preview

What Is The Use Of Ethos In President Obama's Hearts Are Broken

Decent Essays

“Whether it’s an elementary school in Newtown, or a shopping mall in Oregon, or a temple in Wisconsin, or a movie theater in Aurora, or a street corner in Chicago -- these neighborhoods are our neighborhoods, and these children are our children.” The United States was in shock and sorrow. President Obama spoke about the tragic Sandy Hook school shooting. He called his speech, “Hearts Are Broken.” He used ethos, logos, pathos, and other rhetorical devices such as idiom, allusion, and diction in his speech. He wanted to bring the nation together. Ethos is an appeal to ethics. President Obama uses ethos in this speech. He states, “May God bless the memory of the victims and, in the words of Scripture, heal the brokenhearted and bind up their wounds.” He is using ethics by trying to convince the audience that he is a Christian. Logos is an appeal to logic. President Obama used this in his speech. He mentioned, “And we’re going to have to come together and take meaningful action to prevent more tragedies like this, regardless of the politics.” He was using …show more content…

He uses this all throughout the speech. He announced, “So our hearts are broken today -- for the parents and grandparents, sisters and brothers of these little children, and for the families of the adults who were lost. Our hearts are broken for the parents of the survivors as well, for as blessed as they are to have their children home tonight, they know that their children’s innocence has been torn away from them too early, and there are no words that will ease their pain.” President Obama also declared, “This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do, which is hug our children a little tighter and we’ll tell them that we love them, and we’ll remind each other how deeply we love one another.” He used emotion to let the audience and families of the victims know that everything was going to be okay and that he was going to help as much as he

Get Access