Barack Obama is a well-known political figure, and former president of the United States. He is a good man, who delivered an eulogy at the funeral of Senator Ted Kennedy, where he praised Kennedy as a good man, and memorialized his impact over the world. Obama uses the rhetorical strategy of Anecdote, Allusion, and Metaphor to achieve his purpose of praising and memorializing Kennedy. A key rhetorical strategy used in Obama’s speech is an anecdote, which is used to praise Ted Kennedy. This use of an anecdote can be seen when Obama mentions, “Ted Kennedy was the baby of the family who became its patriarch; the restless dreamer who became its rock. He was the sunny, joyful child, who bore the brunt of his brothers’ teasing, but quickly learned …show more content…
This quotation is a keen example of an anecdote, because Obama tells the short, powerful story of how Kennedy was a powerful, good man, who lived a good, fulfilling life. This anecdote allows for the listener to feel inspired by the life that Kennedy lived, while also thankful for the story of Kennedy's life. The use of the anecdote within the eulogy assists Obama’s goal of praising and memorializing Kennedy, as this strategy gives the audience some background on the good, and happy life that Kennedy lived, and the people he changed around him. Moreover, a key rhetorical strategy used in Obama’s speech is Allusion, which is used to praise and memorialize Ted Kennedy. This use of an anecdote can be seen when Obama exclaims, “Indeed, Ted was the ‘Happy Warrior’ that the poet William Wordsworth spoke of when he wrote: As tempted more; more able to endure, As more exposed to suffering and distress; Thence, also, more alive to tenderness” (Obama). The use of allusion in Obama’s speech is seen as he references the poem by William …show more content…
The correlation between Kennedy and the warrior that Obama makes assists his goal in memorializing Kennedy as a good man, because the poem expresses this warrior, as a man who has gone through much, but is a tender spirited person. In addition, a key rhetorical strategy used in Obama’s speech is Metaphor, which is used to praise and memorialize Ted Kennedy. This use of metaphor can be seen when Obama concludes, “Ted Kennedy’s life’s work was not to champion those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard; to add a rung to the ladder of opportunity; to make the dream of our founding” (Obama). The use of a metaphor within the eulogy for Kennedy is seen where it portrays the addition of ‘rungs to the ladder of opportunity’ and the ‘dream of founding’. The use of this metaphor allows for Obama’s goal of praising and memorializing Kennedy, because the metaphor expresses that Kennedy was able to add ‘rungs to the ladder of opportunity,’ meaning that he was able to help the lower class of America by providing them more opportunities in
Bill Clinton: Rhetorical Settings, Strategies, and Paradoxical Popularity Everyone knows what he did with Monica Lewinsky. They watched him shake his finger and lie to their face on national television. They heard his promise to be forthcoming with the truth, and head about how he patiently hair-split his way through four hours of grand jury testimony. Why is he still here? The answer lies in a combination of Clinton’s rhetorical strategy and extrinsic circumstances. Bill Clinton’s rhetoric
Rhetorical Techniques in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Richard Wright uses language in his novel, Black Boy, as a source to convey his opinions and ideas. His novel both challenges and defends the claim that language can represent a person and become a peephole into their life and surroundings. Richard Wright uses several rhetorical techniques to convey his own ideas about the uses of language. First, Wright’s language and writing style in Black Boy challenge Baldwin’s ideas. For example, pages
century, conveys the ageless theme of unrequited love. The poem has all the elements of making students understand how far back the feeling of unrequited love has been around. We can understand these elements better through the rhetorical strategies. A rhetorical strategy that this poem has is dialogue. The whole poem contains dialogue between the boy and girl who plan to meet each other in the orchard to be alone. “But I gave you everything.” “Well, you shouldn’t have done it. You know what
with the pomp and circumstance of the grand commencement ceremony, but many times the graduation is as whisper soft and natural as taking a breath. In the moving autobiographical essay, "The Graduation," Maya Angelou effectively applies three rhetorical strategies - an expressive voice, illustrative comparison and contrast, and flowing sentences bursting with vivid simile and delightful imagery - to examine the personal growth of humans caught in the adversity of racial discrimination. In an expressive
mentality. This condition can be seen in various aspects of society such as commercials, television programs, even greeting cards (Farrell, 186). While some may not agree with his opinions on the state of male identity, Farrell uses a number of rhetorical strategies and literary devices such as an objective point of view, an intellectual tone, and appeals to both logos and ethos in order to effectively convey belief that men are treated as “success objects” in today’s society. In discussing the subject
song “American Pie”, by Don McLean The song “American Pie”, by Don McLean, was a major rock-and-roll hit in 1971. McLean portrays famous rock-and-roll singer and songwriter Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1961 by using many rhetorical strategies. The different possible interpretations of this song made it one of the most controversial songs from the 1970’s. Don McLean was a famous singer/songwriter who was popular in the 1970’s. His music is mostly classified into rock-and-roll
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” In King’s essay, “Letter From Birmingham Jail”, King brilliantly employs the use of several rhetorical strategies that are pivotal in successfully influencing critics of his philosophical views on civil disobedience. King’s eloquent appeal to the logical, emotional, and most notably, moral and spiritual side of his audience, serves to make “Letter From Birmingham Jail” one of the most moving and persuasive literary pieces of the 20th
theme: to Keats death equates an inability to reach his potential, to accomplish what he desires; to Shakespeare death (represented in the metaphors of autumn, twilight, and ashes) will separate him from earthly, physical love. Through various rhetorical strategies and content of sub-themes, these authors ultimately address their struggle with mortality and time; their sonnets support the idea that to fear loss and death is a waste of precious time. By telescoping the various metaphors of autumn, twilight
In the articles “Alone in the Crowd” and “As technology Gets Better, Will Society Get Worse?,” Michael Price and Tim Wu, respectively acknowledge the effects of technological advances. While both Price and Wu used effective rhetorical strategies in their articles, one presented their argument in a more effective manner. Wu effectively convinces his audience that as a society we continue to advance technologically, but for the wrong reasons. Price references an interview with Sherry Turkle, to convey
Use of the Rhetorical Strategies of Alliteration, Assonance, and Cacophony Candice Scheffing, a student a New Mexico Tech, not to long ago sent an email to the Clark112-list on the subject of gender. She had analyzed an essay by James Q. Wilson called "Gender" for his use of rhetorical strategies. Many rhetorical strategies can be seen in the email. The rhetorical strategies that can be found are alliteration, assonance, and cacophony. The major rhetorical strategy that Scheffing used was
on Religion: Rhetorical Devices In Twilight of the Idols Nietzsche discusses his views on Christianity, other philosophers, and authors of his time. Nietzsche’s main focus, however, is on Christianity and how its actions and views are means to an end. He uses eloquent diction that sometimes loses the reader (he makes up for his articulate word usage with elementary sentences which describe his views very efficiently) along with syntax which is very informal - for the time - to describe his views
ineffectiveness of an advertisement comes from the use of pathos, logos, ethos, and Kairos. The way these four rhetorical strategies are used and combined is essential in all advertising. If an advertisement is lacking in some areas or if there is a clash between any of these rhetorical strategies, the advertisement isn’t going to be as effective as one that finds the right balance for all the strategies. In this piece we will explore three advertisements, one is good
Caesar deserved his death, whereas Antony believes he did not deserve it and gives the people reasons why, causing a hostile audience. With the use of ethos and pathos, Antony’s rhetorical strategy was more effective than Brutus’. Marc Antony’s speech that shook the people of Rome was mainly how he used certain rhetorical strategies. To begin with, Antony was giving the speech because he was an old friend of Caesar’s, making him the “sender”. The “receiver” on the other hand, happens to be the crowd of
Blair had to utilize tone and rhetorical strategies that would appeal to their audience. Generally, tone can be described as the attitude of
Assignment 3: Rhetorical Analysis “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” is an article written by world famous cellist, Yo-Yo Ma. In this article, Yo-Yo Ma identifies and discusses the role of arts in the world, stressing the point that these arts are a necessary element in the education system. Ma believes that the skills learned from these arts, are in fact, “essential” to the kind of balanced thinking that is needed in today’s world. Throughout this article, Yo-Yo Ma brilliantly portrays