Rhetorical Analysis Of George W. Bush's Speech

President, George W. Bush in his speech, “Address to the Nation on the Terrorists Attacks,” defines the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as a major tragedy. Bush’s main purpose is to convey the idea that, although a tragedy, should not be viewed as a such. The challenges the American population now faces are vast; yet, neither the challenges nor the attackers will keep the brightest flame in the world at bay. Bush adopts a more personal approach hitting more at home by appealing to the population as a whole, all of whom are going through similar sadness and distress. Bush begins his speech by stating, “today… our way of freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist attacks.” The significance of his opening statement addresses the feeling in the hearts of many across the country at the time – a fear deeply embedded yet a fear that will evanesce. The statement gives a sense of authority to the world as President Bush understood that eyes would be watching him carefully, waiting for a response to be made. The response comes in the following statement, “these acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our

President Bush goes into great detail while recounting specifics about the occurrence, making the sentences long and elaborate. He goes into great detail of the attack, stating “the victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers…” With statements such as this one he adds a more personal feel to the victims who were ordinary people – death in a sense knows no boundaries and quantity. Other statements, such as the short and to the point type sentences, help to add a deeper meaning to Bush’s overall tone. The short sentences tune into the listener’s ears exactly Bush’s purpose, keeping the speech rather simple and straight to the