Rhetorical Analysis Of The Not-So-Simple Path To The American Dream

The Not-So-Simple Path to The American Dream The American dream is fantasized by millions of Americans daily. The American dream has been built since America declared its independence. The American dream consists of the perfect luxurious house with white picket fences, a beautiful spouse with beautiful children and a successful career with no worries about money. This is the life that all Americans dream of. Many of the Americans who chase this notorious dream come up unsuccessful. Americans spend their entire lives chasing this lavish lifestyle that the American people have portrayed. In Key’s speech, he describes the trickery of the American dream and the sad facts that motivational speakers forgot to mention. While delivering his speech,

Key uses his ethos to establish his credibility to speak on the subject. Key uses logos to persuade the audience using logical statements. Key uses pathos to drive his point through emotions. Key relates his speech to pathos by using humor to loosen up the crowd. At the beginning of his speech, he begins with many jokes and funny scenarios to loosen up the crowd. This positions the crowd in a good mood for the hard truth Key displays to them. For example, when talking about his small high school Key states that his high school was the “state champions of teenage pregnancy”(Key 1). This brings the audience joy as well as helps him stay humble after staging all his major accomplishments. Throughout the speech, Key explains something serious in his speech; he follows it with a joke. This brings joy to the crowd. Additionally, this humor breaks up the serious tone of the speech. In his speech, Key explains that only working on what you love to do often causes your family to leave you. This is a shock to the audience. To change the tone of the speech back to motivational, he states that it may also “ turn you into a vampire” (Key

From his personal experiences, he created the “The Great American Dream Value Menu” which consists of facts and rules about the American dream other motivational speakers forget to mention about the American dream. Key 3 -. These facts help establish a backbone for Key’s speech; additionally, it keeps Key’s speech realistic. Audiences are more likely to listen to speeches with facts. By providing this speech with facts, the audience is more attracted. Throughout Key’s speech, he uses logos to help keep his speech more believable. While facts are good, they need to be backed up with credibility. To do this Key establishes an ethos to create credibility. Key establishes his ethos in his speech by using anecdotes. These short stories help him create credibility for the audience. At the beginning of the speech, Key stated some of his highest personal achievements including the fact that he has written two “highly regarded books about my life and won a major literary award”(Key 1). After hearing about these outstanding achievements, there is no question that Key has had success in his