George Bush 9/11 Speech Rhetorical Devices

Chaos. Grief. Anger. As a nation we all remember a horrific time in our history that occurred over thirteen years ago. Though I was only five years old at the time, I remember the events of September 11, 2001 as if they happened yesterday. I remember my mom picking me up from daycare early because it was right near an international airport. I remember my dad telling me he didn’t know when he was going to be home because his building was put under high security. I remember my grandmother desperately trying to contact my aunt, a flight attendant for US Airways. I remember her crying of relief on the phone when we finally contacted her and found that she was safe. And lastly, I remember the president of the United States, telling me, a terrified

Bush uses in his famous speech is metonymy, the substitution of some attributive or suggestive word for what is actually meant. The way Bush uses metonymy adds an appeal of imagery and relation to the topic of American perseverance: "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve," (par. 3). In this remark, the "steel" of American resolve is not used to describe literal steel but more of America's strength as a country. Throughout his "9/11 Address to the Nation" speech, George W. Bush uses rhetorical devices such as ellipsis and metonymy to reinforce the impact and emotion of his words, showing how our great nation has been shocked by acts of terror, but will come together as one to

Considering the state that the country was in after the attacks, the presentation of this speech may have seemed an almost necessary thing to do for the president. However, the use of rhetoric goes above and beyond the basic presidential speech, it enables a connection with the American people on a personal level. Overall, we will never forget the events of that day, but we will especially remember how we pulled together as a nation, and how President Bush’s speech aided that feeling of