Sociological Symbolism In President Trump

In response to the controversial sermon given by his pastor and the racial remarks that followed him during his 2008 campaign, then Senator Barack Obama, was inherently forced into delivering a speech that would address the comments and prove to the American people that he did in fact shared their “American Dream” and was not an Anti-America charity case. Obama gave his famous “A More Perfect Union” speech in Philadelphia, where he seized the opportunity to address the controversy as an indication of a much larger issue, race relations in America and introduce his mission of moving the country toward “a more perfect union.” His speech often coined, “the Race Speech”, had several factors play into its success, one factor being the way the speech was delivered, his speech incorporated the jeremiad form and constitutive form of rhetoric, the use of those two forms helped Obama address the issue while at the same time creating an identity that would encompass all Americans who would then come together in this identity and work toward the solution of the race issue and providing the “American Dream” for everyone.

Aside from the use of pathos, President Bush also uses logos, which is the persuasion through logic. President Bush informs the country that “these acts of mass murder [are] intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat” (Bush 1). This is a form of logos because logically the terrorist group attacked because of their hatred of freedom, and the United States was a symbol of that freedom to many people. President Bush uses logos in this situation because he wants to not only persuade his viewers that this is done by a group of terrorist, but also to inform those who do not understand why this event happens. Towards the

American carnage.’And so on”(https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/20/how-trumps-inaugural-address-compares-to-his-predecessors-charted/?utm_term=.887eca9db7d9). This wide variety of emotion throughout his speech gives his words a way to reach people of different feelings and

At the time of Lyndon B. Johnson’s speech in 1965, “The American Promise”, conflict over civil rights has been brewing for over a hundred years. A large group of people planned on marching from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, but fights broke out and it quickly escalated into violence. Given shortly after the happenings in Selma, President Johnson spoke before the Congress on the importance of passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a man in a position of power, the desperation of the situation is prominent to him, yet he calmly presses the manner in order to persuade them of his view. President Johnson uses rhetorical devices, such as allusion and connotative diction, to create an ethical and emotional appeal toward his audience during that time of civil unrest.

In this paper I am going to discuss the rhetorical appeals, as well as the argumentative structure, audience and purpose set forth by George W. Bush in his September 27 speech in Flagstaff, Arizona. More specifically I will refer to the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos, and explain how they are used to gain the support and attention of the audience and further the further the purpose of the speech. As I explain these appeals I will also give an insight into the argumentative structure and why it is apparent in this particular speech.

President Obama appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos to get his message about racism across to his audience. Throughout his speech, the President refers to the

Symbolism itself is the use of a symbol (like an object or fact) to represent an idea or quality that is not what the symbol itself physically is. MLK Jr. used symbolism as a way to show the reader or listener to his speech his ideas or his point in a clearer manner. One example of symbolism he used would be, “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of justice.” In that quote MLK talks about a dark and desolate valley of segregation and the sunlit path of justice. The dark and desolate valley of segregation is referring to the U.S. at that point in time. People were separated based on their skin color and there was no social or legal justice for the people of dark colored skin. It was a horrible time to live in. When MLK Jr. talks

Symbolism is the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities. In a soccer team named Cruz Azul there is a person who symbolized hope for the team. His name is Christian Gimenez. Because he was injured he now comes in as a substitute. As soon as people see him getting warmed up they start screaming his name. In soccer when you are called up for the national squad most of the players have a sense of feeling proud for themselves because they get to represent a whole country. Also, in boxing when you have a belt it symbolizes that you are a champion. Finally, the United States symbolizes freedom and more opportunities. Most people come to the United States because where they come from the didn’t have much freedom or they just weren’t

The presidential inauguration is uniquely sacramental: the peaceful transition of power is representative of the strength that has made the United States the oldest democracy on Earth. Every 4 years, a new or incumbent president delivers this address to the nation, setting forth the principles that will guide the new administration, and uniting the nation under shared commonplaces. Each president is given the opportunity to establish themselves as distinct from the presidents before them. In the past decade, we have seen two unique presidents with two drastically different visions of America deliver their message to the United States of America. While both call upon shared national values and the unity of the nation under difficult circumstances, they differ in terms of inclusion and diversity within America. Both presidents deliver compelling arguments that encourage the American people to serve their country in diverse ways.

I wanted to give a brief introduction to the language of symbols by giving my opinion on some very common examples. Correlation does not equal causation but the pattern of association can often lead us to a more discerning perspective when examining usage of symbolism. Symbolism is used purposefully and with intent in many cases as we will see but it is also frequently used unintentionally as well. I chose a few simple examples for this video to get us started on the topic. Some of these images may be disturbing to you so now may be a good time to pause this

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech was an astonishing display of language that persuaded the American nation to dissolve the barrier that stood between equality for all in our great nation. The true beauty in Dr. King’s speech rests in his ability to persuade the audience at the Lincoln Memorial, as well as, the nation to believe that it is a necessity to rid the exigence of segregation. Through the usage of metaphors that engage the reader, King uses language as an instrument to control the audience’s emotions and fuel their ideas that they can be the ones to make the change to propel our nation from one mediocrity to greatness. In his speech, King uses an eloquent blend between symbols and emotions through metaphors to persuade the audience that there is no true constraint that can hold them from achieving their goal and use the historical March on Washington as the solution to this exigence that failed to wither away one hundred years ago when Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

African American Baptist minister and activist, Martin Luther King, Jr., in his “I Have a Dream” speech, addresses racism against Negros and demands equal rights and freedoms. King’s purpose is to motivate his audience to join him in fighting for what they deserve. He shifts from an urgent, demanding tone at the beginning of the speech to a more hopeful and patriotic tone towards the end. Throughout the speech, Dr. King appeals to the audience’s desire to better their futures by utilizing figurative language, such as similes and metaphors, and rhetorical devices such as repetition and parallelism.

Donald trump's diction is one of ruination, one of doom and gloom. He speaks as if the apocalypse is upon us. For example”rusted out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation” His rhetoric make use of anaphora and repetition, like when he is repeating “Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will

Analyze specific rhetorical contexts, including circumstance, purpose, topic, audience, and writer, as well as the writing's ethical, political, and cultural implications.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial more than two score years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King electrified America with his momentous "I Have a Dream" speech. Aimed at the entire nation, King’s main purpose in this speech was to convince his audience to demand racial justice towards the mistreated African Americans and to stand up together for the rights afforded to all under the Constitution. To further convey this purpose more effectively, King cleverly makes use of the rhetorical devices — ethos, pathos and logos — using figurative language such as metaphors and repetition as well as various other techniques e.g. organization, parallel construction and choice of title.