A wise person once said something to this effect: "Quotes are just another way of masking one's true feelings." I'd tell you the person who wrote it, but I can barely even remember it word for word. It's funny I crossed paths with this quote just days before I was informed I would be speaking at commencement. Someone or something, maybe a higher power, meant for this quote and I to meet. The irony of the whole situation is that the author's quote was turned into a quote, which is most likely the opposite of their intentions. My reasoning for bringing up this situation is simple. When first given the task of writing this speech, I was at a loss for ideas. Mr. Troll told me to begin with a quote or say something profound - a task that was a lot easier said than done. In all honesty, it was such a hard task that it kept me thinking until the night before the speech was due, which is when I actually began working on it. All of a sudden I remembered, "What about that quote that disses quotes!?" Then it hit me - take it and run. Instead of disguising my voice with fancy, long words I don't even understand, I decided to just be me. After all, me is really all I can be. I'm going to make my own quotes with the help from a few so someone can bite from my original thoughts, not vice versa. People kept telling me to find a central topic to focus on and work around. Yeah, I tried that, but of course, it didn't work. So I eventually decided to say whatever came to mind. This is how I came to recite the words, which are now flowing through the complex workings of your inner ears. Freshmen year was a blast. As soon as I walked through the doors of the hallowed halls of Kennedy, I knew all would be fine. Before entering I was told man... ... middle of paper ... ...s not trying to ruin my life or make me hate him, he was only trying to mold me into a successful student. I will forever be grateful to him for doing what he did. Some call it making one tough, others call it tough love, but I call it devotion. He was so devoted to my education that he would not let me slip up. For this, I would like to say thanks. Thanks Vick! I owe you one. In conclusion, I want to say that I hope you take something away from the words I have said. If you do, great, and even if you don't, I'm not worried because it is not the end of the world. To the graduating class of 2003, I have one final tidbit to say: "We made it, and no one can take this day away from us." The very last thing I have to say is, "Thanks Mom! One day I'll be able to invest in you all that you have invested in me. I mean that both financially and emotionally. I love you!"
“Rhetoric is the art of ruling the minds of men” (Plato). This is part of the theme in both Martin Luther King I Have a Dream speech and Bernie Sanders presidential speeches. Using Rhetoric, it does not only influence the words, but also the audience. Martin Luther King and Bernie Sanders are both great inspirational leaders that want their audience to hear their voices. Martin Luther King is a civil right activist that is for the people by wanting equal rights. He wants the blacks and whites to come together and end segregation and non-violence. Bernie Sanders is a democratic socialist that is for the people by wanting human rights. He wants all people to live a better life with no struggles. In both of their speeches, Martin Luther King
On August 28th, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at the Lincoln Memorial concerning the Civil Rights movement. His speech resonated throughout the nation as his passionate and commanding voice resounded over the fields that lay before the Lincoln Memorial. Many consider this speech the “epitome of modern Rhetoric.” In his speech, King utilizes the three disciplines of Rhetoric, ethos, pathos, and logos, with finesse and skill.
Through reading Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail, it is hard not be impressed and taken aback by his eloquence with words, especially when you factor in that he is writing this letter from inside of a jail cell. He demonstrates how educated and intelligent he is as he is able to write this lengthy letter, complete with biblical citations and references, from within the jail and without access to any resources (Maranzani, 2013). Through reading King’s letter, and admiring his employment of Aristotle’s canons of rhetoric, and other rhetorical strategies, as well as his effective use of pathos, I have discovered that there are many underlying elements that go into being an effective rhetorician, and King inspires me to improve
"I Have a Dream Speech." Martin Luther King I Have a Dream Speech - American Rhetoric.
The quotes will have an emotional, ethical or logical appeal meaning that could be heartfelt, or they could be down to the bone and real with their statement. In one quote from his inaugural address “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…” Notably this quote appeals to ethical. Reason being is that it tells from right and wrong. The moral of this quote is to tell us we will be alright and “the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side…” Moreover this quote appeals to emotional. The quote is meant to tell us about how we have no industry and no goods are being made. The words chosen “withered leaves” Pulls at heartstrings making it an emotional appeal. “Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously.” Ultimately this quote appeals to logical it states exactly the problem and that we need to fix it. It gave the fact of what's wrong and the assumption about how we can fix
As our time together draws to a close, I leave LHS with no further anecdotes of wisdom or quotes dealing with success; only the sincere hope that you immersed yourself in the essence of commencement. Everybody, we’ll all be graduates by the time we leave tonight. Let’s enjoy it. Congratulations to the Lee High School Class of 2006.
When I was in elementary school, I loved to read. I was a total nerd back then ... okay maybe I still am, but one thing has changed. Now I don't so much like reading. My favorite poet was Shel Silverstein, who wrote "Where the Sidewalk Ends." He seemed like he was a total hippie, but that's cool because I like hippies. My grandma is a recovering hippie. I like her too. Anyway, Shel Silverstein wrote about the coolest things. He wrote about magical erasers, eating whales and a boy with long hair flying away from people who were taunting him. He captured all of the things that I loved without knowing that I actually loved them. Now you may ask, how does this hippie relate to our graduation? Well, he wrote a poem entitled "Traffic Light" and this is how it goes:
Good evening. Some of you out there may not realize this but those of you who attended Suntime Middle School have been with this guy for the last seven years. I would like to ask you all, not just Suntime Middle School grads and who all else, to join me in thanking Mr. Weather for his patience and dedication to the success of our education over the years. We are the Class of 2000. The first graduating class of the new millennium. The past four years have been pretty wild. We started out as a bunch of rats in a small cage, but as time went by we learned and matured and became big rats in a new small cage, but in any case, the cage door is now opening; the handlers turning us wild things loose. As we leave "Where the Wild Things Are," home to some of the best cat fights, fist fights and food fights this side of the Cascades, I have a little surprise for all of you sitting in front of me here tonight in your caps and gowns … we ain’t seen nothing yet!
Julius Caesar, a very famous play written by William Shakespeare, is known for it’s great use of rhetoric. The general plot is a story of two senators, Brutus and Cassius who have come to a realization that Caesar is not good with his power and they fear what he will do for Rome; so they plan his death. Once they go through with the plan, they have a funeral speech held for Caesar in which Brutus speaks attempting to persuade the citizens that Caesar deserved his death, whereas Antony believes he did not deserve it and gives the people reasons why, causing a hostile audience. With the use of ethos and pathos, Antony’s rhetorical strategy was more effective than Brutus’.
Imagine living during the 1960’s when the nation was divided by segregation. The only way to express your ideas, beliefs, and thoughts during that time was through words. Famous Civil Rights activists such as, Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., inspired many with his wise words and empowering speeches. Times when many felt unheard or invisible, words were there as tranquilness and an ataraxia. Words have the power to provoke, calm, or inspire by motivating others to take action in what they believe in.
In the words attributed to Socrates in Plato’s Apology, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” David Foster Wallace expands on this idea in his “Kenyon College 2005 Commencement Address,” pointing out the importance of awareness and escaping the natural, default-setting of an unconscious, self-centred life. While commencement speeches are typically epideictic—celebratory—in nature, Wallace takes a deliberative rhetorical stance. According to Fahnestock, deliberative discourse is used in order to persuade in “the best possible course of future action” (1998, p. 333). Abizadeh argues that character and emotion are “constitutive features of deliberation,” and that deliberation cannot be “reduced to logical demonstration” (2002, p. 267). In his speech, Wallace uses a blend of Aristotle’s persuasive appeals—logos, pathos, and ethos—in order to effectively persuade his audience.
Today, as we graduate, with degree nearly in hand, I challenge each of you to make a difference in whatever you do. Remember that life didn't end when we re-entered school. Life continued throughout our program. Even when stretched to the limit, life only got more challenging. And now, graduating, life only changes pace. Our degree completion is not really an ending as much as a new beginning as we re-enter our lives of work and home. We thank all of our family, friends, instructors and co-workers who helped see us through this process. Thank you for this opportunity and good luck to you all.
It is probably a mistake that I am standing here giving a speech for graduation. In fact it is probably a mistake that I am even graduating from this school at all -- believe me, just as most people in this class I have tested the limits of attendance, of sleeplessness, and of procrastination. At the beginning of my high schooling, I was even testing dropping out ... and if that wasn't a mistake, I don't know what was. After four years of Starr altering our minds, it seemed most fitting for me to spend my four minutes talking about mistakes. Thank goodness for them, by the way -- it is only when we truly screw up big time that we are ever stopped in our tracks -- stopped, briefly, to learn lessons of worth.
I consider Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005 to be one of the most effective speeches. He uses mechanics of speech to craft a well-rounded speech that is crowned by his use of rhetorical devices. Jobs gives relevant and fundamental knowledge of his life and experiences with his rhetorical approach. In his speech to the Stanford’s graduation class, he tells different stories of love, loss, discovery and difficulty he faced in his life to encourage new graduates as they continue to mature in life. He encourages students to pursue their dreams and not be discouraged by failures they might experience in life.
Good evening parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, and friends. I would like to thank you all for coming to this very special day. I know how proud you must be. As we have grown over the years, there are many stages we all have gone through. From learning our shapes and colors, to getting our first kiss in middle school, or how about explaining to our parents why we skipped school because the principal called home. As we remember these days, things that we've done will be with us forever. But this is only the start of our journey. The day has come where we say goodbye to the big yellow buses, assemblies, assigned seating, and attendance policies. Are you really gonna miss it? For some of us maybe not right away. But eventually we will so for us to be here it is not necessarily an achievement, but a privilege. All of us have been in school over half our lives. To graduate is one more step we've taken in our lives.