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Eulogy For Kennedy Rhetorical Devices

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In his Eulogy of Senator Edward (Ted) M. Kennedy on August 29, 2009, in Basilicas, Boston, President Barack Obama honors Kennedy by resonating with the audience of Kennedy’s family and friends with touching and wholesome tales of his life. Obama manipulates rhetorical devices to connect with the audience. The vital rhetorical devices he uses are ethos - to show his attachment to Kennedy, somewhat humorous anecdotes of his memories of Kennedy, and appeal to the congregation by enumerating his titles and achievements. The foremost three paragraphs of Obama's Eulogy for Kennedy are brimming with instances of ethos. The first instance shown is in the first sentence, "Vicki, Kara, Edward, Patrick, Curran, Caroline, members of the Kennedy family." Obama bonds with the audience and demonstrates how tight he was with Kennedy and his family by calling them by their first names when speaking. This subject is delivered several times throughout the eulogy, disseminating a sense of familiarity and connection. Another demonstration of ethos was in the third paragraph when Obama …show more content…

One anecdote articulates how, "... he won the support of a Texas committee chairman on an immigration bill." In that anecdote, Obama uses a humorous and lighthearted method to clearly and precisely talk about Kennedy's somewhat unprofessional approach to making deals with others, pushing the audience to recall Kennedy in a more positive light, a standard part of any eulogy. An additional anecdote conveys Kennedy's slightly narcissistic side when, ".. his father-in-law told him that he and Daniel Webster just might be the two greatest senators of all time. Without missing a beat Teddy replied, 'What did Webster do?'." That anecdote helps alleviate the sadness of his death from the audience through satire. Both anecdotes help Obama to reminisce with the audience over familiar fond feelings and memories of

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