Ethos In The Oval Office Essay

Despite the several terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, America remained strong and united. In the speech “Address to the Nation on the Terrorist Attacks”, George W. Bush, addresses the terrorist attack of September eleventh to let the citizens know they can overcome a tragic and mournful incident by remaining unified and a powerful country. The primary audience are the citizens and the family members of the ones who had died or were involved in the incident. The secondary audience are the terrorists to let them know American’s are not scared and will stand together against them. Bush uses ethos, pathos, and figurative language to encourage the citizens to be stronger, united, and feel safe.

Ethos is an appeal to ethics, which gives the author credibility to persuade their attended audience. For instance, both Lukianoff and Haidt give a little insight about who they are, “Greg Lukianoff is a constitutional lawyer and the president and CEO of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, which defends free speech and academic freedom on campus, and has advocated for students and faculty involved in many of the incidents this article describes; Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist who studies the American culture wars.” (Lukianoff and Haidt). Using this rhetorical strategy to start their argument off was a strong approach to persuading their attended audience because it provides credibility to the readers to prove to them that the authors know what they’re talking about and it makes the argument much more effective. Another example of ethos that the authors provide is, “Today, what we call the Socratic method is a way of teaching that fosters critical thinking, in part by encouraging students to question their own unexamined beliefs, as well as the received wisdom of those around them… But vindictive protectiveness teaches students to think in a very different way… A campus culture devoted to policing speech and punishing speakers is likely to engender patterns of thought that are surprisingly similar to those long identified by cognitive behavioral therapists as causes

Tuesday morning, September 11 of 2001, referred to as a day to remember, the twin towers were attacked by terrorists in a hijacked plane. Thousands of lives were lost and it was a day that brought great sorrow to America. George W. Bush, the president at that time, addressed his speech to America as a nation, giving them hope that the events that took place earlier that day would not shake them but that they would come back stronger. In this essay I will evaluate Bush’s formal 9/11 Address to the Nation and discuss the speaker’s appeals to pathos, logos and ethos to convey his message that America can stand tall as one.

On September 11, 2001 the American nation was shaken with news of a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Fear and panic commandeered the spirits of American citizens as they awaited to hear if their loved one had perished, if another attack had been planned for somewhere else in the United States, and how their nation would rise from the ashes to face another tomorrow. Not only had their nation been attacked, but also the true measure of their freedom had been questioned. In times like these, the American people put their faith in their president. They rely on his leadership to instruct them on what to do next. This essay explores the context surrounding

The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers that took place on 11 September 2001 will never be forgotten among American citizens. The complete destruction of the Twin Towers and the massive death toll of the attacks left the United States in a widespread panic. On 14 September 2001, President George W. Bush stepped up and delivered a speech later titled the “Remarks at the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance Service.” President Bush proved that he was the leader that the United States needed at this extremely difficult time. Bush delivered this speech to his fellow Americans in an attempt to calm the panicking nation. President George W. Bush achieved his purpose through the speech’s structure, his word choice, and his use of the rhetorical devices of anaphora and repetition.

Ethos is an appeal to convince the audience whose believe on the particular subject that he or she is qualified to present.

Ethos, on the other hand,mainly touches on the credibility of the speaker.

Secondly, ethos is a different technique of rhetoric. Ethos credibility of the speaker or author. When President Obama was running for president in 2008 he used ethos to display his plan for the future responsibility for upcoming reformation. He said “And those of us who manage the public’s dollars will be held account, to spend wisely…because only then we restore the vital, trust between a people and their government.”(Obama) Obama wanted Americans to know that the financials plans would be open to the government and help build a trust between him, the country and Americans. Americans citizens wanted a president that would listen and would be open about the government system. Many voted for Obama to change their

In order to obtain a successful argument speaker must be rhetorical. According to Aristotle the secret to being a persuasive public speaker you need to understand ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos. They are considering the essential qualities of a speech or presentation which will help the audience accept the message you are trying to deliver. In order for a speaker can convince an audience they must understand ethos. Ethos is that a speaker must accept anything he says in order to get the audience attention and credibility. The speaker must be respected, trustworthy, and authority to have credibility to perceive your audience. The next step is pathos which is the quality the speaker can persuade their presentation and emotion to the audience.

When delivering a speech, it is imperative that someone uses specific techniques to make it more effective and meaningful. George W. Bush’s speech to America after 9/11 was extremely effective, because it was put into a way of speaking that made it easy to understand, while still using a wide range of vocabulary and different speech techniques, such as repetition, metaphors, and allusion to make the speech sound more powerful. An example of a metaphor Bush used is when he said “We’re the brightest beacon for freedom”. We are not a beacon, we are people.

¬¬¬In times of turmoil and uncertainty, the President of the United States of America has the duty to ensure national unity and integrity as head of state. President Obama’s final State of the Union Address emphasizes change in America. He addresses issues that Americans currently face and propose what they envision for the future of America at that time.

Ēthos, of which we form a conception and which we desire to find in speakers, is recommended, above all, by goodness, being not only mild and placid, but for the most part pleasing and polite, and amiable and attractive to the hearers. The greatest merit in the expression of it is that it should seem to flow from the nature of the things and persons with which we are concerned, so that the moral character of the speaker may clearly appear and be recognized, as it were, in his discourse.

Ethos means credibility. In writing arguments, a writer can be credible by writing with clear and concise language and grammar, unbiased arguments and writing with an objective in mind. In strengthening arguments, one can also call upon the credibility of others. Such as, quotes from specialists, material in journal articles, print sources, etc.

Ethos is associate charm to authority or credibility. King uses 3 authorities for his speech: Abraham Lincoln, The Declaration of Independence, and the Bible. The rhetorical triangle is composed of ethos , pathos, and logos. Ethos is convincing the consultation that the author is

President George W. Bush was giving a speech to the nation after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. President Bush starts off by talking about how the way of life in America fell under attack and how it has affected many people. He starts off stating some of the facts about the attack and how it has impacted the country as a whole. This helps to let the audience know that it is a speech that will give them information and that it will probably be important and this will get them to listen. Bush continues to talk about who the victims where and how they were targeted to through the country into chaos. This is appealing to the audience’s emotions to get them ready to hear what he is about to say and let them know he is talking about things that apply to them which will help encourage them to continue strong and to rally to counter these acts of terror. He is also talking with a calm voice which shows his audience that he knows what has happened is trying to help and keep things going smoothly. His talking with a calm smooth voice also gives a sense of calm to the viewers. Then he says that “Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve” (Bush). This helps the audience believe that they will make it through this time of hardship. He is also using ethos by talking about the culture of the American people saying on how