An Analysis of “If You See Something, Do Something”
“If You See Something, Do Something” is a speech given by Gwen Ifill to a gathering of seniors at Wake Forest University. This is a very moving and inspirational speech. Ifill uses the three Aristotelian appeals, ethos, logos, and pathos, in order to put forth a convincing perspective, that perspective being a very purposeful, deliberate and brisk approach to life.
One of the first things that Gwen Ifill sets out to accomplish is to convince the audience, whom the majority do not know who she is, that she is someone worth listening too, which is the essence of the ethos appeal. She uses a bit of humor in order to disguise the appeal, possibly to make the speech seem more warm and genuine rather than deceiving. By making the joke of people confusing her with Queen Latifah and then implying that she has been a guest on Saturday Night Live, a popular television program, she very subtly introduces a bit of credibility to her being. She further establishes her credibility by references her previous experiences with giving speeches at various campuses across the country. She then references the audience, stating that she recognizes that most of them probably do not care about what she has to say, and that they would much rather be somewhere else. This
…show more content…
“When I was growing up, one of my favorite books was Winnie the Pooh……They were disorderly, but as a trio, they made sense.” (Ifill). She uses a Winnie the Pooh reference with appeals to logic, but it can also be seen as an emotional appeal where she brings the children back to their child hood, and applies the dysfunctional yet perfect trio of a childhood cartoon and draws comparisons between that and the confusion that the audience may feel about graduating college and fully immersing themselves into the
There are many diverse tones in the book about what people were feeling at the time. One tone in Bud not Buddy is terrified. In the book, a six years old boy named Jerry in the home was told by the case worker that he was sent to a foster home with three others girls. The text states, “’Jerry you’ll be in a family with three little girls’… Jerry looked like he’d found out they were going to dip him in a pot of boiling milk.”
She then immediately follows up with a way to fix it and demand respect. Shes trying to connect with the audience and shows that she has been in the same place, that she can relate. You can see that she has done her research, she uses plenty of statistics to give you a visual of what she is talking about as well as quoting people from organizations and giving them the appropriate credit. She mentions in 2005 at yale, her alma mater, 15 students sat in the admissions office until they were removed by police. These individuals were demanding changes to the financial aid policy.
Now I wished that I could pen a letter to my school to be read at the opening assembly that would tell them how wrong we had all been. You should see Zachary Taylor, I’d say.” Lily is realizing now that beauty comes in all colors. She is also again being exposed to the fact that her way of being raised was wrong, that years and years of history was false. “The whole time we worked, I marveled at how mixed up people got when it came to love.
...ltimately makes the young girl feel that she will break underneath all the pressure she is placed upon by her peers. Inevitably it seems that Judith Ortiz Cofer used similes in order to connect both the act of maturing to a much more somber factor which have reinforced the tenor of the poem.
people's lives. What Winnie didn't know was that her wish of being left alone was going to come true sooner than she thought. The firs...
This helps her deliver the message because her tone is very confident and it makes her presentation really effective because she sounds like someone who really wants something to be done with the gender inequality in Africa. She is really passionate and the audience is able to feel it when they hear how confident she is. Another code and convention that she uses is when she pauses. This helps her deliver her message when ever she pauses, it lets audience take in what she is saying. There are many parts before she pauses where she says something funny, and it helps her because it keeps the audience engaged in what is to come.
She gives the listeners personal advice she has learned and uses pathos in a more emotional way. Her allusion to the world trade center is a perfect example of this. She reminds us how we can easily overcome obstacles when we work together with other people. Later in the address Amy Poehler shares a few things she learned from when she studied improvisation in Chicago. She says, “Say ‘yes.’ Live in the moment. Make sure you play with people who have your back. Make big choices early and often. Don’t start a scene where two people are talking and jumping out of a plane. Start the scene having already jumped. If you are scared, look into your partner’s eyes. You’ll feel better”,. The way she relates the strategies she learned there back to life touches your heart. She closes her speech with a heartfelt message, “When you feel scared, hold someone’s hand and look into their eyes. And when you feel brave, do the same thing. You are all here because you are smart. And you are brave....As you head out into the world, I wish you love and light, joy, and much
inspired. What makes ethos so prevalent in Ellen’s’ speech is that she is now a
The book can be used as a metaphor for education as a whole. For example, Kate can represent modern institutions and companies. Due to education inflation and credentialism, all they look at is your educational experience and what knowledge you have. This can be applied to Kate as she originally believed your educational background will represent your success in life. In comparison to this, you have Kate’s family, who can relate to students in society. Kate’s family understands that there is more to life than education and knowledge. The same applies to students, who argue there is more to people than their education and years in
For instance the description that the brain was, “pop-pop-popping “portrays the sensation that the brain is plastic; hence, it can be expanded through knowledge and perseverance. Also, the author cleverly uses the phrase, “I never knew a poet person” to emphasize lack of knowledge leads to false perceptions of reality. Jack uses the absolute word “Never” to describe his feeling. If one never thinks about the endless possibilities of success, then they will become their own culprit. The articulate, yet simple language of the author adds rich content to the story making it more relatable to all age groups. The novel instills the value of hope in readers. It encourages readers not to fear the unknown. Indeed with a growth mindset, one can beat the odds and live a meaningful
When Miss Hancock came to teach at the high school, she was filled with eccentricity and liveliness. This enthusiasm quickly turned into disappointment as the students swiftly discounted Miss Hancock. The student's first impression of Miss Hancock was that she was a joke, and they didn't take her very seriously. This rapidly dampened Miss Hancock's spirit "By then, stripped of 15 years of overblown confidence, she offered her material shyly, hesitantly, certain of rejection, of humiliation," (Pg.
At this point of the story it is reflective of a teenager. A teenager is at a time in life where boundaries and knowledge is merely a challenging thing to test and in some instances hurdled. Where even though you may realize the responsibilities and resources you have, there is still a longing for the more sunny feelings of youth.
Rachel was Melinda's friend all of middle school but she turned out to be a complete jerk to Melinda. Heather was a fake friend who only stuck by her side until she was accepted in a ¨cool¨ group. David Petrakis is a nerd who is almost in every one of Melinda's classes. They grow close mostly because they both have no friends, but he is a true friend. Towards the end of the group Melinda starts to come out to Rachel about why she called the police, but Rachel just got even more upset. Melinda thankfully realizes how bad of a friend Rachel is on page 198 ¨I don't want to be cool. I want to grab her by the neck and shake her and scream at her to stop treating me like dirt. She didn't even bother to find out the truth – what kind of friend is that? ¨ Melinda gets close to her art teacher. Art is the one class that Melinda enjoys because she gets to be with her new friend Ivy. Ivy and David are the only people Melinda has, but that is enough for her. On the first day of school Melinda recalls being the only person sitting alone on page 134.¨ I see a few friends people I used to think were my friends—but they look away. ¨ Positively Melinda has found the two only true friends in her school and starts to become a more optimistic
The speaker first grab her viewer’s attention by giving them questions and having self participation. Also, Amy uses humor to keep the audience focus on what is is talking about. She achieved this by her use of funny pictures and videos to break the ice for the viewers and to warm her crowd up. Cuddy also utilized technology in her speech. Her use of technology enhance her discussion by providing visuals to guide the audience in her topic. Together with the technology, Amy used an emotional personal story to keep the attention of the audience. This emotional story used the pathos side of a persuasive speech to use the audience emotion to keep them focus on the subject.
...ole, the female students became close when they became true to themselves and the cliques begin to blend. For example, Gretchen, one of the Plastics became close friends with the Asian students. Social acceptance should not be the most important thing in anyone’s life. Always wanting this acceptance will cause people to change into someone they are not.