Proceeding with the jeremiad form, Obama introduces the third and final step, atonement, the plan that will guide the American people, the plan is either the people can opt to remain off the path or choose to return and keep struggling toward their professed ideal of equality for all. Obama makes his call to the American people by saying, “we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes” (Obama 2008). He essentially proposes another promise for Americans to work on becoming a better union, one which acknowledges the differences among individuals, one that recognizes everyone faces different obstacles for different …show more content…
As stated previously, the speech illuminates the various racial and socio-economic differences that exist in America, differences Obama himself has faced and several other Americans can say they have as well, but he uses these differences in attempt to lessen the divisiveness ingrained in America, to disassemble the “Us vs. Them” narrative, and create the American identity of unity. This technique is introduced at the beginning of the speech and revisited halfway through it as well, he addresses his experience of running for office as a Black man, “against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity. Despite the temptation to view my candidacy through a purely racial lens” (Obama 2008). The use of the “purely racial lens” metaphor illuminates as Obama’s first step toward his constitutive identity development, he himself understands the obstacles of being black in America, regardless of what you’ve accomplished or what you aim to accomplish, people will pay more attention to your race than anything else. He presents the claim that Americans want unity, which is why they have a yearning for what Obama is offering, a step closer to a more united America. Obama is the figure of hope and change for an audience that may identify with him, as he himself appears to signify an embodiment of the vision and ideals of the founding fathers and other historical figures to whom people may be emotionally
In his “State of the Union” speech, President Barack Obama effectively uses the rhetorical devices of Ethos, Pathos and Logos to convey a more convincing message to the citizens of the United States to urge them to follow the example of the many people that have made their nation greater.
Obama is able to gain his listeners’ ears because of his clear and effective writing. In Obama’s writing various elements of rhetorical framework create a strong and persuasive argument that Obama is able to present in grabbing his audience’s attention and consideration. Seen through his writing, Obama’s use of rhetorical appeals, devices, and context create an in-depth look into the problem of the racial divide which still exist today. In writing an effective argument, Obama employ’s through rhetoric’s personal experience, historical events, religion, and the current state of things, which he asks his audience think more about. By noting that the problems of America as a whole is a problem that every citizen shares and not a problem that exist individually for different races. Obama is able to have his audience focus on the real issues Americans face moving forward. Ultimately, as it is seen prior before the speech was published and given, Obama’s intent on the direction and how his speech would be formed, along with writing techniques that were used to craft the speech, all reveal his personal knowledge of rhetoric’s and ability to write a persuasive argument. Through his speech Obama is easily able to dismisses his critics and do what he intended to do, being that he wants his audience to focus their attention on to the more serious problems that remain unsolved for American
In 2008, democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a speech, now named “A More Perfect Union”, in response to the controversy over his pastor, Jeremiah Wright, making some very racist remarks against whites and accusing the United States of bringing on the September 11 attacks by spreading terrorism. In his speech, Obama uses many rhetorical strategies including repetition, parallelism, allusion, and metaphors in order to make his statement that, regardless of race, the American people need to work together side by side as one in this time of need to achieve the same goal— achieving a better, more perfect union of America.
He makes sure his audience connects with him directly by making them feel at his level, and at hiss. This way he connects to the audience, and in exchange, helps his statement of unity. Using various examples of parallelism, anaphora and refrain, Obama brands the theme of equality and togetherness in our country throughout the speech, vital to gaining the respect of his audience. Obama recalls the ‘enduring strength of the constitution’ by delving into the past alluding to America’s allegiance to the Declaration of Independence by quoting “we hold these truths. that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”.
Roy Peter Clark, author of “A More Perfect Union”: Why It Worked, takes a stance on President Barack Obama’s speech while analyzing it. President Barack Obama delivered a speech titled “A More Perfect Union.” His speech focused on the prominent issue of racism in America. In this article, Clark talks about President Obama’s known power and brilliance. Clark makes references and comparisons to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and W.EB. DuBois. “A More Perfect Union” features writing techniques that makes the message more defined and effective. President Obama utilizes four closely related rhetorical strategies. Clark broadly explains the purpose of the rhetorical strategies. Allusion, parallelism, two-ness, and autobiography helped to shape President Obama’s speech that that was meant to create
At the time of this speech, Barack Obama is running for the Democratic Presidential candidate as well as being called into question when his former pastor publicly accused the government of committing hateful acts against black Americans. He addresses the American public then tries to persuade them to recognize that he understands both the white Americans and the black Americans. He uses ‘we’ and ‘us’ to show that he truly views the people as one as opposed to various separate groups, “… we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction…” He wants to move past the racial segregation and move towards a truly unified country, and he uses pathos by talking about his upbringing. The use of the descriptions of his youth with a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas shows that he can relate to the common person seeing as he had to adjust to both sides of his families as well as the stigmas that both sides had. The urgency in which Obama answered the accusations of being similar to Wright,
In “A More Perfect Union”, Obama asked the audience to view themselves through the eyes of the others (Terrill 371). Instead of imposing a moral superiority of one side of the audience like Lincoln did or telling the audience to ignore the diversity, Obama asked the people to embrace their differences and acknowledge the others. In referring to the perspective of black people, he said, “A lack of economic opportunity among black men and the shame and frustration that came from not being able to provide for one's family contributed to the erosion of black families...” Meanwhile, to show how some white people might feel, he narrated, “...when they're told that their fears about crime in urban neighborhoods are somehow prejudice, resentment builds over time.” By juxtaposing two different perspectives, Obama tried to ask for agreement that people’s anxiety over racial problems is
Obama emotionally influences the nation to move forward from the issues of race that is hindering America. Without dwelling on his family tree, Obama reminds us that his father was black and his mother white, that he came from Kenya, but she came from Kansas: “I am married to a black American who carries within her the blood of slave and slave owners — an inheritance we pass on to our two precious daughters. I have brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, uncles, and cousins, of every race and every hue, scattered across three continents, and for as long as I live, I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.
An overwhelming message that Obama mentions throughout the book is the idea that America can offer hope to anyone from any background; and to make sure that every person gets equal opportunity, a couple governmental changes are needed. Many times in the text he says “a new kind of politics, one that can excavate and build upon those shared understandings that pull us together as Americans,” (Obama 9). He continuously describes Abraham Lincoln as an ideal example of this quote. Lincoln, having only two years of Congressional experience, was able to become president and lead the country through som...
When Barack Obama ran for presidency, there were a lot of questions about his race, color, and whether he was born in the U.S.. The comments from his pastor Jeremiah Wright put him in an awkward situation, so he decided to give this speech to prove the point that we are all the same and live in the same country, so there shouldn’t be any discrimination among anyone. In his speech, Obama uses rhetorical devices to explain how race discrimination is affecting our country and us in every way possible. The use of rhetorical devices in this speech has strong effects on the audience. The use of allusion, symbolism, optimistic tone, and repetition of words gives the speech a strong argumentative tone. He argues the fact that to be able to achieve such big goals and how out country was supposed to be from the beginning, we need to stay united and rely on younger
The purpose of Barack Obama's "Election Night Remarks" is to show how a better America is possible and how good changes will come if all Americans pull together and work for it. To improve his speech, Obama uses many literary devices to reinforce his purpose. To start, he uses anecdotes, which are brief, revealing stories about others told to further a writer's point, to help prove his point. For example, he tells a story about a 106 year old woman who went out and voted and describes what she has lived through. He says, "She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin" (Obama 2008).
He then appealed to pathos by bringing light to his audience with examples of racial corruption and inequality to highlight the huge need for unity and change. And finally, he capitalized on these sentiments by appealing to the ethos of advocating methods of change. With the great success of this historic and rhetorical speech, Obama assumed a new podium in November of that same exact year, but this time, to accept his election as the President of the United States.
After talking about all that America had accomplished up until that point, Obama announces to the crowd, “We have more work to do” (Obama). He states this powerful proclamation in a hopeful, yet serious tone to show the audience that their country is not all good; there is still more to progress. Upon the controversial topic of war, Obama uses a shift in tone from prideful to more harsh to convey the weight of his words. When he says that America should “never, ever go to war without enough troops to win the war, secure the peace, and earn the respect of the world,” his already serious tone turns cold and grave, which can be heard in his voice. He speaks as though he is referring to an event that has already occurred, most likely the Afghan and Iraq wars, and is promising to not let such blind recklessness occur again.
The 44th President of the United States, and first African-American to hold that title, Barack Obama in his 2009 inaugural address, emphasizes the need for American unity in a time of economic crisis. Obama’s purpose is to motivate the American people and does this through the use of anaphora to encourage Americans to fight the good fight and maintain hope. To do this, Obama adopts a confident and optimistic tone in order to assure the nation that the future is bright if we choose it to be. Through his strong use of allusion, Obama gains respect and credibility due to his knowledge of past events and cultures. Throughout the inaugural address, Obama motivates and encourages his listeners through his use of rhetorical devices, one of them being anaphora.
“A More Perfect Union” was delivered by Barack Obama on March 18, 2008. At the time her gave the speech he was senator and running in the president election. Obama responded to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, and also discussed the issue with race in America. This problem is important to us as a whole, because we went through plenty of racism in the past. He wants the prevent those incidents from according again. He did an excellent job using rhetoric tools to support his beliefs, which led to a successful election.