Rhetorical Analysis Essay Graduating from college is the time to begin a new chapter and change your life for the better. Commencement speeches are supposed to inspire and make graduating college students want to make that change. George Saunders gave a commencement speech at Syracuse University graduation in 2013. He carries out his speech in the traditional way but added a new twist on what is really important in life and in everyone’s career. George Saunders posits the notion that, in life, it is necessary to be kind to others and diminish selfish needs in order to elucidate that while it is okay to strive for success, the final product of a life well-lived is always a collaborative effort of you and those you encountered along the way. …show more content…
Saunders accomplishes this warmth in his speech by making the graduates feel as if they were casually conversing with “some old fart.” The informal tone that Saunders utilizes while speaking to his audience establishes a comfortably relatable position of ethos. This rhetorical move takes away from his prestige so as to not belittle the graduates’ achievements. His use of humor in the introduction, for example, when he says, “Now, one useful thing you can do with and old person, in addition to borrowing money from them…” is also aimed at gauging the audience’s attention (Saunders 1). Saunders is well aware that younger people respond to humor. He also conveys his eagerness to share his advice with the graduates through his tone, which is a very important rhetorical move in drawing the audience’s attention. For example, when speaking about how it can be difficult to achieve kindness, he states that “kindness, it turns out, is hard – it starts out all rainbows and puppy dogs, and expands to include…well, everything” (5). In other instances throughout the speech his use of the word “like”, and phrases such as “old farts”, “old folks”, and “we get our butts kicked”, lends to the feeling of casual conversation between Saunders and his audience. This use of seemingly unpremeditated diction allows the audience to relax a little upon realizing that the speaker addressing them is not trying to patronize them. Rather, he may be heard as a peer offering up helpful
Is college still important and relevant? The question is answered and confirmed when Liz Addison, author of “Two Years Are Better than Four”, wrote a counter argument in order to disprove the opposing views of Rick Perlstein, the author of, “What’s the Matter with College”. The topic that is being brought to light is the subject of whether or not college still matters. Perlstein that college is no longer what it used to be. It was after reading Perlstein’s article that Addison masterfully wrote her counter argument which successfully contradicted the opinionated, inaccurate views of Rick Perlstein.
Infuriating Insult In “The Speech The Graduates Didn’t Hear,” Dr. Neusner attempted to sway his audience (the American student) into the unpleasant realization that life after college isn’t as simple as they had anticipated. Acknowledging that a majority of his audience won’t see him again, he utilized a strict, rational appeal rather than a typical inspirational speech. Despite verbally insulting his audience, his intention was to motivate and trigger a response that would yield a more industrious group of graduates. Dr. Neusner established his persona as an authoritative college professor that does not care whether his audience condemns him.
The Rhetorical Elements of Barack Obama’s Speech President Obama uses rhetorical appeals throughout his speech. These rhetorical appeals help prove that each an every student should try their best in school. President Obama stated in his 2009 “Address to America’s Schoolchildren” that each student must take responsibility for his or her own education. President Obama uses many examples of ethos, logos, and pathos in his speech. In Obama’s 2009 “Address to America’s Schoolchildren” he has examples of ethos.
Nour Harb Speech to Critique The speech “You’re Not Special” was given by David McCullough Jr., a teacher at Wellesley High School, at their 2012 commencement ceremony. The audience he spoke to was not only the graduating class, but the parents of those students, and teacher or administrators of that school. He gave a commemorative speech. David McCullough Jr. gave a speech to not only commend the graduates for all they’ve done but to urge them to know that they are not even close to finishing their journey.
In the article, “College Pressures,” William Zinsser discusses the many struggles college students face while trying to focus on their studying. He convinces the reader of his point by using different types of rhetorical strategies. Zinsser’s usage of the rhetorical strategies such as getting straight to the point, quoting, paragraphing, the use of word pictures, and choosing a title was effectively done in his article to persuade his reader of the struggles faced by college students. The author did not waste anytime getting to the main point in his article, which is effective because it makes me interested in what he had to say.
David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” at Kenyon College is often thought of as one of the most influential speeches because it calls the graduates to observe the world around them through a different lens. However, he does not accomplish that by calling the graduates to action, but instead challenges them to use their education. He also appeals to the students’ emotions through his use of ethos, logos, and pathos. Although people mostly only remember the antidotes, it is the message associated with reoccurring emotions and literary devices throughout the speech that moves the reader into action. Wallace is able to captivate his audience and persuade them to view the world without themselves at the center through his tactful use of rhetoric.
To emphasize Reynolds' use of emotion, he starts his speech with humor. Humor is a great way to attract an audience's attention, somehow it gives the listener something to relate to. For example, he starts the speech by mocking the “we did it” speeches everyone hears at graduation whether it's elementary school, middle school, high school, or college. He also brings comedy by commenting on how long it took to get the cap on his head and ridiculing his past teachers' appearance and ideas. The little attention to detail can gain a chuckle from the audience, and bring the speaker closer to the viewers.
The tone of his speech is kind of a joking method but to the point. What I mean by this is that he will introduce a portion of his speech and instead of giving only information, he gives/shows examples
According to Lemony Snicket, “[You should] never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them” and writer Stephen King presumably would agree. In On Writing, pages one forty-seven through one fifty, King uses diction, critical and ardent tones and figurative language, to highlight the significance of reading and how it benefits a writer. King utilizes diction to persuade aspiring writers to read regularly. He writes, “I take a book with me everywhere I go, and find there are all sorts of opportunities to dip in.” (147) “Waiting rooms were made for books—of course!
Analysis of the Rhetorical Strategy used by Mike Rose in “Blue Collar Brilliance” Scrolling through social media, one would see a lot of posts from accounts called RelatableGifs2016, or SchoolMemes101. From the names of the accounts one can make an educated guess about they might post. Relatable pictures. When something is familiar it becomes more understandable, and people tend to empathize more with something if they can have a connection with it.
Within the speech delivered at the convocation of Douglass College at 1977 by Adrienne Rich, one is able to identify how Rich appeals to her audience emotionally through pathos, when she states, “Responsibility to yourself…means insisting that those to whom you give your friendship and love are able to respect your mind” (Rich). Here, Rich conveys how the student must demand appreciation from others in order to develop academically. The quote engages the reader emotionally as Rich enables one to contemplate whether one truly appreciates his or herself as well as if one considers others dependable, when respecting his or her mind. Therefore, the reader is able to comprehend that if he or she truly appreciates their loved one, he or she would
Steve Jobs 2005 Commencement Address at Stanford University, Steve Jobs talks about his experience when he had been diagnosed with cancer. The doctor had told him that he need to prepare to pass away soon. That same day, he went back to get a biopsy the doctor found that his cancer was curable. This experience made him realize every day is not promised.
The Unusual Message Reading the commencement speech “This is Water”, written and delivered by David Foster Wallace to students and their families at Kenyon College was nothing like what I was expecting it to be. I can imagine the listeners that were present were just as shocked as I was when they finally grasped the message he was presenting to them that day. Normally when someone delivers a commencement speech to students graduating, it's more along the lines of “be all that you can be” or “You can do it” with emphasis on the word “you.” No one really tells you to think of others first at that point in your lives. However, Wallace did just that.
Be begins by giving jokes about his personal life which allows the audience to be in touch with him. He laughs at himself when he mentions that while growing up, having a degree equated to getting a job, which he did not want (12:23). In between the speech, he gives stories that allow the student to relate with him and also make him approachable. He has indeed swayed from the traditional lecturing in higher learning. It is evident that the audience is having fun from the laughter in the auditorium.
Co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs, in his commencement speech at stanford university, illustrates three distinguishable points of his life. Jobs’ is very successful in his approach to inspire the graduates by speaking on the experience and insight he has gained. Jobs has a simplistic yet elegant tone and diction to convey his hardships to communicate how much life has to give and teach us in an inspirational way. Jobs begins his speech by dethroning himself as the well-known self made billionaire to create a connection to the graduates. He starts by putting the audience on a higher plateau with “I am honored to be with you”(1) and “ this is the closest I have been to a college graduation”(2) and when speaking of himself and his speech, he states it is “No big deal”.