Rhetorical Analysis Of Lou Gehrig's Ice Bucket Challenge

Lou Gehrig, a professional baseball player who spent his whole career with the New York Yankees from 1923 through 1939, playing 17 seasons. During his career, Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS, a condition that would end his career and cause him to lose control of his muscles. In 1939, Lou Gehrig's gave a speech to his fans regarding his illness and retirement. His speech quickly gained recognition and influenced the famous “Ice Bucket Challenge” that gained popularity all around the world, allowing for over $115 million to be raised for an ALS movement. Gehrig used repetition in his address to emphasize how fortunate he was to spend a happy and fulfilled life despite his conditio

For instance, during this speech, Lou Gehrig constantly used rhetorical questions such as "Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert?" and even "To have spent six years with that great little fellow, Miller Huggins?" (Paragraph 2). These questions were intended to highlight the famous names he has encountered throughout his baseball career. “Yeah, I'm lucky," he repeats in response to these questions, expressing his

For instance, the phrases "When the New York Giants..send you a gift" and "When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength" use the word "When" repeatedly to indicate the numerous events in his youth and adulthood that he viewed as lucky. The transition from a baseball team to his loving wife showed how Lou Gehrig characterized luck more thankfully and sincerely. It also revealed how luck might be found in various situations, including colleagues, friends, and family. In response to these repeated claims, dashes like "-that's something" were used to form parallel structures that demonstrated the connection between both the statements and his personal opinions, in addition to the relative value of the two lines that address