Rhetorical Analysis Of George W. Bush's Address To Congress

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It has been years since there was an attack in America. On September 11, 2001. On this fateful day four passenger airliners were hijacked by terrorists. Two were crashed into the twin towers in New York, another was crashed into the West side of the Pentagon in Washington D.C. These attacks lead to the deaths of over 3,000 people and became the deadliest event for fire fighters in American history. Immediately pro American support came from countries all over the world. Despite all this outside support, the American people wanted more. They wanted to hear directly from their leader; then President George W. Bush. Previously Bush had been highly criticized for his poor orating skills, but after giving this speech to a joint session of congress …show more content…

By opening the speech with these images Bush immediately puts feelings of sadness and even anger in his audience. By reopening the wounds recently inflicted by the terrorists Bush provokes the strong emotions the events caused and cleverly begins to set the stage for his eventual call to action. In his joint address to congress .Bush ends his speech by picking up the shield of a man named George Howard who died in New York while trying to save people after the twin towers collapsed. The shield served as a reminder to Americans of all the people who lost their lives as well as all the brave men and women that went into the flames to rescue those who were trapped inside the buildings. The image of the shield was used as a symbol of sadness as well as a symbol of the strength of the American people as a whole. He also used imagery to support his call to action for the war on terrorism. During his speech, Bush spoke of Afghanistan. He spoke of how terrorist cells thrived there and painted a vivid picture of the conditions there. Bush stated that “Afghanistan's people have been brutalized; many are starving and many have fled. Women are not allowed to attend school. You can be jailed for owning a television. Religion can be practiced only as their leaders dictate. A man can be jailed in Afghanistan if his beard is not long enough” (Bush). This description gives Americans a bit of insight to what the world might be like if terrorism continues to go on. With this image of

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