It is important not to let your fortunes make you lose perspective. Author Jason Reynolds feels passionate about this subject. In his moving and wittily made speech presented to the Lesley University Commencement address in 2018, Jason Reynolds cleverly articulates and effectively gets to the audience’s emotions through his use of an anecdote and symbolism to remind the audience to stay grounded and not lose their perspective of the less fortunate. Reynolds brilliantly appeals to the audience’s emotions by grabbing their attention with a riveting anecdote about an eccentric teacher he had in high school. The teacher, Mr.Williams, wore abnormal clothing and had a pet fish in his classroom. The only rule with the fish was under no circumstances were …show more content…
He first creates a humorous bond with the audience by poking fun at the overused message in graduation speeches, “And, honestly, all these speeches can be boiled down to a simple cliché: Get out there, spread your wings, and change the world.” By doing this, he subtly sets the foundation of his creatively used symbolism of wings. Because the quote “spread your wings” is a universal saying that everyone has heard, Reynolds is able to connect with everyone in the audience. He uses wings to symbolize privilege, “what good is it for me to fly so far above them, when they’ll only look smaller to me the higher I go? And how exactly will my grossly distorted perspective change the world…for the better?” The flying, winged people represent people with privilege who let it boost their egos, and the people below, people without wings, represent ones who have less privilege. The symbolization of people with wings flying above people without wings provides great imagery for the audience and captivates them through Reynold’s words. His creative use of symbolism appeals to the audience’s feelings and keeps them engaged throughout his
Dr. Patrick Miller gave an amazing and interesting speech on the issue of the Confederate flag and monuments. The presenter went through the history of what the Confederate flag once stood for and how it became a symbol that affects minorities today. I really like how he was able to relate everything that was occurring in modern times. Something that surprised me is the vast amount of monuments that are still stand to this very day. Dr. Miller told the audience the great lengths people have gone to remove anything that is related to the Confederacy, for example, the many schools in the south were renamed after Obama since they were originally named after Confederate fugues, such as: Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis.
The tyranny and lack of freedom for people in America at the times of slavery were the realities in which people in the South had to live. In this situation, when the Civil War began, there were numerous hopes for the better future. This is also reflected in the speech delivered by Alfred M. Green in Philadelphia at the beginning of the war. The speaker addressed all African Americans calling them to get prepared to enlisting. His speech, however, did not only concern the people from the South, but also the problem of slavery in the North.
In her speech, Elizabeth Glaser convinces people and leaders in America that they need to acknowledge and respect the real dangers of AIDS and the victims that have it. Glaser effectively uses ethos, repetition, and tone to convey this message to the audience. Elizabeth Glaser, the woman who brought awareness of AIDS, takes a stance based on her own experience with AIDS. In order to help the audience to believe her, at the beginning of her speech, Glaser tells the audience that she “Had unknowingly passed it to [her] daughter, Ariel, through [her] breast milk, and [her] son, Jake, in utero”. In order to build Elizabeth Glaser’s ethos, Glaser talks about how she and her children aren’t the “typical” or “expected” people to contract AIDS.
Ethos is equivalent to credibility. Waldinger clearly makes his audience believe what he says by explaining surveys which lead to really strong data. He also states several different quotes by Marc Twain, which provided important pieces of evidence and different perspectives to his speech. Waldinger also states different research facts building a stronger main point. Lastly, he explains one of the oldest and longest study ever, The Harvard study.
Living in a modern world many people get well educated and are making good changes in the world. But are we forgetting something in our busy society? George Saunders talks about the importance of kindness in his commencement address. Saunders is an American writer and university professor who made the commencement address at Syracuse University in New York state in may 2013. This essay will focus on the style of Saunders’ language and on the values he advocates in his speech.
Jimmy Carter was highly involved and persuasive regarding politics. Carter had opened Georgia’s government offices to women and people of color (“Jimmy Carter”). This shows that Carter was not a biased man. He believed everyone deserved the same opportunities. Carter lacked a national political base or major backing, but was able to win the 1974 presidential election through endless campaigning (“Jimmy Carter”).
The topic of homosexuality in Tom Hanks speech is one of great division among the people of our country, especially at the time he chose to bring attention to it, yet his use of rhetorical speaking, particularly Ethos and Pathos, assist to both mitigate and normalize a typically polarizing issue. The introduction to his speech features an immediate nod to emotion when he mentions love and his “lover”, or wife, saying “I could not be standing here without that undying love… And I have that in a lover that is so close to fine, we should all be able to experience such heaven right here on earth”. By introducing the concept of “love” as the preliminary subject before the actual meaning of the speech is made clear, a common connection is made between the audience, who includes both celebrities and the American public, that is necessary to establish due to the status that the speaker possesses. Because of this elevated status, Ethos emerges as a secondary rhetorical device that aids Tom in delivering his message.
Wendell Phillips, a prominent white American abolitionist, gave an empowering and reverent speech regarding his admiration for former slave and Haitian general, Toussaint-Louverture. Phillips uses the power of figurative language and rhetorical devices to reveal an unmistakable abolitionist passion for African American rights, and attempts to ignite this enthusiasm into the hearts and minds of the audience through his zealous attitude. Phillips employs hyperbole, understatement, and metaphor to persuade the audience that the support of African American soldiers will be an influencing aspect in an impending American victory. The speech is rife with parallel structure and reference to historical allusions. This technique allows him to praise Toussaint-Louverture while also influencing and inspiring onlookers.
Introduction Hook: I never knew that one day, one idea could have such a big impact. That one thing could change the history, set up the rest of the country to follow suit with this specific topic, and things that need a change in general. Background: Over 50 years ago, on March 7, 1965, now known as bloody Sunday, segregation was still prevalent. At the time it was not allowed for blacks to vote at the time.
In April of 1861, the first month of the civil war, Alfred M. Green gave a speech to encourage his fellow African Americans to “prepare to enlist” and fight for the north. The north was fighting to preserve the Union and end slavery while the opposing side, the south, fought to defend slavery. Although they could not fight in the war, and did not want to, he felt that African Americans should “strive to be admitted to the ranks.” In his speech, Green uses many different methods to persuade them to join the Union forces.
Tragedies, they will happen without a hint of awareness but they cannot be stopped or answered for. When they do occur it leads people to shock and grief. However tragedies brings forth something that gives people unity, hope, and direction. This something is called a leader and throughout history many people have embodied this quality. There are many instances where people have stood up an embodied this quality.
Robert Kennedy’s speech was given during a campaign rally in 1968, he broke the news to a crowd of supporters that MLK had been killed. This speech was analyzed through a PDF copy of the text. The purpose of RFK’s speech is to inform the audience of MLK’s death, create a sense of comfort and calmness. RFK includes a quote from the poet Aeschylus
To dream is to desire an achievement which seems unobtainable. Most everyone has trouble convincing themselves that their dreams are within reach. Jim Carrey once said, “So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality.” This is a result of allowing dreams to remain dreams and, instead, opting to take a more reliable path. In doing so, a sense of emptiness that never completely dies out is often developed.
Rhetorical Analysis – J.K. Rowling “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” The author of the famous Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling held this speech during a graduation ceremony at Harvard University. The speech was to the Harvard graduates from June 5, 2008 and was held outside in the famous ‘Old Harvard Yard’ as a tradition. The purpose of the speech was to celebrate and congratulate the graduating class.
Name: Ngan Thu Bui SID#: 0860066 Class: Introduction to Argumentation (COMS-40) SPEECH ANALYSIS Every four years, American media and its people pay close attention to every speech within the U.S. presidential campaign. Last year, Hilary Clinton from Democratic and Donald Trump from Republican were two final candidates running for the U.S. presidency. The former First Lady, Michelle Obama showed her support for the Democratic presidential candidate by giving an emotional speech on Clinton’s campaign rally.