The Rhetorical Analysis Of George Saunders's Speech

Living in a modern world many people get well educated and are making good changes in the world. But are we forgetting something in our busy society? George Saunders talks about the importance of kindness in his commencement address. Saunders is an American writer and university professor who made the commencement address at Syracuse University in New York state in may 2013. This essay will focus on the style of Saunders’ language and on the values he advocates in his speech.

George Saunders manages to have a good connection with the audience by the use of appeals and rhetorical skills. First of all, George Saunders starts off by addressing himself as the speaker and the graduates as the receiver, he calls himself an “old fart” and state that he is experienced which indicates he is knowledgeable and gives him credibility. In other words, he uses ethos to get the audience trust. By calling himself an “old fart” also shows his self irony. Since he is an older man, he is aware of the differences that might distinguish himself from the youth. Therefore, it is significant that he uses his humor and self irony to make himself likable among the young audition. “Now, one useful thing you can do with an old person, in addition to borrowing money from them, or asking them to do one of their old-time “dances,” so you can watch while laughing, is ask: “looking back, what do you regret?”” (page 8, line 11) This quote also reveals Saunders method of catching the audience attention by