President Obama, like all Presidents before him, delivered a farewell address to the United States on January 20, 2017. As he stepped down as President he was eloquent and it was as clear as ever that he is a master of oration. Obama will go down in history as the first Black President as well as a strong orator who had the ability to captivate an audience through his use of ethos, pathos and logos amongst other rhetorical devices. His farewell address is a perfect example of Obama’s mastery of discourse as it is chock full of oratorical devices. Obama’s message to the American people and to the rest of the world is that it is essential that we maintain a sense of what it means to have a democracy and that in order to maintain peace and …show more content…
He goes on to discuss the notion of democracy and the fact that when people come together they can insist that democratic ideals are essential for everyone even if we do not always agree on the same ideas. He stresses the notion that democracy is not about always getting along or agreeing but in working towards solutions that will make the world a better place for all. He suggests that democracy is not only “his belief” but that it is the “beating heart of our American idea” which is a phrase that combines both logos and pathos. By using the phrase beating heart, Obama draws on the audience’s passion for their country while at the same time establishing the notion that democracy is a reasonable idea that should be adhered to. Obama goes on to note that, “For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation.” By drawing on the over 200 years of democracy that exist within the US Obama established democracy as a credible approach to human organization. The crux of his speech is democracy so here he uses ethos to enhance the credibility of the democratic approach in order to ascertain that people take the concept seriously. In this way he is subtly suggesting that there is potentially a movement towards dismantling democracy through a more authoritarian rule with the new President. After this statement he goes on to cite the various achievements that were accomplished due
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.
Obama introduced his speech greeted the audience, and since the beginning he identified himself as one more citizen of the America, by refereeing to his broadly audience as “his fellow citizens,” (Klein) which was an effective way to have the people attention. Then he grounded his words on the Constitution of the United States to introduce his thesis about how the patriots of 1776 fought to give us a republic and a government that defended the rights of its people. He also presented the main points of his speech, and concluded his introduction by sharing common past experiences about the economic success achieved and about the importance of protecting the most vulnerable. This way he put his ideas in context and made his address more credible.
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
The Farewell Address embodied Washington’s political principles and hopes for the United States, a newly developed nation, to grow strong and remain independent. He stressed the importance of national unity. Despite the confidence Washington had for his country to continue to thrive without his leadership, he felt obligated to forewarn the American people and future generations the greatest dangers, or threats, to the United States. Washington believed threats such as political parties, and associations with foreign alliances could weaken the nation. Today, it is believed that the Farewell Address is a prophetic warning for contemporary politics.
Speaking to a record audience of 1.8 million Americans packed in the National Mall, along with over 300 million Americans watching on television, President Barack Obama shouldered the monumental task of uniting the nation, by showing his audience that they share the commonplace of being American citizens. Obama accomplishes this feat by embracing the sacred ideals set forth by the Founding Fathers, emphasizing the idea that Americans are endowed with the “God-given promise that all
Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully executed crafty rhetoric to ensure our country that we will be under safe hands. The speech draws from ideas straight from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to join together and take action on the many problems facing our country. As President Barrack Obama begins his speech, He refrains from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ but instead ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to establish ethos. He makes sure his audience feels at his level, and he at theirs. This way he connects to the audience, and in turn, aids his
The 44th president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, in his speech, his 2009 inauguration, describes his plans for his term in office, as well as his belief that if we follow the ideals of our founding fathers, that we will be able to accomplish anything. Obama’s purpose is to explain to the American people that with the right ideas, we can do anything as a country. He adopts a patriotic tone in order to draw pride from his fellow Americans. Obama pulls Fear, calls upon Pathos, and uses Patriotism to get support from the nation in allowing his changes.
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.
Barrack Obama’s inauguration speech successfully accomplished his goal by using rhetoric to ensure our nation that we will be under safe hands. The speech is similar from ideas obtained from the founding documents and Martin Luther King’s speech to establish ‘our’ goal to get together and take some action on the problems our country is now facing. As President Barrack Obama starts his speech, he keeps himself from using ‘me’, ‘myself’, and ‘I’ and replacing it with ‘we’, ‘us’, and ‘together’ to achieve ethos. He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and him at theirs. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his
During his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Barack Obama observed that there was not a red America or a blue America, but a United States of America. Such sentiment implied that every citizen, hailing from all fifty states, shares a common set of principles and rights that distinctly marks him or her as a member of this nation. Although unmentioned during that landmark speech, one may assume that universal suffrage is one such right that all Americans share, binding our diverse nation together. However, although voter intimidation and violence is much less prevalent within America as it was in the past, disenfranchisement remains a reality as a result of partisan manipulation of election-administration laws. As
First of all, this paper will be analysing its context and purpose of Bill Clinton’s speech. On September 5th, 2012, Bill Clinton delivered his amazing speech at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Although his speech mostly consist of logos appeals to persuade his audience in a ceremonial setting, he begins his speech in an epideictic tone focusing on developing the ethos of Barack Obama. At the Democratic National Convention, the Democratic Party and the rest of the Americans witness Bill Clinton proclaiming his support for Obama to be re-elected while stating the reasons why he should be reappointed. The purpose of his speech was not only to express the president’s future objectives but also to show
On January 21, 2013, President Barack Obama was re-elected for a second term. As tradition with previous Presidents, a speech is given as a way for the President to connect with the citizens of the country. The significance about a second inaugural address is that the President has already run the country for 4 years and instead of connecting for the first time, Obama is reconnecting with America and articulating how he sees the progress of America and how he wants to continue to improve the country. Critical aspects of his speech address what makes us American, how to protect American values such as freedom and liberty, and how citizens of the United States have to take a responsibility to change and revamp different institutions within the country; such as in government and schools. Obama employs anaphora, repetition, pronouns, and allusions to confront many social inequalities that still linger within the United States and demonstrates how he believes change can be elicited by American unity.
In his 2004 speech, Barack Obama stated “I stand here knowing that my story is part of the larger American story, that I owe a debt to all of those who came before me, and that, in no other country on earth, is my story even possible.”
Introduction: Barack Obama was re-elected as President of the U.S on November 6th, 2012. Barack Obama held his Victory Speech on the following day. This essay will analyze and comment on an excerpt of that exacting Victory Speech and the solution focus of the criticism will be on the Rhetorical belongings of the Speech. By using numerous forms of Rhetorical apparatus like Anaphora or Tautology, Barack Obama controls to offer a Speech that is full of American thoughts of life, similar to the American promise, the American Dream and the outlook. The Speech is very alike to the one he did in 2008 at the Democratic meeting, and contains numerous forms of replication and between the outline political views.
“It is a shift in the practice of democracy from hostility to civility, from advocacy to engagement, from confrontation to conversation, from debate to dialogue, and from separation to community.” (p. 4)