Rhetorical Analysis Of Emma Watson's Keep Hope Alive

The planet Earth has been around for nearly 4.54 billion years, and till this day, the world still struggles in the field of achieving equality for each and every human being, no matter the gender or race. In the most recent years, two very important public figures, gave speeches in order to aid to this universal cause, and change the lives of each and every individual for the greater good. Emma Watson’s UN Women speech about Gender Inequality and Rev. Jesse Jackson’s “Keep Hope Alive,” both use multiple rhetorical devices and techniques in order to encourage unity in the act of moving forward to enforce equality. The well known actress, Emma Watson, and inspirational civil rights activist and politician, Jesse Jackson, gave powerful speeches

Jesse Jackson talks to thousands of people, all who are wishing for better lives. He encourages them to stop wishing and start doing.

Jackson appeals to the audience’s emotions to make the audience feel proud of the unity the nation has achieved so far: “I see the face of America: Red, Yellow, Brown, Black and White. We are all precious in God’s sight-- the real rainbow coalition. All of us...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lies only a few miles from us tonight. Tonight he must feel good as he looks down upon us. We sit here together...to decide the direction of our party and our country. His heart would be full tonight.” He refers to the infamous Martin Luther King Jr.’s, who also fought in the civil rights movement, popular speech, “I Have a Dream” and how he would be proud because his dream was slowly being made real. Later into the text, he points out multiple achievements along with important public figures and people who have helped the nation grow, but

Jackson accentuates the idea of “common ground.” He makes the audience think of the importance of unity, and what more they are all capable of, together. He states, “We must do better... America is not a blanket woven from one thread, one color, one cloth. When I was a child growing up...grandmamma could not afford a blanket, she didn’t complain and we did not freeze. Instead she took pieces of old cloth...With sturdy hands and a strong cord, she sewed them together into a quilt, a thing a beauty and power and culture. Now...Farmers...Workers...Women...Students...Blacks and Hispanics...Gays and Lesbians...Conservatives and progressives...Be as wise as my grandmamma...We, the