Cassandra De La Cruz
Professor Fierro
English 101
6 July 2023
First draft
What role do people play in others' hope? In 1978, Harvey Milk delivered the “Hope speech” where he urged the public to vote for gay people in office. Harvey Milk is known as the first elected politician in the United States to be openly gay. He advocated for the elderly, ethnic minorities, members of the LGBT community, and the disabled. Harvey Milk’s “The Hope Speech” uses several appeals of syntax, ethos, and figurative language to enhance his argument.
Harvey Milk uses syntax to structure his speech’s introduction. He begins the speech with a narrative. One that disproves the arguments of the same people who criticized them. He recalls how, “Anita Bryant in her speaking to God said that the drought in California was because of the gay people. On
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As well as the serious academic tone set beforehand. Away from the deeply impactful topics. He proceeds to point out to the audience in a random manner, “And you and you and you, you have to give people hope” (Milk). This humourous, unexpected gesture is a call to action. He uses these devices by repeating the same phrase three times, to emphasize how everyone with a voice and opinion has a say in the matter. No matter who or what they do, they can vote. This connects the audience to their role in his message. and reveals how important their decisions are in a matter that the critics may have believed they were unaffected by. Because it connects an issue of prejudice to why it is necessary for everyone to support each other. The humorous ending likely sparks conversation as people laugh in unison, they are more likely to be open and in a positive mood. His final gesture completes his speech and turns responsibility onto the audience. Signaling that it is now their time to take action for a positive
He later says that the journey is an incomplete one. This too is similar to what Lincoln and Kennedy did in their speeches. Lincoln had “high hope” and Kennedy spoke about progressiveness as a nation. Obama rarely used the words you and I, but utilized "we" and "we the people". This goes to show that he thinks that there is no individual person, but we are one nation and must stay united.
In ‘What the future holds for farmworkers and Hispanics” and “ A more perfect union” Cesar Chavez, an American labor leader and civil rights activist, and Barack Obama, the first African American to serve as president, build arguments that evoke change in their audience. Both of the speeches, are powerful pieces and communicate similar visions: Unity and Equality. To effectively divulge their claims, the authors use rhetorical devices, rhetorical appeals and evidence/reasoning strengthening the logic and persuasiveness of their arguments . Cesar Chavez invokes emotion in the reader’s heart.
President Reagan changes his attitude and wording into something more hopeful, saying, “It's all part of taking a chance and expanding man's horizons. The future doesn't belong to the fainthearted; it belongs to the brave” (Reagan). After grieving with his audience with certain word choices he begins to start using words of hope. He uses the words “expanding”, “horizons”, “future”, and “brave.” President Reagan purposefully uses these words in his language to turn the sadness from his speech into something his audience can look to in the future.
In his "Obama Farewell Speech," the president implored his countrymen to hold on to and protect the ideas that America is said to cherish. Of course, this was following his eight years as president of the United States. He also gave some thought to the progress he had made since taking office. He wants to leave a message in the hearts of his devoted supporters. Obama uses rhetorical devices such as pathos, ethos, and logos to create and instill hope in the American people.
Milk Harvey had an urgent tone to convey a strong message. Milk's speech states “In San Francisco elections we’re asking -- at least we hope to ask -- that the U.S. government put pressure on the closing of the South African consulate.” This shows how Harvey Milk not only acknowledged the gay community, but he considers the different countries going though a hard time and wanting to make things right. Harvey also uses a personal/ emotional tone. The text states “ I will never forget what it was like coming out and having nobody to look up toward.”
Life can really suck sometimes. It can give us the illusion that everything is going to go smoothly as planned, but then it surprises us with tragedy or rough, unexpected circumstances. It is during these times that we just don’t know what to do and feel hopeless. But hope is always there. Sometimes it’s obvious, and sometimes it seems impossible to find, but there is always hope for any situation or circumstance.
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.
In the speech he says, “We are convinced that when people are faced with a direct appeal from the poor struggling nonviolently against great odds, they will react positively.” This appeals to peoples’ morals by saying people are expected to react in a positive way when dealing with struggling
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.
Obama’s use of repetition in his speech makes his praise of John Kerry more powerful and by using the same words in different contexts, he shows that his ideas are important and relevant to all people. For example, “It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire [...] the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant [...] the hope of a millworker’s son [...] the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name [...].” In this passage, the repetition of “the hope” applied to descriptions of different situations conveys the idea that everyone needs hope, and that America is a country built on hope. Obama also uses anaphora to drill certain ideas into the audience’s minds.
Using this quote gave the readers a sense of the main idea, which was about racism. This helped to further improve the quality of Obama’s topic and support the points he was about to make. Then goes to give a brief information about Obama’s speech. He then began with his four rhetorical strategies, starting with allusion.
Throughout his speech, Barack Obama’s use of metaphor allows the audience to make powerful connections and conclusions; therefore, persuading them to support his plans. While analyzing past presidential inaugurations, Obama compares peace and prosperity to the ocean and economic crisis to gathering clouds and raging storms stating: “Forty-four Americans have now taken the
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most well-known and critically acclaimed speeches of all time. Every child, every teenager, every adult has at some point in their lives heard King’s speech. They have heard the words “I have a dream” ring through the air. The success of King’s speech is not accidental by any means. King’s speech bears many of the hallmarks of a strong persuasive speech.
Barack Obama’s win for President in 2009 was a historical moment for the United States. His inaugural speech was much anticipated, because this was going to set the tone for his presidency. His speech told the American people that improving the economy is one of his priorities, but there were also other areas he would like to improve like healthcare and the education system. This was a speech that was meant to persuade the American public to take action for them to rise as a nation again, and for them to put their trust into him. His message addressed a couple of specific points like his gratefulness to the American people, the different crises America is facing, how America will overcome these crises, replying to his cynics, addressing the world, and then he reminded America again to be brave like they’ve always been to overcome the hard times (5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama's Inaugural Speech, (n.d.).
He first sets the stage by telling those people - who questioned the dreams of the American people and the power of democracy - that tonight was their answer, thanking