Rhetorical Analysis Of Emma Watson's Speech

Traditions have been around for years, some being passed down from generation to generation while others are fairly new. Traditions explain why people act certain ways or why certain events happen. From academics, to cultures, to life, people follow their traditions because that is what they have always learned to do, reluctant to change the ways they have always lived. Many are scared of change, especially in traditions that have been around for so long, but changing traditional ways is inevitable because life is always changing. In “Project Classroom Makeover,” the author Cathy Davidson strongly supports changing the traditional education system because it is not keeping up with how modern students learn, with all these advances in technology

In an eulogy to former President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, former prime minister of Great Britain, addresses a speech in honor of Reagan. Throughout the eulogy, Thatcher informs Americans all of the amazing work Reagan did during his presidency and how he is a great person. Using examples of the work Reagan did, Thatcher states acknowledges those ideas in order to keep his legacy alive. Thatcher opens and closes her eulogy by directly addresses it to the American citizens in a warm and proud tone.

In “The Destructive Male” by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, rhetoric is employed to persuade the reader or listeners to acknowledge and grant women equal rights. Stanton also creates a tone of zealous outrage and accusation with her use of literary devices such as alliteration and personification. Shortly after the United States Civil War, Elizabeth Cady Stanton delivered her speech at the Women’s Suffrage Convention in 1868 (Bjornlund). Stanton had to appeal to the crowd of men and women, conservatives and liberals, and even government officials by showing how women benefit the world and deserve to have the same opportunities as men to make a difference and have the freedom to vote.

The speech given by Clare Boothe Luce to the Women’s National Press Club was controversial and even condemning of her audience. However, Luce pulls it off by gently preparing the audience for the criticism: she employs the fact that they invited her there to speak, a strong consideration for their feelings, praises of their profession, and a clear plea for open mindedness. She does things to create a peaceful and relaxed tone despite her words.

Former prime minister of Great Britain, Margaret Thatcher honors Ronald Reagan by writing a eulogy for his funeral. Thatcher’s purpose for writing this eulogy was to honor and remember Ronald Reagan for his accomplishments and change he brought as a president. Thatcher adopts an admirable tone by provoking the reader’s emotions and her word choices used throughout her eulogy.

How does this all relate to modern day issues? While the aforementioned essay within her book was not necessarily written all too long ago, feminism has changed and adapted to fit in with younger generations. As of right now feminism is currently quite the hot topic throughout the media in both western regions as well as more conservative regions. Oppression continues to remain hidden within “chivalrous” behaviors and ideals as presented by male dominated institutions that attempt to make decisions on behalf of women. Take for example, the war on Planned Parenthood and female healthcare. Currently, the women’s healthcare organization, Planned Parenthood has been within the eye of the media and the talk of the politicians for its practices, mainly concerning abortions procedures performed within these facilities.

Sidoonie smith and Julia Watson rhetorical situation, is that “people tell stories of their lives through the cultural scripts available to them”. Another situation is the fact people have a discursive practice of how they control the stories they tell about themselves. Claims made are the fact that people don’t really know that much about themselves when writing an autobiography. For this reason Sidoonie smith and Julia Watson explain to the audience how individuals use the concept of agency to tell stories about themselves and ways to do it. Sidoonie smith and Julia Watson use varies contexts of autobiography that is better interpreted and understood. The target audience for this argument is toward writers who write about themselves. Overall

Emma Marris uses many types of persuasive elements in her essay “Emma Marris: In Defense of Everglade Pythons”. In her writing she persuades her readers that the pythons should be allowed to be in the everglades since it is not their fault that they are there in the first place. She uses metaphors to relate to the reader and word choice to enhance her writing.

In her recent online article, “Oh, Come On, Men Aren’t Finished,” Cristina Sommers explains that no matter how many times women say that they don’t need men, we actually do, to not only survive but also to thrive. Although in some fields of study women primarily dominate such as in psychology, biology, and veterinary medicine; men still call the shots in many more fields of study, such as computer science, math, and technology. The point the author is trying to get across is that despite the fact that, “we’re living in a society that’s enamored with the “WAW” or “Women are Wonderful” phenomenon,” that men are not going to be obliterated because neither gender would let that happen.

Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered her speech “Women’s Rights are Human Rights” September 5, 1995 while speaking at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China with the intent to educate and spread awareness in regards to the rights and treatment of women around the world, while encouraging women to take initiative and highlight the potential women have if presented with the opportunity of equality.

Margaret Thatcher, the British Prime Minister at the time, gave a eulogy to the grieving American people in honor of the late Ronald Reagan on June 11th, 2004. In her speech, Thatcher used rhetorical techniques to show the strength and principles of Reagan and project those values onto the American people. To project the ideas of strength and firm ideals, Thatcher used repetition, elevated syntax and the tone of optimism and sincerity to convey her message.

Gender equality has been a worldwide issue for many years now. Different figures, such as Emma Watson, have been educating society on this ever-so-present issue. Emma Watson has been using her platform to help teach and make known this topic to people, specifically by putting her time and into her feminism campaign, ‘HeForShe’, and giving speeches on the topic. Emma Watson uses the techniques of ethos and pathos to convey her purpose.

From the following classic definition of a “feminist” by believing the idea of equality, there is an added responsibility of delivering the idea, convincing people, and helping people realize the occurrence of feminism. Being a feminist by any means is not an easy task. As the idea of feminism is rapidly developing across the globe, it refers to various questions, misconceptions, and sometimes extreme detestation directed towards the feminists. Society still doesn’t understand the essence of feminism, and the true meaning of it. Some believe that a feminist fight for women's equality, while others believe that women should be able to fulfill their highest potential. Meanwhile, there is the misconception

The distinct separation of power between men and women is repeatedly seen in Things Fall Apart, a fictional book by Chinua Achebe. Through this separation, it is seen that in a male-dominated society, men dislike matriarchal power in women and cause an imbalance in power; but women are just as needed as men in families and societies. Notably, it is clear, that the men in Umuofia view daughters as inferior; women are viewed as properties and they aren’t as well-praised as much as the first-born males. Additionally, women are viewed as mild and weak. In many cases, Okonkwo even uses the words “woman” or “womanly” to insult a man for being weak or of a lesser social rank. Yet Achebe include many strong, respected, and powerful female characters

Rebecca West once said, “I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat”; feminism and other social issues are fundamental to literature, with them commonly being a driving force behind both modern and classic works of fiction. Feminism is everywhere, with women still fighting for gender equality in modern day Britain as demonstrated through Emma Watson’s United Nations speech which was broadcasted in September of 2014 where she differentiates feminism from ‘man-hating’.