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Rhetorical Analysis Of You Are Not Special

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Why “You’re Not Special” is Specially Effective Most commencement speeches are similarly cliché in the same way of trying express the excitement of graduation and how one could stand firm on the ground and reach for the top. A commencement speech is supposed to be inspiring, motivation and empowering to the graduates. A commencement speech should be about how uniquely special each one of us is, and how successful and bright are future will be. The above examples does not however comply with the commencement speech “You’re Not Special”, written and delivered by David McCullough Jr., to the graduating class of 2012. McCullough Jr.’s speech goes beyond the scope of any usual commencement speech by surrounding and supporting the fact that you are not special. McCullough Jr. emphasize on how there are no limit to how big this world is, and for that reason, you are not special despite how special you think …show more content…

was exceptional at using rational reasoning to turn irrational ideas into agreeable and believable ideas. “You're Not Special” is an unconventional commencement speech that have its only distinct idea that is different from mostly other speeches. It tackle on the idea of instead encouraging, inspiring, and motivating graduates at commencement, it forces them to face the unbelievable reality. That is why rational reasoning is used throughout the whole essay to prove why the idea of no one is special is very applicable to today’s society. When you think about the bigger picture outside of high school, your planet is not the centre of its solar system, your solar system is not the centre of its galaxy, your galaxy is not the centre of the universe, and astrophysicists assures that the universe has no center (McCullough Jr. 8). The above summary of the quotation from paragraph 8 uses rational lines of reasoning to show how if you were to be special, you would be the center of everything. But because there is no center in the universe, you cannot be

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