Rhetorical Analysis: Interfaith Prayer Vigil Address

Devin Plemons

English 1010

Dr. K. Rivers

16 October 2014

Gun Control: To Save A Life Writers use rhetoric to communicate their specific point of view or argument in a speech or text. A reader analyzes the writer’s use of rhetoric to evaluate the effectiveness of the given argument or point of view. In his “Interfaith Prayer Vigil Address,” President Barack Obama argues the need for more restricted gun control by using emotional appeals to compassion and paternalism, collective diction, and structure, which reflect the influence of a school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. In his speech given on December 16, 2012, President Barack Obama addresses the massacre that happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. During the

The structure of a speech is how it is organized. In President Barack Obama’s address to the nation, the structure of his speech is organized into three parts: a sincere opening, the main point, and then a sincere closing. In the opening of his speech, President Obama offers condolences and is sincere to the situation at hand. As he progresses in his speech, he reaches his main point of the need for a more restricted gun control policy. In the body of his speech, he loses some sincerity and focuses on the present situation and how to resolve the issue. Then, he closes his speech the way he began it, by being sincere and reaching out to the ones who were suffering. This particular way of organizing his speech was effective in supporting his argument. By opening his speech in a sincere way, he caught the attention of anyone listening because of his kind words. After he had their attention, he addressed the need to come together as a nation and end the awful violence. Then he ended by offering comfort to families. This specific structure buries the more controversial topic of gun control which causes people to feel more sympathetic making them more willing to listen to his message even if they support the right to bear

President Barack Obama was successful in reaching his intended audience by his use of rhetorical elements. Following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, President Obama addressed the need to reduce gun violence with the help of the nation and later began proposals to do just that. “Keeping with President Obama’s commitment to engage the American people in the process, the Vice President solicited input from citizens and organizations… [and] spoke with many groups about their ideas on curbing gun violence in the United States” (Now). After speaking to many people and a number of propositions, Obama set forth a plan on January 16, 2013, just a month after his address in Newtown, Connecticut, to protect children and communities from gun violence. “No single law – or even set of laws – can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society, but that can’t be an excuse for inaction. If there’s even one step we can take to save another child or another parent or another town then surely we have an obligation to try”