Module B Speeches
Evaluate how TWO speeches you have studied employ rhetorical devices to represent visionary ideas
Powerful speeches affirm universal values which remain prevalent in human nature’s aspiration to productively approach the future. Noel Pearson’s speech “An Australian history for us all” (1996) and Anwar Sadat’s “Statement to the Knesset” (1977), through effective use of rhetorical devices, creates textual integrity to explore visionary ideas: establishing the need for change by examining “the past, with all its complexities”, and that in overcoming past conflict and uniting for a common goal, a “bold drive towards new horizons” may be undertaken.
In his speech, Noel Pearson addresses the need to acknowledge the past mistreatment of Australian Aboriginals. As an Indigenous Australian politician, Pearson gave his speech at the Chancellor’s Club Dinner in the University of Western Sydney to advance equality of Aborigines. Pearson quickly introduces his purpose, “our popular understanding of the colonial past is central to the moral and political turbulence we are still grappling with as Australians”. The illustrative use of turbulence is used to highlight the prevalence of past disharmonies and he uses the inclusive pronoun “we” as a synecdoche for all Australians to unify the audience. By directly quoting authorities such as John Howard and Bill Stanner, Pearson supplements his ethos and strengthens his case by evaluating both sides of the situation. The metaphor, “cult of forgetfulness” has negative connotations in order to challenge the common social mindset regarding the recognition of the past and induce a desire for change. Pearson effectively uses a cumulative list, “You have taken from us not just our land and not just all of the icons of Indigenous Australia…” to illustrate past injustices. The diction is divisive between Indigenous and European Australians, but deliberate emphasis is placed on the past tense to suggest hope for the future. Thus Pearson
Powerful speeches affirm universal values which remain prevalent in human nature’s aspiration to productively approach the future. Noel Pearson’s speech “An Australian history for us all” (1996) and Anwar Sadat’s “Statement to the Knesset” (1977), through effective use of rhetorical devices, creates textual integrity to explore visionary ideas: establishing the need for change by examining “the past, with all its complexities”, and that in overcoming past conflict and uniting for a common goal, a “bold drive towards new horizons” may be undertaken.
In his speech, Noel Pearson addresses the need to acknowledge the past mistreatment of Australian Aboriginals. As an Indigenous Australian politician, Pearson gave his speech at the Chancellor’s Club Dinner in the University of Western Sydney to advance equality of Aborigines. Pearson quickly introduces his purpose, “our popular understanding of the colonial past is central to the moral and political turbulence we are still grappling with as Australians”. The illustrative use of turbulence is used to highlight the prevalence of past disharmonies and he uses the inclusive pronoun “we” as a synecdoche for all Australians to unify the audience. By directly quoting authorities such as John Howard and Bill Stanner, Pearson supplements his ethos and strengthens his case by evaluating both sides of the situation. The metaphor, “cult of forgetfulness” has negative connotations in order to challenge the common social mindset regarding the recognition of the past and induce a desire for change. Pearson effectively uses a cumulative list, “You have taken from us not just our land and not just all of the icons of Indigenous Australia…” to illustrate past injustices. The diction is divisive between Indigenous and European Australians, but deliberate emphasis is placed on the past tense to suggest hope for the future. Thus Pearson