Rhetorical Analysis Of Steve Jobs By Malcolm Gladwell

Jobs was an American information technology entrepreneur and inventor, being the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple Inc. He lived a counter-cultural lifestyle, and philosophy was a big thing during the time and place of his upbringing. He was adopted at birth, in San Francisco by Paul and Clara Jobs (February 24, 1955). He was very dismissive of his adopted parents, “They were MY parents” he explained. (Telegraph Media Group) Paul Jobs, Steve’s dad, was a machinist for a firm that made lasers in what became Silicon Valley. Steve described his dad as a ‘genius with his hands’ and said that he had wished to be as good of a father to his children as his father was. After stating so, he estranged from a child that was his, even swearing to the court that he was infertile. Eventually, when he realized and accepted that Lisa Brennan-Jobs was his daughter, he took her in to live with him when she was a teenager. Jobs and his close friend Wozniak

“We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees.” This fact shows us that he was just a normal person just like us, and that he started out on his own. It shows us how far he truly has come. It also allows people to realize that they can do anything they set their mind to, just like Jobs did.

A. Attention Getter: How many people in this room own or have owned an IPod, IPhone, or IPad? Isn’t astounding how one man’s vision and innovation gave us all devices that have made the world today more connected than it’s ever been? Devices we NOW can’t imagine leaving behind when we walk out the front door in the morning. Whether it’s listening to music in your bedroom, reading the news on the train ride to work, checking your email at home or even sitting in a waiting room watching Netflix. It’s hard to deny the influence and impact that Steve Jobs has had on modern culture.

Steve Jobs was like the Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and the Albert Einstein of our time.  He not only innovated personal computing, but personal media and communication, iTunes which became one of the most popular music and video retailers and Pixar which was one of his side projects had become one of the greatest animation digital movie creators and software. But all that is a just part of the list of his legacy, because in the end he still left behind Apple which is world’s most valuable company, which is valued at $350 Billion Dollars.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life” (253). The man who changed the world of technology said this in front of thousands of Stanford graduates. All of the interesting work and his life was written in a biography called Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different by Karen Blumenthal. Blumenthal included everything about Jobs from birth to death in this book. The title of the book came from Apple advertisements that said “Think Different.” The main character of the book was obviously Steve Jobs. Jobs was the co-founder of Apple Inc., NeXT, and Pixar and he was able to do all that because he was the man who thought different. Anyone who owns an Apple product or has seen many of the famous movies

I feel as if there is a negative connotation to the profile as a whole, making Jobs look like a criminal. It is written in a tone that relays that Jobs did not deserve what he had. Thinking about all the things we use today that have a piece of Jobs’ mind behind them, whether he “invented” them or not, one could make the case that he truly molded the world of technology as we know it, and deservedly so.

For the duration of his speech, Jobs included background stories and details of his personal life which each coincided with the purpose of his statements. In order to elaborate on the idea of failure, Jobs spoke of the several valleys he endured on his road to success. Jobs immediately made it clear he never graduated college and began taking classes of his own interest. He applied the new knowledge to his work on the Mac, but was soon fired from Apple. This gave him the chance to advance in Pixar and meet his wife. Jobs ended his speech with the terrifying experience of when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer (“Steve Jobs’ 2005...”). Jobs, although very successful, did not receive his success due to the obtainment of a stable family and financial standing. In fact, Jobs’ childhood was far from perfect. He was put up for adoption by his biological mother and was later adopted by parents, neither of which who attended college. He faced economic issues while pursuing what he adored, yet he expressed his struggles in a more positive manner. Jobs continued to use the valleys he described to connect his speech to following one’s dreams no matter the bumps in the road (Ivanov).

This showed that college was not for Jobs, and that his passion was not any closer to what he wanted to do in life. Another way Jobs showed credibility in his argument is by organizing his speech into a cause and effect structure. The major cause he emphasized was when he became interested in calligraphy classes. Even though he stated that the classes were not going to apply to his life, the effect was that he became the founder of Apple, a 2 billion dollar

A variety of tactics are employed when delivering a speech and the speaker’s purpose is accommodated by their method. The emotion and inflection in Steve Jobs’ voice as he relays his past experiences provokes an argument about the future and the past. By passing on his anecdotes and previous experiences, the speaker solidifies his credibility as a representative of what is achievable with effort and determination.

Steve jobs demonstrated to the world just how fundamental technology is in our developing environment. He exemplified a successful and innovative leader, especially in the face of failure. One could argue that although Steve Jobs was an extremely influential businessman of his time, he had numerous tragic flaws. Egotistic is a word that describes this illustrious worker. Credit for ideas were never given to the instrumental “behind the scenes” intellectuals, and without the them, he may never have been so successful. While he was working for Apple, people would always struggle with the individualistic approach he had and would often times complain about his boastful nature. He exhibited qualities that made his dislikable, however without Steve Jobs the iPhone, a

Steve Jobs, who is known as one of the greatest innovators of our time, had given a speech in 2005 to new graduates from Stanford. As many would find this ironic since he never graduated from college, but by the end of the speech they have realized why he was there to give the speech. He successfully gives the speech by using multiple rhetorical devices such as repetition of life experiences as well as common emotion that everyone consists of. By using those, his goals are to have the new graduates continue through life by doing what they love to do no matter what obstacles comes across their life.

Lastly, Jobs describes his life philosophy, saying “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life,” meaning that he would live his life doing what he likes, not what others like. Jobs impresses and convinces the audience through logic, pulling them in. This allows the graduates to be inspired to take ahold of life.

Shedding light on the fact that although Steve Jobs was adopted, he was the son of a Syrian immigrant. Immigrants have too often been associated with misuse of America’s resources, jobs, etc. Steve Jobs is a great example of a success story of a product of an immigrant. If Steve Jobs father hadn’t fled his country, and came to the U.S America wouldn’t have known one of its most popular brands today, Apple. As explained in Banksy statement, Apple pays over 7 billion dollars a year in taxes and it wouldn’t be possible unless a Syrian immigrant was allowed into the U.S. America’s success it not based solely upon the knowledge and creativity of our own but also because of the courage and creativity of

Jobs early years, prior to Apple influenced his view of life. Concerning human nature, Jobs believed that human being were spiritual beings. It is ones responsibility to find the inner spirit, be enlightened to attain inner peace this enhanced personal growth. He believed that unless one did this, they would be controlled by their circumstances, the situation in which they found themselves. One is able to take control of their thought process and view of life. He realized "that an intuitive understanding and consciousness was more significant than abstract thinking and intellectual logical analysis," (Issacson, 2011, p. 37). His trip to India magnified this perception as he realized that people in Indian countryside did not use their intellect as those in the America, instead they used their intuition. He considered intuition as more powerful than intellect.

With the recent passing of Steve Jobs, there has been an intense spotlight focused on both the man and the company he built. Most of the attention has rightfully been focused on Jobs’ passion and creativity, as well as the remarkable period of innovation he preside. As a symbolic leader, the man not only once saving the company from bankruptcy but also building up a well-known brand that had integrate with our daily life – Apple.