Bernie Sanders Speech Ethos Pathos Logos

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On May 26, 2015, Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy for president of the United States of America. During a time of political corruption, economic inequality, and social unrest, the American people hope to elect a president that will fix the country’s issues and improve upon the current state of the nation. Primary elections will occur within the coming months, and the general election will take place soon after, so candidates, Sanders included, have begun to campaign. By utilizing the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos; emphasizing his most important points through his word choice, voice, and body gestures; and establishing himself and American citizens as equal, Bernie Sanders explains in his speech his plans and hopes for America and strives to gain popularity and votes from …show more content…

For example, he makes use of repetition multiple times throughout, such as during his discussion of income and wealth inequality; he repeats the phrase “[t]here is something profoundly wrong,” followed by facts about unequal distribution of wealth (2). Repeating the phrase helps him convey to the audience the outrage that he feels due to the unfair inequality, which then lets the people know that he will work to rid the country of this issue. Continuing with the conversation of wealth inequality, Sanders uses descriptive words that express his disgust, saying that “[t]his grotesque level of inequality is immoral… This type of rigged economy is not what America is supposed to be about” (2). The negative connotations of the words “grotesque,” “immoral,” and “rigged” generate feelings of discontent among the people due to current unpleasant circumstances, which in turn kindle a desire for change. Word choices are essential to the impact of Sanders’s speech because people will remember them over the many months that lead up to the

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