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Rhetorical Analysis Of Lou Gehrig's Speech

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Imagine how devastating it would be to be unable to play the sport you love because of an illness. For professional baseball player Lou Gehrig, that is exactly what happened. Gehrig played baseball for the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1939 (“Biography”). At the end of his baseball career he was diagnosed with a disease called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as ALS. ALS is a neurological disease that attacks the body’s neurons that control voluntary muscle movement (“Amyotrophic”). In this heartfelt speech, Lou Gehrig expresses his gratitude for all of the positive things that have occured in his life, despite his recent diagnosis of ALS, in order to convey that he is still lucky even though he is now unable to play baseball. Of course the speaker of this speech is Lou Gehrig, who begins by addressing his fans because he wants to start by thanking them all for the good they have put into his life. He states his argument right away by saying that he …show more content…

He sticks to his goal of trying to prove that he is the luckiest man alive during the whole speech by giving several examples and explanations from his life. While communicating this point, he is also showing to the audience that there are many things to live for even when some negative things are happening. Overall, the most persuasive appeal used is pathos because it really makes the audience open up and believe what he is saying. Lou Gehrig’s farewell to baseball speech was about much more than just baseball. It showed people all throughout America that even when someone is going through something devastating, there are still a lot of things to remember to be thankful for. The man’s compelling words paired with ethics, examples, and feelings make this speech a positive reminder about how to express gratitude in the darkest time of

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