Look for something positive in each day, even if some days you have to look a little harder. Lou Gehrig, an exceptional baseball player for the New York Yankees from 1923-1939, conveys his positivity and accepting the manner in his farewell speech given at the Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939, announcing his retirement. Two weeks prior his farewell speech, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS disease that eventually destroyed and demolished his muscular structure and his career. Lou Gehrig stood in the field as friends, family, fans and colleagues listened intently to the compelling farewell speech. To further conclude, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech, “The Luckiest Man,” revealed not only Lou Gehrig’s accepting and positive manner but also his exceptional use of rhetorical devices. …show more content…
To begin with, Lou Gehrig used three phenomenal rhetorical devices within his farewell speech known as “The Luckiest Man.” First, Lou Gehrig used a great amount of parallelism within his speech. For example, Gehrig states the following sentences, “When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift- that’s something” (Gehrig). Then he follows directly with, “When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies- that’s something” (Gehrig). Not only does the two sentences begin and end equally, the dashes held within the sentences itself serves as a parallel structure. By Gehrig doing this in both sentences it produces a parallel sentence structure known as parallelism. Next, Lou Gehrig uses a rhetorical device known as the persona. For instance Gehrig states, “ Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of this earth” (Gehrig). This is an exceptional example of persona because it reveals how positive and accepting Lou Gehrig was during his time of grief. He could have been a sorrowful or neglective to his fans during this time, but Lou Gehrig was quite the opposite. He was rejoicing
Gehrig’s speech to the 60,000 fans sitting before him was short but convincing. He wanted to convince his fans that in his eyes this wasn’t a defeat. He proclaimed that he considered himself, “the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” Language was used to manipulate his fans into seeing the good and not the bad in this tragic situation. Instead of speaking of his illness, Gehrig reminded his fans of all the amazing people he has been able to meet and play for, his loving family, and his record setting career. He starts of the middle two paragraphs of his speech by stating, “Sure, I’m lucky,” and continues on with remarks about the great men of baseball he has had the opportunity to work with. He continues on at the end of the speech with sarcasm, implying to the audience th...
Mothers always want the best for their daughters, it’s a given feeling for a mother. Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom is written in her perspective as the mother. In The Joy Luck Club, Amy tan writes the novel through her eyes as the daughter of the relationship. Both passages portray the harsh emotions between the mother and her daughter. These emotions are caused by the mother pressuring her daughter to achieve expectations. The two excerpts have similar stressful tones but Amy Tan’s novel is much more intense and displays a uglier relationship.
The reason for this speech is truly heart breaking, Lou Gehrig was being forced to retire from baseball due to illness. In 1938, Gehrig’s batting average fell below .300 for the first time since 1925. After this it was clear that something was not right with Lou. He began to act sluggish on and off the field and during one game when he struggled to get to first to catch a simple throw from the pitcher, he knew that it was time for him to go. On May 2nd, 1939, he removed himself from the starting lineup, breaking his streak of 2,130 games played. Soon after, the doctors at the Mayo Clinic diagnosed Lou Gehrig with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and was told that he would never be able to play baseball again; According to the official Lou Gehrig
The first fact that he mentioned was that he played baseball for seventeen years. Next, Gehrig mentions that he “never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.” Gehrig was able to concede that yes, he was diagnosed with ALS, and yes he received a bad break, but on the bright side, he refuted by mentioning that he still has an awful a lot to live for. Gehrig also begins to use emotional diction to augment his words to make it more powerful; he first mentions, “Which of you wouldn’t consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them [the grand men] for even one day?” This questions allows your personal feelings and thoughts to think about the question, and then you start to agree. Next, he continues the speech by mentioning famous people, “Who wouldn’t consider it an honor to have Known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball’s greatest empire, Ed Barrow.” Each question presented, influenced the reader’s thought to agree, to rationalize that yes, it is amazing that you were able to meet people that are reputable, in high areas. Gehrig was able to express his pathos
Jackie Robinson’s ability to successfully integrate his sport set the stage for many others to advocate for an end to segregation in their respective environments. His period of trials and triumphs were significant to changing American perception of the Civil Rights revolution. By becoming the first African-American baseball player to play in the major leagues, he brought down an old misconception that black athletes were inferior to white athletes. Successively, his example would inspire those advocating for their civil rights, he lived out a message of nonviolence similar to the one Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. lived out. Despite the constant prejudice he faced in his sport, he was able to keep himself composed and never retaliate.
What I liked was all of the in depth thoughts from real life situations of a Major League Baseball player, that was easily my favorite part of reading this book. I liked that because it kept me interested, just because of how much I liked Mo and the Yankees. "But the more I practice with the Gulf Coast Yankees, the more I know I can compete with them. When we run and field, I am right there with everybody. And when I am on the mound I discover that, as skinny as I am, and as underwhelming as my 86- or 87-mile-per-hour fastball is, I can do one thing better than just about anybody else: Put the ball exactly where I want." (Pg 62) What I didn't like was reading about the injuries of Mo. I didn't like that because I hate that such a great player's historic career was not as historic as it could've been. "I let the words sink in for a moment: Torn ACL. Torn MCL. Surgery. Out for the year. They are hard to take in. Three hours earlier, I am romping around the outfield, doing what I love most, maybe in the last season I'll ever play, savoring every moment. Now I am looking at major reconstructive knee
Thesis Point #1: Lou Gehrig is one of the most iconic MLB players to ever live. Career Milestones. He broke many World Records throughout his career. He played 2,130 consecutive games. This was later broken by Cal Ripken Jr. (A) He hit 4 home runs in one game on June 3, 1932. (A) He set a major league record with 23 grand slam home runs. (A) Career Records He hit 493 career home runs. (A) “He led his team to 6 World Series titles and 7 American League pennants”. (A) He ended his career with 1,990 RBIs. (A) Obtained Career Titles and Accolades. Lou won the AL Triple
“IT’S OUTTA HERE! ANOTHER ONE IN!” These might have been some of the exclamations yelled through the radio while Lou Gehrig was playing his favorite game, baseball. During the 1920s, Gehrig displayed his love for baseball through his phenomenal batting average and experience on first base. This passion for the game landed him a spot on the Yankees roster, fulfilling his childhood dream of playing in the MLB (Lincoln). Throughout his time with the Yankees, he amazed baseball fans over the world and set an unbelievable record by playing 2,130 consecutive games. His 14-year career was cut short when he was quickly diagnosed with a disease called ALS, commonly called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” in today’s world (Hood).
In 1861 African Americans were not permitted to join the Union Army, however, Alfred M. Green’s speech encourages them to enlist when they are able to do so. Green is aware of the hesitation by the African Americans. So he anticipates their counterarguments, by making some concessions agreeing with their feeling of being mistreated. He then begins his call to action urging his listeners to enlist when they can. Once he makes his main argument Green appeals to their emotions to evoke a sense of patriotism in African Americans.
“Life is not a spectator sport. If you’re going to spend your whole life in the grandstand just watching what goes on, in my opinion you’re wasting your life" (“Jackie Robinson.” Quotes). Jackie Robinson a man challenged with racial prejudices throughout his entire life, certainly lived his life by this motto. On April 15, 1947, he played first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers, erasing the color barrier that had stood in major league baseball for nearly 60 years (Ott). The last time an African-American had played major league baseball was Moses Fleetwood Walker in 1889, who played for the Toledo Blue Stockings ("Jackie Robinson," Wikipedia). Jackie’s career, however, wasn’t a glorious return of African Americans in the major leagues, it was characterized
On April 18th, 1967, Jackie Robinson, the first African American professional baseball player, wrote a letter to President Lyndon B. Johnson thanking him for his role in the Civil Rights Act. Within the letter, Robinson uses logos and pathos to reassure the president he is doing a great job, and to persuade him not to give up despite the wartime demonstrations.
The life of Roberto Clemente was one of greatness, not only because of his skills on the baseball field, but because of his contributions to the world as well. He started life from the bottom of the totem pole, but strived to improve not only his life, but the life of others. He wanted nothing more than to be equal, and too be seen as that, but not only did he have to fight through poverty, but through racism as well. Roberto may have been one of, maybe even the best player from the ‘60s, and what he did in his free time made him seem even better in the public eye.
Like Jackie Robinson did, he lived on with his life and kept on doing what he was doing. He didn’t care about the negativity and what people said about him. Because later in life from 5 years old to what he is now
America, and the world love sport; there are hundreds of types, but the one thing that links them all together is the emotion. For players and fans alike, the emotional involvement with the game is what draws them to it; and for Americans, there is one sport in particular that ignites their passion – baseball. Baseball has been called “America’s pastime” for a reason; the suspense, drama, and pride wrapped up in this game have captivated generations. The poem, “Casey at the Bat” effectively captures the emotion tied into the sport of baseball. “Casey at the Bat” is a poem about the last inning of a Mudville baseball game. The team is down two points, and the first two of their batters had already been sent back to the dugout. However, luck seemed to be on their side, the next two batters reached base, and the best hitter on the team was up to bat; Casey. The confident-cocky Casey let the first two balls go by; both were strikes. Then the last pitch came, the crowed held their breath as Casey took a swing; and to quote the poem, “but there is no joy in Mudville -- mighty Casey has struck out.” There are two distinct psychological personalities present in this poem; these emotional beings are the audience and Casey. The actions and words of both shed light on each others personality and mental state during that final, historical inning.
George Boggess served in World War II, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., and served at the DC Superior Court. He died at the ripe age of 104. His advice for living a long life? "I attribute my longevity to a great extent to walking, not being in the back of the car strapped down.”