Rhetorical Analysis Of Obama's 9/11 Speech

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.

September 11, 2001 is a day that shook the United States to its core. Millions of Americans felt the pain, the loss, and the anger that came with the attack on their nation. It was a day of mourning, and when it comes to days of mourning it is difficult putting one’s pain into words. However, Leonard Pitts Jr. was able to move past the emotion. He put into his words, not only his own feelings, but the feelings of an entire nation. Pitts conveys the emotion felt after the terror attacks in his essay “Sept. 12, 2001: We’ll go forward from this moment” through his mournful, angry, and righteous tone.

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.

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.

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

Imagine what it’s like to be a member of a nation who’s just been victimized in attacks that took the lives of around 3000 innocent people. The Attacks of September 11, 2001 were a series of four acts of terrorism directed towards the United States. The whole nation was present in a state of utter shock and emotional disarray. Besides, many of their loved ones were taken from them, and many others were threatened. If the Taliban terrorists were willing to commit attacks such as the ones of September 11th, 2001, then what made everyone else immune? In the “Address to Joint Session of Congress Following 9/11 Attacks,” George W. Bush substantially utilizes strong pathos, in addition to use of moderate amounts of ethos, logos, and a very urgent and resentful tone to persuade the American people that he will take the measures necessary to ensure that the terrorists are brought to justice. In fact, he was well aware that the people were fearful regarding their future, and he took full advantage of the emotional nature of the situation to win over the support of the people at the time. After 9/11 and his speeches, his approval rating shot up to an all time high; he had managed to intoxicate the people in the fashion which he handled the circumstances, and convinced the American people that they were in good hands.

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.

The events that took place in America on September 11, 2001 will have a lasting wound on this country forever. President George W. Bush’s speech, “A Great People Has Been Moved to Defend a Great Nation”, gave America something to have hope in. Bush was a republican president and was the 43rd of the United States and was a very passionate man. Although Bush had to make some tough decisions that very day, he was a president that made a lasting impact on America. Throughout Bush’s speech, he effectively covered pathos, ethos, and logos.

President George W. Bush uses pathos in his speech to help unify the people. His wording has people feeling shocked, surprised, and angry. He reasons the cause for the attack was because “we’re the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world” (Bush 7). Bush successfully vilifies the enemy, as it is still strong today, to unify the citizens under a common enemy. He continues pathos with a justice-seeking tone on how he will bring justice to those responsible. With compassion and hope, Bush asks people to pray on behalf of those affected by the

Feelings of concern, compassion, and interest, “Being a president that is willing to come to heart of the tragedy that had just occurred, automatically lifted his character to that of a person who is caring, compassionate, and interested. His sense of eunoia or goodwill was seen throughout his speech,” (Docan.) Other feelings which were shown that day were feelings of sympathy and pity (pathos), “Bush's numerous statements, such as, “The nation sends its love and compassion to everybody who is here”, bring out emotions of pity and sympathy, placing America as the “helpless and harmed”,” (Docan.) He also brought out emotions (pathos) combined with religion (logos), “Bush used an immense amount of religious jargon Phrases such as, “On bended knee in prayer” and “May God bless America,” appealed to both emotions (pathos) and to ways of thought (logos) and religion,” (Docan.) A sense of security was re-established and the American people were reassured that things would turn out fine. This reassurance was seen in the following, “And the people who knocked down these buildings will hear from us soon,” he was not creating fear in American lives, but he was appealing to the fears of whoever knocked down the buildings,” (Docan.)

In Bush’s speech he talks about 9/11 and he uses some rhetorical devices like ethos to help contribute to the author’s understanding. “these acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat” (Bush 1). This statement had described the sorrowful moments that not only Americans but the whole world had faced that day. Bush then decided to make this article not so depressing so he changed the tone from negative to positive. The paragraph that had the first quote concluded with another that the American “country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation” (Bush 1). This sentence helped reassure the people that even through tough times we will get through it together

On September 11th, 2001, tragedy struck America with the attacks on the Twin Towers and on the Pentagon. Not only did tens of thousands of New Yorkers see these atrocities firsthand but, millions of viewers watched in horror on the news; witnessing their nation under attack. Hundreds of terrified civilians ran from the carnage, however there were some who ran toward the collapsing buildings to save innocent lives. President George W. Bush stood with the fire fighters, the police and other first responders holding the flag of his nation and gave his address to the mourning citizens of the United States. He mainly used the strategies of ethos and pathos to try to comfort the American people and also have them rise and fight against the terror.

The purpose of this speech was, overall, to address the tragic acts of terrorism. President Bush accomplishes this in an informative and effective manner through his elegiac tone throughout the speech. This mournful way of writing gives a respectful and empathetic feeling to the address. This is incredibly important, as many people were feeling grief, loss, fear, and heartache at the time. Another purpose for the speech is to call the American people to action. President Bush, through his use of imperative statements, successfully rallies his audience to action. After describing some upcoming changes to the government, he said “These measures are essential. But the only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows” (“George Bush Speech”). This imperative statement gets the audience feeling determined to do their part to destroy terrorism. Soon after, he said, “I have a message for our military: Be ready. I’ve called the Armed Forces to alert, and there is a reason. The hour is coming when America will act, and you will make us proud” (“George Bush Speech”). This specifically calls the military to action, which is a critical aspect of the speech. President Bush also uses this speech as an opportunity to thank people who made a difference in the tragic event, saying “I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time”, “I thank the world for its outpouring of support”, and, “…I thank you for your

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.