Barack Obama 2004 Keynote Address DNC
On behalf of the great state of Illinois, crossroads of a nation, Land of Lincoln,
(Already he refers to Lincoln, a highly respected former President famous for the Gettysburg Address) let me express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.
Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father -- my grandfather -- was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.
(He has set a vivid picture of his father’s childhood – a basic existence)
But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, America, that’s shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before.
(Note the use of contrast – the contrast of the basic Kenyan life and the life in America. Also note the use of a simile of a beacon, playing to the audience’s conceptions of America being a shining light to the rest of the world and the imagery of the Statue of Liberty)
While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas.
(Again a contrast, and sets the scene for the American side of the family)
Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton’s army, marched across Europe.
(A reference to the shared experience of the American people)
Back home, my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line.
(More use of contrast)
After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through F.H.A., and later moved west all the way to Hawaii in search of opportunity.
(Note the further use of the shared/All-American history, setting the scene to portray himself as part of
(Already he refers to Lincoln, a highly respected former President famous for the Gettysburg Address) let me express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of addressing this convention.
Tonight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it, my presence on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats, went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father -- my grandfather -- was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.
(He has set a vivid picture of his father’s childhood – a basic existence)
But my grandfather had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in a magical place, America, that’s shone as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so many who had come before.
(Note the use of contrast – the contrast of the basic Kenyan life and the life in America. Also note the use of a simile of a beacon, playing to the audience’s conceptions of America being a shining light to the rest of the world and the imagery of the Statue of Liberty)
While studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on the other side of the world, in Kansas.
(Again a contrast, and sets the scene for the American side of the family)
Her father worked on oil rigs and farms through most of the Depression. The day after Pearl Harbor my grandfather signed up for duty; joined Patton’s army, marched across Europe.
(A reference to the shared experience of the American people)
Back home, my grandmother raised a baby and went to work on a bomber assembly line.
(More use of contrast)
After the war, they studied on the G.I. Bill, bought a house through F.H.A., and later moved west all the way to Hawaii in search of opportunity.
(Note the further use of the shared/All-American history, setting the scene to portray himself as part of