Tone In President Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor Address

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President Roosevelt’s primary tone in his Pearl Harbor Address is a straightforward one, although it does shift to a more solemn tone as the speech progresses. Roosevelt establishes this direct tone almost immediately and carries this overarching tone for a large portion of his speech. In the opening sentence, “the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan,” Roosevelt quickly and clearly addresses the main topic of the speech, the attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, and also implies that there is a common enemy, the Empire of Japan. Roosevelt’s sentence structure here is clipped and short, omitting unnecessary filler words and presents a simple fact without beating around the bush. This clearly expresses Roosevelt’s direct, …show more content…

Roosevelt’s short opening sentence is also relatively vague, as he avoids mentioning specific details about the attack. This ambiguity leaves a lot of room for imagination, and many will automatically assume the worst case scenario, which strengthens the chaos that Roosevelt implies with his diction. Roosevelt continues to use this direct tone throughout the speech when he says, “It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago.” This portion is structured similarly to a data analysis, as he presents a fact and forms a conclusion by analyzing the data. The exception is, Roosevelt neglects to mention his analysis. He agains clips his sentences by leaving out specific information, and there is no time given to question him. By reducing the time frame in which questions could be raised, Roosevelt is able to maintain his direct

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