (1).

After the twin towers fell and condensed to rubble on September 11, 2001, the Bush administration quickly formulated a plan to maintain the nation’s sense of national safety and security. John Lewis Gaddis summarized the administration’s directions to the public when he wrote, “Bush requested, and only partially received, what amounted to a global police action against terrorism, combined with a call for vigilance at home and abroad, combined with the suggestion that, despite what had happened, Americans should carry on with their ordinary lives” (Gaddis at 37). The citizens were to follow the example of former British politician Sir Winston Churchill; Bush believed the nation would best react to the crisis by applying Churchill’s words

Bush uses his presidential platform to help alleviate the fear of the American people. In doing this he had to act poised, calm, and professional as his predecessors had to in times of catastrophe and tragedy. Bush had been in the middle of a book reading at an elementary school in Florida at the time of the attack. As soon as the attack happened Bush was contacted and immediately boarded Air Force One, flew from Florida to Washington D.C., made this address to the nation, and finally he flew to New York to aid the first responders in the cleanup of the wreckage. This showed professionalism on Bush’s part because he had dropped everything to help his country. This made the people want

On September 11th 2001, the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out terrorist attacks against the United States. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center twin towers. The third hit the Pentagon outside Washington, and the final plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed as a result, and this tragic event defined the presidency of George W. Bush (History.com Staff). Shortly after the attacks, President Bush delivered a powerful speech that helped unify the American people, defy the terrorists, and call the citizens to action. In his 9/11 speech, President Bush successfully uses rhetorical devices to address the terrorism, unite people, and give hope to his audience.

When the twin towers were destroyed in New York City by the terrorist group led by Osama Bin Laden, a Country filled with panic, sadness, and anger was left behind. Thousands of innocent civilians were killed, and the families of the fallen suffered greatly. People demanded answers, and wanted justice. People also felt unsafe, and were unaware if it was reasonable to expect another attack. President George Walker Bush prepares a speech for congress to discuss the events that took place, and the plans that will take place because of these events. The objectives of the speech Bush was trying to accomplish were informing the nation what had happed on September 11th, he then noted that it was not Muslins to be blamed for the attack, the challenges that lie ahead, and our plan for the “War on Terror.” The President uses the canons of rhetoric to execute a speech that met his audience’s needs.