A Rhetorical Analysis Of Jim Valvano

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Although Jim Valvano earned many prestigious accolades throughout his life, all overshadowed by a speech that lasted a mere nine minutes. Mr. Valvano was an American basketball player that graduated from Rutgers University as the senior athlete of the year in 1967. Valvano coached at multiple different schools before finding his home at North Carolina State University. Here, he coached the wolves to both ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament championship wins. After leaving North Carolina State, Jim became a basketball commentator for ESPN. In June 1992, Valvano announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Mr. Valvano took a small break from broadcasting after receiving the news before returning to the broadcasting chair in October 1992. On March 4, 1993 Jimmy V. was awarded the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage at the first ever ESPY Awards. Upon receiving the award, Valvano gives a speech that he will forever be remembered for. With a round of applause and a hug from his longtime friend Dick Vitale, Valvano took his place at the podium. Beginning his speech, he looks out at the already teary-eyed crowd and takes a deep breath trying to hold back tears of his own and to keep his composure. Ethos is the first appeal used …show more content…

When speaking of the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research he says that its motto is “Don’t give up… don’t ever give up.” The use of caesura bring a great amount of power to his words. Although it is very unlikely that someone was not looking up at Mr. Valvano during his speech, it would be almost crazy to think that he would not have looked up at Valvano during this long and dramatic pause. These words are also a great example of using repetition to bring more force with his words. “We need your help. I need your help.” is a perfect example of anaphora. He deliberately puts emphasis on these words to give an emotional appeal for help to the