Analysis of General Patton's Speech Made Before D-Day

General Patton’s speech to troops made before D-Day is persuasive. By the use of sound bites, macho rhetoric, empathy, emotive language, humour and emphasis he managed to empower the troops who were going into battle.
Sound bites are used so that when the troops go out to fight they have something to remember. These are short bits of speech or text that become phrases. ‘Americans despise cowards.’; ‘Death must not be feared. Death in time, comes to all men.’, and ‘The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared.’ These sound bites create a sense of patriotism and give them something to help them emotionally get through the war.
All the troops who fought in the D-Day landings would have wanted to be known as manly. That is why General Patton used macho rhetoric to create that feeling. ‘The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared.’ This would have also given them confidence in the people who they were fighting next to and that if they got into trouble they would help. This also shows them that even though they are scared they are still ‘real’ men and so they can be proud of fighting for their country. ‘... The fastest runner, the toughest boxer ...’ this creates the feeling of the troops being butch and strong when in reality they weren’t all. This would have given them false hope as they would have thought that they had a chance against the enemy when a lot of them actually didn’t. However General Patton’s speech gave them hope to go into battle holding their heads high.
General Patton also used empathy to create a sense of unity and that he actually cares about what happens to them. ‘If he says he’s not, he’s a liar’ this shows how everyone’s been through what each soldier will go through. This shows that no one is special and that everyone gets scared and worried. This creates the feeling of everyone being in it together and will support each other. ‘They are not supermen.’ General Patton is trying to break down the fear. If