The Rhetorical Analysis Of President Whitmore's Independence Day

To help us maintain the efficiency of our government, George Washington gave our country words of advice in his Farewell address. His Farewell address was in 1796, on the eve of September 19. He mentioned that he would not be running in the next election and that his time as president was up. Washington, with the country’s welfare in mind, wanted the nation to obtain and maintain felicity. He had decided that he would give the future president and the people of the nation advice based on his experiences as president. His words of wisdom consists of telling us to stay united, follow the constitution, and to stay neutral.

This is a speech from the movie Independence Day (1996). A foreign spacecraft has fallen from the sky and alien species have already diminished cities from around the world. Survivors of the alien attacks head to Area 51, where it is rumored that the government holds alien spacecraft. They devise a plan against the alien species and July 4th is their attack day. The president stands up, and over an intercom gives a motivational speech to the fighter pilots from around the world. His purpose for the speech is to unite the fighters from around the world before they go attack the aliens.

In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln provided one of the most memorable speeches in history that affected the way American citizens saw the war. The March 4th speech in 1865 gave more people hope for the country and allowed them to trust that God will help them through the Civil War. The people trusted Lincoln to help them through the situation because he had already served his first term as president, and the people knew he was trustworthy, so they re-elected him. Lincoln professionally used rhetorical appeals such as ethos pathos and logos to press his audience to agree, as well as tone to show his audience how importantly they should be taking the subject. Abraham’s Second Inaugural Address was an introduction to his plan for the United States for the next years he would be president, and much of it was a discussion about the Civil War and how they would bring it to an end.

In March book 2, author and activist, John Lewis, delivered a speech on August 28, 1963. Before John Lewis delivered his speech, there was a lot of ciaos occurring backstage about revising Lewis’ speech. Mr. Randolph wasn’t pleased with the way John Lewis worded parts of his speech and demanded for him to change it. After Lewis negotiated with Mr. Randolph, Lewis was still content with the arrangement of his speech. Lewis confronts his sentiments to the people regarding racial inequality. He emphasizes on the unfair acts that are implemented among the African American working class. John Lewis states, “While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day” (Lewis Aydin 166). In this statement, Lewis explains his reasoning for assembling his speech. His objective was to arouse the public on the realism of the nation’s unjust behavior towards African Americans. Lewis explains the march on Washington is occurring because blacks don’t receive the same wages as whites. Lewis declares, “We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now” (Lewis Aydin 169). He proclaims that African Americans have been fighting for their freedom long enough and they are not willing to be patient. With his skillful use of appeals, Lewis applies powerful logos to illustrate racism, emotional pathos to connect with the audience, and ethos to appeal to the segregation and discrimination towards African Americans.

On August 28, 1963, John Lewis delivered his memorable speech on Washington to a 200,000 crowd of activist demanding peace and equality. Lewis’ purpose is to inspire others to join their march and make a mark on history. He adopts a demanding and bold tone in order to persuade the black activists and politicians to change the social norms and to join the social revolution. By demonstrating his demanding claims for equal rights to the politicians, whites, and African - Americans, John Lewis effectively utilizes syntax and diction to adequately get his message of hope, equality and desegregation.

One of the most influential presidents in United States history, John F. Kennedy was a brilliant politician and public speaker. In his inaugural address, he sparked hope around the world by discussing the hardships faced by all of society in the present time and then leaving them with a message of freedom, power, and hope. This measure of impact is not achieved easily; Kennedy masterfully utilized the art of rhetoric to emphasize his message and win the hearts of his people. In the middle of the speech, he discusses the dangers of the modern world and his drive toward international peace and cooperation. These messages are stressed through his use of charismatic language to signify his vision of a new and better world.

The Pearl Harbor incident is an instant in history that changed our world views and also our standing in the world. During this time World War II was at its peak and the United States was going through a horrendous plunge in the stock market which threw us into the Great depression. But the bombing of Pearl Harbor is an event that will haunt our nation for the rest of history and is unforgettable due to what the nation went through after that incident. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, otherwise known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States and also the representative of the nation during this treacherous time. When the nation was broken and needed a little light of hope due to the horrible circumstances that they were put

Most of the American society does not possess a basic knowledge of when the civil battle for women’s rights began. In the year 1848, the first convention of U.S. women’s rights was held in Seneca Falls, New York. Elizabeth Cady Stanton was a primary speaker and one of the women behind the organization of the convention. Stanton had many beliefs that at the time were unfathomable to many conservative people because it required a widespread change in how the country was run. E. Cady Stanton has put her name in history on all topics of human rights, in particular: being an abolitionist, suffragist, and what we refer to today as a feminist or equal rights activist. During the convention, her speech “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions” called particular attention to equal rights for women in a country that inaccurately prides itself on freedom. Stanton’s work on equal rights opens with allusion to the “Declaration of Independence” and appeal to morals and ethos, leading to a section formed around anaphora and appeal to pathos, and then concluding her speech on appeal to logos, pathos, divine morals, and ethos.

Weeks of wet weather had occurred before Saturday March 4th, 1865, making Pennsylvania Avenue a thick, muddy place; however, the pounding rain did not stop the spectators from listening to Lincoln give his Second Inaugural Address, given one month before the end of the Civil War. The Civil War was the result of a long standing controversy over slavery. The North and the South did not agree with each other. Slavery in the North had died out to the point where almost all blacks were free. The South on the other hand very few blacks were free. Causing a long lastly disagreement between both sides. When Lincoln gave his speech spectators were expecting a speech on slavery when Lincoln gave a dark gloomy speech that no one saw coming. The Civil War had lasted through his passed presidency and ended five days before his death. United States President Abraham Lincoln surprised his massive audience with a very short speech in which he talked about the effects of the Civil War, and expressed his feelings toward the future of the United States. Lincoln wanted to restore faith in the nation, talking about how the war would end soon, and that the nation was going to reunite. In this short speech Lincoln asserts that the audience knows and is knowledgeable about the war, which shows that the Americans know the war was just by using juxtaposition. Lincoln addresses his opinion towards the war, and makes it clear by utilizing biblical allusion, creating a basis of mutual agreement between the North and the South.

“Yesterday, December 7th, 1941- a date which will live in infamy- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (1). These are the words Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to begin his Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked by Japan. FDR’s speech was a call to arms, and in his speech he expressed outrage towards Japan and confidence in inevitable triumph. The speech was a request to declare war against Japan and to bring the United States into World War II. FDR’s speech was successful in bringing the United States into World War II because FDR presented facts explaining why war needed to be declared and used righteous indignation

The first thing that makes this speech so memorable is its figurative language. Ridden with alliteration, metaphors, antitheses, repetition and anaphora, figurative language is what makes lines from the speech stick in one’s head and makes it sound more eloquent overall. Alliteration is the usage of repetitive consonant sounds within a sentence. For example, in paragraph five, Kennedy says, “pay any price, bear any burden….” In this sentence, there is alliteration with P’s in the first half and B’s in the second. Throughout the speech, alliteration is used over twenty times. Alliteration is important because it provides emphasis and aids in memory. A metaphor is, according to Oxford Dictionary, “a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable”. For example, in

President John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address speech, claims that America will unify and assert peace, in and out of the country with the help of citizens who fight for liberty and protect their country. Kennedy supports his claims by applying rhetorical devices to create a good sense of optimism and community. The author’s purpose is to encourage his listeners to stand up and help others so that America can become a better, stronger nation.

One element that makes this speech effective is the use of ethos. Ethos in literature deals with convincing the audience of the credibility of the author or persuader. An example that shows the credibility of the speaker in this speech is when Wilberforce states, “I verily believe therefore, if the wretchedness of any one of the many hundred Negroes stowed in each ship could be brought before their view, and remain within the sight of the African Merchant, that there is no one among them whose heart would bear it” (Wilberforce). This statement explains to the audience that Wilberforce can convince the audience that he can have credibility on this subject. Another example of ethos in Wilberforce’s speech is when he declares, “As soon as ever I had arrived thus far in my investigation of the slave trade, I confess to you sir, so enormous so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition” (Wilberforce). When Wilberforce states this, he is giving the audience reassurance that he is trying to make the slavery world vanish and increase the conditions of the African Americans. Ethos is an important factor in any speech because it allows the readers to decide whether or not they can verify what the speaker is saying.

in which he opted for the latter (Seymour 26). As he sat down to compose

‘’It is time.’’ The man said to the crowd surrounding the podium. Everyone strained their ears to hear what was to be said. ‘’We are ready to take back what is ours! Today, We fight!’’ The crowd cheered, as engines from the last surviving aircraft roared to life and took off, away from the City and