Rhetorical Analysis Of Obama 's Victory Speech

At this point in the campaign trail Obama is eight months away from voters heading to the booth and deciding who will be the next ruler of the free world. Obama being a black man, has obviously dealt with criticism involving his race, some saying his race is the only reason he’s gained the support he has so far, that “somehow an exercise in affirmative action” (Obama 2008). Obama tackles this race issue by pointing out that it's not something that reemerged all of sudden because he’s running for office but that this issue has been ingrained in America throughout history, the way he presents the issue and discusses what is next for Americans are in a form of jeremiad rhetoric. This form of rhetoric “a mainstream and deeply American way of thinking about the nation’s past, present, and future” (Murphy 2010), often used to demonstrate a community has failed to live up to what is meant to be common belief and indicates the idealistic place that we would be in if we atone and progress. The speech starts off with “We the people in order to form a perfect union” (Obama 2008), invoking the inaugural lines of the

In his speech, “Remarks by the President in a National Address to America’s Schoolchildren,” Obama effectively argues his claim, that kids should go to school and try very hard to succeed to schoolchildren around the U.S. He effectively argues his claim because he uses supporting details and stories of students that have undergone tough situations, but still overcame those obstacles to succeed and school. Also, he is trying to tell kids that they should do well in school to get a good job and make a difference. He also uses rhetorical appeals to help with the supporting details. One of supporting evidence that he brought up was that if someone wants to become something such as a doctor, or lawyer you will need a good education to do

This speech was given by Barack Obama who won 2012 election as the president. I’m going to analysis his voice, audience, speaker’s message and occasion for the speech. Different angle, different view can show all the Obama’s rhetorical words in his victory speech.

Barack Obama's powerful diction creates hope for the future of the United States with word choices such as “continue,” “shifted” and “ambitions.” Barack’s shift from informal to formal diction constructs an image of unity through the usage of simple, personal pronouns, such as “we” and “us.” The shifts from informal to formal and back appeal to the emotions of the audience because they feel as if Obama is talking directly to them. His allusions to the Bible are sentimental because when he says "the God given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness" he creates a bond between himself and his audience. His words have a motivating connotation that appeal to both logos and pathos. The way in which Barack Obama presents his ideas allows his audience to have confidence in him and his role as president.

In the beginning of his speech, Obama discusses his family and their past, how his grandfather served the United States and was a veteran of World War II. He speaks about the name that was given to him, Obama, as being African and how his parents felt that it isnt your name that takes you places and makes you who you are, it your character, strength, and personality. He also descibes his encounters with that he

President Barack Obama spoke his remarks at Howard University commencement ceremony for the class of 2016. This special moment in the speech is honoring people of color, especially African Americans and made history at this University, having the president to present his speech (Donnella). Obama explained how America was different when he graduated college and society is now accepting new cultures and backgrounds within today’s workforce and education. Obama wants the audience to take opportunities and learning new skills to expand their education.

Some examples of convoluted sentences from the text are “His father,” and “The people I meet.”

This inaugural speech marked the beginning of the second term of Barack Obama as president of the United States of America. It was delivered at United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2013. The event followed the presidential election in the United States and it was very important all over the world, about a million of people gathered outside the Capitol to witness the president's words and millions more from around the world watched him on television (Staff). For first time, a president talked about same sex marriage and gay rights, he also talked about divisive issues such as reform of immigration policies, stopping climate change and preserving a social welfare safety net. Obama showed a progressive and liberal agenda, focused on equal rights and possibilities for all the citizens. The theme of the speech was “Faith in America's Future,” (Caldwell) and he successfully used various rhetorical techniques and resources to influence the audience.

Using rhetorical jujitsu, he reframes Republican arguments into a context that ensures that his own policies appear very strong. His opponents in the audience were often at a loss, never confident in whether or not they should applaud. Paul Ryan, visible throughout, makes it very hard to discern what policies he supports and opposes by basically having no reaction at all. He shifts uncomfortably in his chair throughout the speech, and barely claps for anything. Obama’s emphasis on a shared American identity (55:00) is ultimately a criticism against both right and left—against the sort of right-winger who sees Obama himself as a strange foreigner and the sort left-winger who sees ethnic or gender identity as the most important aspect of an individual’s identity. Obama’s rhetoric at odds with both of

. “Tonight”, he focuses on this precious moment during which he was talking. Plus, the use of “This year, in this election…” showing the urgency of the situation. “More work to do”, he seemed to be less confrontational, as he used the word “more work” rather than insulting the “Democrats, Republicans, and Independents”’s abilities. Obama made the general theme of his keynote address the American Dream. He also criticized poor black youths in America who believe that reading a book is “acting white”. He exclaims as a proud American “In no other country on Earth is my story possible” and this lets all listeners feel that their country is one of a kind irreplaceable. Obama said, “A skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too” trying to point to himself by this statement. Moreover he showed a rallying cry of togetherness and unity in simple but powerful way when he mentioned, “there’s a United States of America”. By stating this he does not simply mean that there is a USA. He means a united country, united as one as the United States of

Obama is using many tools in his speech to convey his point. At the beginning of the speech he uses a quote from the bible and the rest of the speech is connecting to that quote. “Run with endurance the race that is set before us.” That quote makes people feel good and not so sad. Also at the end he goes back to that quote to finish off the speech on a happy note. He does this in almost all

Former President Barack Obama performed a speech in response to a mass shooting that happened in a community college in Oregon. This speech included other gun related incidents which occurred during his time in office in 2015 regarding Umpqua Community College and Roseburg. After giving his condolences and love to those who felt loss in their hearts, Obama gave a powerful argument regarding gun control and how we, as Americans, should fight and strive for better gun laws. While Obama gave a moving speech, I could not help but feel it fell short in its argument while conducting a thorough critique. Obama appealed to his audience utilizing pathos and ethos with ease but fell short for those in the audience looking for logos or specific facts within his performance. I will be taking this opportunity to delve further into an analysis of this speech and both its heights and pitfalls.

Senator Obama is altering the language. Christians did not exist in the Old Testament story of Ezekiel, but Senator Obama is effectively connecting with every major religion. Simultaneously, he is reaching out to the secular world as well. Being cognizant that everyone does not actively practice a religious faith, Obama chooses stories that

Both Clinton and Obama create fresh uses of figurative language for their speeches which follows Orwell’s first rule that states to never utilize an recycled figure of speech . Obama uses various forms of figurative language in his speeches “Illinois State Candidate Barack Obama”, “Father’s Day Remarks”, and “A More Perfect Union”. In “Illinois State Candidate Barack Obama”, Obama puts metaphors, like “In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation”, to use (CITATION). Before using this metaphor, Obama discussed the dreams of the American people, which is shared with the dreams of this nation. So, in this metaphor, Obama is comparing the American dreams of hope to the basis of the nation. By utilizing this metaphor,

Obama soon introduces his claim by saying, “This is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, get engaged, and come together to demand it.” Here, he is claiming that it is ordinary people—people like the audience—who are the ones who are to bring about change. To get the audience more involved, he chooses to use words such as: we, our, and you. He uses these words to addresses each and every person in the audience personally and by doing this, he makes them agree with him because they feel that they are being spoken to directly. In one paragraph of his speech, he says, “But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. You answered people’s hopes, and because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.” Here, he repeats the word “you” to emphasize the fact that he is addressing each person directly and that they are the ones who make changes, that they are the ones who make America a better place. Obama’s choice of words is seen not