Rhetorical Analysis Of William Faulkner's Graduation Speech

In the essay, The Graduates, Louis Menand a Harvard professor and writer, argues that the education system has taken a turn for the worst; it has made kids fear being wrong. Menand supports his claim by illustrating how competitive our Meritocratic system has become and how it has gotten in the way student’s learning process. Menand’s purpose is to point out the pressure put on students to succeed in order to show the negative effect it has as they move to adulthood. Menand’s humorous and formal tone makes a sort of “Safe Haven” for students and parents to feel less attacked when reading this piece. By describing the scenario of a sleepover, he is able to make the audience more relaxed, because he is able to get a chuckle out and evoke a feeling

Faulkner, in his sports essay, describes the actions of hockey in order to convey the excitement derived from playing the sport. He successfully achieves this portrayal of action and excitement by his deliberate use of syntax and imagery.

The rhetorical essay has been a tradition in public speaking since Ancient Greece. Meant to persuade an audience to believe an idea or to embrace a way of thinking, public speakers have utilized this technique for centuries to inspire change in those who listen to it. Carrie Chapman Catt's commencement speech to the 1936 graduating class at Sweet Briar College is a speech that exemplifies the key devices and methods of persuasion in rhetoric, as well as inspiring her audience, a girls-only institution of higher learning, to work hard not only to improve their own lives, but to create a world greater than their own for generations to come. Carrie Chapman Catt delivered a highly effective commencement speech using the rhetorical devices logos,

In the 2005 commencement address at Kenyon College, David Foster Wallace delivered an unusual message to the graduates. He uses a unique approach to the typical conventions of a commencement speech in order to catch the attention of the graduates and to reinforce the honesty of his message. By defying their expectations, he urges them to consider their own obliviousness and to look past their own natural biases in order to see what’s truly right in front of them.

Lyndon B. Johnson orchestrated a strong, strategic speech on the day of March 15,1965. His speech was striving to persuade the nation to pass a bill which would give African- Americans additional rights to vote. Throughout his speech, Lyndon B. Johnson demonstrates all men are equal and should have equal rights through his utilization of repetition, pathos, and rhetorical questions.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, during chapters seventeen through twenty-one, one of the leading characters, Atticus, has to defend a black man in a court case against two white people. Before the jury is sent to make their decision, Atticus gives a closing argument speech. During his speech, Atticus uses three main types of persuasion called: ethos, pathos, and logos.

Prose appeals to ethos in this essay by appealing to the reader as a mother, educator, and student. By writing from the perspective of both a student and educator, Prose shows how both are affected by assigned literature. By discussing her own two sons, she appeals to readers who are mothers by expressing her concern about their education.

“How would it feel to be convicted for a crime that wasn’t committed just because of skin color?” This is what exactly happens in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird.” Tom Robinson was charged guilty for rape and assault of Mayella Ewell. Atticus Finch went against Mr.Gilmer to defend Tom’s innocence. It was almost impossible to convince a white jury’s opinion towards Tom because of his color. Both Atticus and Mr.Gilmer both used Logos, Ethos and Pathos, rhetorical concepts in their arguments.Even though Mr.Gilmer had won the case, Atticus’s was more effective in terms of strengths and weaknesses shown.

Research shows that children are more susceptible to commit crimes, fail in maintaining long lasting relationships and develop depression as well as other psychological disorders from the effects of bad parenting. In fact, many people grow up treating others the same way their parents have treated them with reference to their parents’ values, behaviours and attitudes. Harper Lee, an American author, expressed her childhood experiences in Alabama through writing the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In this novel Harper Lee highlights the prevailing racist attitudes that existed in Alabama in the 1930s. Lee does this by having the parenting style of Atticus, and its impact on his children, stand in contrast to these prevailing racist attitudes. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys that Atticus Finch is a great parent because he is not a hypocrite, he has a sense of fairness and he has good morals and values.

William Faulkner was an often misunderstood writer of many novels and short stories. ("William Faulkner’s Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech ") It was not until 1949 and after his death when he was given the Nobel Prize in Literature that people began to acknowledge him and his works. ("William Faulkner") In his Nobel Prize of Literature acceptance speech, at the city hall in Stockholm on December 10, 1950, Faulkner uses a powerful tone and effective rhetorical devices to convey his purpose. In his Nobel Prize of Literature acceptance speech, William Faulkner utilizes rhetorical devices such as

The birth of the modernist movement in American literature was the result of the post-World War I social breakdown. Writers adopted a disjointed fragmented style of writing that rebelled against traditional literature. One such writer is William Faulkner, whose individual style is characterized by his use of “stream of consciousness” and writing from multiple points of view.

Famous actors, musicians, politicians, artists and authors are often called upon to deliver commencement addresses at prestigious places of higher learning. It doesn't take Nobel-Prize-winning social scientists or psychologists, or speech professors to predict what these elite guest speakers will say on such occasions such as these. The speaker will tell the graduating class to aim high, never give up, make the most of opportunities, and do as our forbearers did: pull yourselves up by the bootstraps. But when Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks showed up at Vassar College to present the commencement address, his presentation avoided those clichés and platitudes. Hanks was refreshing original and yet remarkably pragmatic. This paper critiques Hanks' themes, examines his rhetorical techniques, and editorially analyzes his purpose.

We should study spoken language as it is truly unique and we can see the effect and beauty of spoken language in works of great orators and writers. Spoken language is truly an art, which involves many techniques to perfect and master it. One of the techniques is rhetoric. Rhetoric is the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing. The ancient Greeks first developed public speaking. Under Roman, influence public speaking developed further. This was heavily under the influence of Cicero and Aristotle. The speeches I have chosen to study are the closing speech of Atticus Fitch in the novel to “Kill a Mockingbird” and the “Battle of Falkirk” by William Wallace in the movie “Brave heart.”

The writer and Nobel Prize winner, William Cuthbert Faulkner, was born in New Albany, Mississippi, on September 25, 1897. Faulkner was the first of four sons to Murry Cuthbert Falkner and Maud Butler. His family settled in Oxford when he was about five years old, and Faulkner spends most of his life there. Faulkner was successful early in his life, but during the fifth grade he lost interest in school and started missing classes. He did not graduate from high school, and later on he was able to go to the University of Mississippi in Oxford, but dropped out after three semesters. He is known as one of the most famous Southern literature writers, mostly for his novels and poetry. William Faulkner's literary career was influenced by

When attending a typical graduation ceremony, it is not unusual to hear people speak to inspire the newest members of the tough labor market. Words of encouragement and loving what you do in life are often the baseline of these graduation speeches. But according to Carl McCoy,author of “Dear Grads, Don’t Do What You Love,” this advice may not be best suited for the occasion. With his own experiences in mind, McCoy explains why he believes these speeches may need a more timeless makeover.