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A Rhetorical Analysis Of Obama's Speech

877 Words4 Pages

Lauren Beitz
Mrs. Asher
AP English Language and Composition
24 March 2023
Rhetorical Analysis of Obama’s Selma Speech On March 7th, 1965, hundreds of people took part in a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama with the goal of protesting African Americans’ constitutional right to vote. In 2015, on the 50th anniversary of the Selma march, President Barak Obama gave an optimistic speech remembering and honoring those that made advancements. In his speech, Obama utilizes details, parallelism, repetition of phrases, historical examples, and a pronoun shift. Doing so inspires his audience to continue the movement of changes and reflect on the advancements caused by people. Obama commences his speech with details about the day of the Selma march …show more content…

He states, “The American instinct that led these young men and women to pick up the torch and cross this bridge is the same instinct that moved patriots to choose revolution over tyranny. It’s the same instinct that drew immigrants from across oceans and the Rio Grande; the same instinct that led women to reach for the ballot and workers to organize against an unjust status quo; the same instinct that led us to plant a flag at Iwo Jima and on the surface of the Moon.” The use of “the same instinct” before each example causes the audience to pay more attention to what is being said and make connections about what the “American instinct” is. The use of examples of the “American instinct” shows the audience that this instinct is not a one-time occurrence and is a genuine thing. It proves that America is strong and is willing to make changes, over and over again. Obama also uses repetition and alludes to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech. He states, “We know the march is not yet over, the race is not yet won, and that reaching that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character – requires admitting as much.” By repeating “we know … not yet” goes to showcase that even though these movements and changes, we still have a long way to go. By

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