Preview

How does Obama use rhetorical devices in his speech effectively in order to enagage his audience

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
920 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How does Obama use rhetorical devices in his speech effectively in order to enagage his audience
How does Obama use rhetorical devices in his speech effectively to engage his audience?
Throughout Obama’s speech he uses many different examples of rhetorical devices such as alliteration, personification, triad, allusion and an inclusive pronoun.
Alliteration is used effectively in Obama’s speech. An example would be “depths of despair to the greatest heights of hope”. The fact that he goes from the worst to the best corrects the listener’s minds and provides an insight into just how good things are going for America in Obama’s eyes. It proves how far they’ve come and gives the listeners hope for even greater things to come in the future. The use of the word ‘despair’ suggests that there was very little hope for America’s future in the past and reinforces how bad things must have been for them. To then use the word ‘hope’ suggests bigger and better things to come, it implies the listener that the best is not here yet and there is a lot more to come and although they have already came so far they are still yet to reach the greatness the country is impending. This makes the audience feel hopeful and trustful in the future for their country.
Personification is also used effectively. An example of this would be “we care so strongly about its future”. In this example Obama is talking about America as a country and referring to it as if it is a real life person. The fact he does this gives likeness and attributes of life to the country, and makes it seem unstoppable in a way as just like a person, America will keep moving forward and develop new ways of doing things and dealing with situations. Personification is much used in visual arts, so Obama using it in this speech works effectively as it immediately makes the audience picture America in their brains and focus on its future rather than its past. The word ‘strongly’ has synonyms like ‘able’, ‘tough’, ‘powerful’ and ‘vigorous’ so it seems the perfect word for Obama to use as it not only makes the people of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In his speech, President Trump made promises such as, “America will start winning again, winning like never before,” and, “I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.” These quotes accurately demonstrate the use of pathos, since they are quite passionate and are precisely aimed at getting an emotional response from the audience. Following these statements, President Trump again used pathos when he declared “When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.” President Trump uses this proclamation to drive home the motive behind his address, to not only electrify the audience about his presidency but America as a nation. Although Trump used pathos correctly in his speech, his excessive use of this literary device creates an insipid and redundant inaugural address, due to his lack of content. Several educational state, “Many texts from the modern press or politicians are heavily dependent on pathos appeals. Appeals to pathos touch an emotional nerve and compel people to not only listen, but to also take the next step and act in the world” (“Understanding Modes of Rhetorical Appeal: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos”). Pathos is needed for a compelling rhetoric, however when one solely relies on this device, it can have the opposite of the desired impact, and showcase an inadequate speech…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    By structuring his speech around ethos, logos, and pathos he is able to capture the audience on an emotion level and persuade them towards unity. Obama is also able to take a very wrangling issue, such as race and address it in such a respectable manner using the appeal of logos. By warping together all three of these appeals into his speech, Obama is able to tie together the three essential qualities that a speech must need for the audience to accept his message. Each one of these appeals is to direct the audience in a different way and in his speech he has them in perfect order to control the…

    • 863 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    He opens his appeal with a short paragraph addressing the American people. He promises that repairing our nation will be a long, steep road, and that we may not get there in one year, or even one term, but we will surely get there. This short little number appeals to logos because he is being realistic. He educates the nation on the struggles ahead without sugarcoating. The President asks that we stick together, even when we don’t agree with every decision or policy he makes, keeping in mind that he only has our best interest at heart. He alludes to the financial depression, saying “let us remember that if this financial crisis has taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people” (680). By alluding to past difficulties he is appealing to logos. Obama also uses allusion when he refers to Abraham Lincoln bringing the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity into the White House (681). Logos is used in allusion because he is bringing up the past; ways we can mold ourselves from it and ways we can make a difference. Reasoning is part of Barack Obamas plan for the United States to reach its full…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    My paper is about how many people have their own opinions about what being an American is. To complete my research I looked at various articles and videos to really see what everyone thinks. The American voice to me is that we should be able to have freedom and we should have many opportunities to do what we want. In my opinion, I believe that Barack Obama is the best representation of America because he seems like he really cares about even the future of America. Being in American to me means that we have rights to be what we want to be. No other place has what America has, and that is life, liberty and equality.In my paper I will be talking about how different people view the way America, or what is to be American to…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    a more perfect union

    • 295 Words
    • 1 Page

    I think that basing this speech off of the United States Constitution helped express the main goal of his speech, which was to motivate Americans to strive for political and social unity. I believe that through writing about his own ancestors and his mixed racial background, Obama allowed Americans to view him as just another citizen and therefore appeal to their hearts. I also thought Obama made an impact on his audience by portraying himself as an extremely religious man through bible quotations and sermon references. All in all, I believe that Barack Obama delivered a beautiful speech that surrounds our country’s patriotism and religious spirit.…

    • 295 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Barrack Obama's speech of "A more Perfect Union" uses rhetoric to describe his personal life and how it correlates to racial problems across the United States to help with his political campaign. A lot of his speech was meant to put certain views into new perspectives, to interest people, such as myself, and possibly, unintentionally, anger others as well. He also writes about topics that have meanings under the surface of the words, some things one must think about to uncover the true meaning of what Obama meant. He also writes about things we as a country have to do to head towards our "Perfect Union". He uses many tools of rhetoric such as: Occasion and exigence, historical and cultural context, Kairos, the rhetor, the audience, and ethical appeal.…

    • 2147 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Obama’s use of diction that included himself under the umbrella of the American public conveyed a sense of an all-inclusive and united America. President Obama consistently says “our” and “we” throughout his speech while referring to America. For example, he writes “we reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country” (Obama). In doing so, President Obama is presenting America as one. This diction allowed Obama to both present a strong and unified America to the rest of the world, and urge the American people to work together and support each…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Moreover, Barack Obama in a press conference reflecting on his first 100 days in office, was asked about his plans to address unemployment in the Black and Latino communities and his response was troubling, exhibiting a foreshadowing of what was to come, of those expecting radical changes, which would disappoint his most ardent supporters (p. 170). Obama responded by announcing that his focus was on bringing the economy back, after the disastrous legacy of George W. Bush, and using the strategy that that will help all people who will benefit by the positives of a strong economy (175). This set the tone for the entire Obama Presidency, the idea that the government will not specifically address issues that target Blacks but will advance programs…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the presidents speech, he uses many supporting materials to back up what he is saying. Throughout The President's speech, he predominantly uses illustrations. However, he also includes opinions, descriptions, analogies, and other supporting materials. With these supporting materials, the speech is strengthened along with his credibility.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Elected as the 44th president, Barack Obama made history being the first African American to be elected president of the United States. Barack Obama’s inauguration speech set a record for the amount of people there at any event in the nation. Obama delivers an uplifting speech to the nation filled with rhetorical devices and appeals that caught much American’s attention. One rhetoric appeal that Obama used was pathos. “Homes have been lost, jobs shed, business shuttered”, Obama said. This is significant because this is a reason why Obama wants to make the United States a better place. This pathos appeals to emotion. Another rhetoric appeal that Obama used was ethos. “I thank President Bush for his service to our nation.” This means that President Obama respects what he did for the nation but now it’s his turn to come in and take the thrown. This ethos appeals to Obama’s respectfulness.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rhetorical devices enhance a speaker’s argument by making the reader or listener question and think about the topic more thoroughly. In Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare, Mark Antony’s funeral speech for Caesar persuaded the audience more effectively than Brutus’ speech because of his use of rhetorical devices such as logos, aposiopesis, anaphora.…

    • 649 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A president’s first inaugural speech is an important part of the start of a presidential term and sets the stage for the years to come. In 1933, at the time the depression was the worst and many had lost hope in the government, Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) had to regain trust and stimulate action in his country. FDR graduated from Harvard and went right into politics becoming a senate, then vice president, later becoming the President. In the book, “Presidential Communication: Description and Analysis” by Robert E. Denton and Dan F. Hahn, they establish that successful politicians use specific linguistic devices. Denton and Hahn are both professors at universities and…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Just as dialectic allows an individual to examine both sides of a question, the Obama and Trump speeches regarding the Orlando shooting allow the audience to hear two opposing views and arguments regarding a situation. Although these speeches pertain to the same subject, they exhibit how differing uses of rhetoric can be used to persuade and achieve objectives…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One device Obama uses more effectively in his speech is pathos, which appeals to a person’s emotion. During Obama’s speech, “We Can Do Better,” he tries to persuade citizens to unite and agree that the United States needs stricter gun safety laws. Obama starts his speech by discussing each victim of the tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona. He goes into detail about each of their lives and how it ended. By sharing these details, Obama allows the audience to see each victim as a real person by giving them a name, a family, a personality, and a story. Also, each victim’s story ends so abruptly, symbolizing how their lives really did end too quickly, adding to the sorrow of the audience. He, in a way, makes it personal for the listener. Obama makes the listener look…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    • Rhetorical devices such as parallel structure, refrain, imagery, figurative language, repetition, quotation, or first-person-plural mode of address…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays