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Tom Hank Rhetorical Analysis

Decent Essays

The first thing most people think of when they hear the name Tom Hanks is a toy cowboy, but there is so much more to him. He has a lot more to tell the listeners then just how to get beyond infinity; he can tell listeners how anyone can change the world. Hanks gave a commencement speech at Yale University in 2011 to the graduating class. Hanks talks about how, even through fear, anyone can change the world for the better. He emphasizes that people should work to make the world better instead of posting and tweeting everything people do in the hopes to become famous. Hanks uses a little bit of ethos and pathos when he used his credibility as a famous person to make the graduates listen, an example of ethos, and uses pathos to not only make …show more content…

Tom Hanks uses logos to show that with hard work, anyone can change the world for the better. Logos is a literary device that proves a point through the use of logic. Hank’s first example of logos was when he told his personal story where his friend’s uncle told his friend he would pay for his education as long as he wanted to stay in school. The reason for this is because when a person gets their first job, said person will work the rest of his life. Hanks also stated, “On spring days like today, it is traditional for us to ponder the state of the world and implore you all to help make it a better place which implies that things are somehow worse today than they were when we were sitting where you are right now. I am not so sure the planet earth is in worse shape than it was 30, no 18, no four years ago.” (Hanks). Because rushing into things is not always the best idea, Hanks used a personal connection to show this. The uncle knew that if his nephew just rushed into his life and did not go to college, it would do more harm than help. This is the same when working to change the world. People cannot just jump into things;

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