Bryson Esplin Mr. Johansen ENG 101 1 February 2023 Rhetorical Analysis of Julie Petersen’s “Analysis Essay: Is Macbeth A Tragic Hero?” One true problem with writing posted to the internet is the inability to prove what, if anything, is true or credible. With common phrases such as “Don’t believe everything you read” and “Fake news,” it has become more important than ever to know what articles are reliable. One example of a source that claims to be trustworthy but is questionable at best is the website AskPetersen.com. Julie Petersen, who runs the website, claims to have everything to help readers “write a perfect essay” (Petersen, “Blog”).
I Have a Dream’s Rhetoric A momentous day in history is exalted by the enthralling speech and resonating imagery of a man whom wanted to make a difference. Just over 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation was implemented, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a very riveting speech to over 250,000 Americans during the March on Washington, the nation’s largest demonstration of peaceful protest. With peace typically comes logic of which King very much emanated from his speech. With powerful rhetoric, King captivated an entire crowd and subsequently the entire nation with emphasizing while being freed from the travesty that was slavery people of color are still placed in chains by society’s gruesome yet commonplace demarcations.
Introduction Hook: I never knew that one day, one idea could have such a big impact. That one thing could change the history, set up the rest of the country to follow suit with this specific topic, and things that need a change in general. Background: Over 50 years ago, on March 7, 1965, now known as bloody Sunday, segregation was still prevalent. At the time it was not allowed for blacks to vote at the time.
At the start of her speech, Jill Bolte Taylor, critically displays pathos with the use of her brother's mental disorder. Standing in front of a crowd of fascinated people, she uses pathos to capture their compassion. At the start of her speech, she engages with the audience by saying, "I grew up to study the brain because I have a brother who has been diagnosed with a brain disorder, schizophrenia." (Taylor). This use of pathos was highly effective because she captures their attention making them feel sincere and sympathetic towards her.
The topic of homosexuality in Tom Hanks speech is one of great division among the people of our country, especially at the time he chose to bring attention to it, yet his use of rhetorical speaking, particularly Ethos and Pathos, assist to both mitigate and normalize a typically polarizing issue. The introduction to his speech features an immediate nod to emotion when he mentions love and his “lover”, or wife, saying “I could not be standing here without that undying love… And I have that in a lover that is so close to fine, we should all be able to experience such heaven right here on earth”. By introducing the concept of “love” as the preliminary subject before the actual meaning of the speech is made clear, a common connection is made between the audience, who includes both celebrities and the American public, that is necessary to establish due to the status that the speaker possesses. Because of this elevated status, Ethos emerges as a secondary rhetorical device that aids Tom in delivering his message.
The TED Talk by Joe Smith he talks about about a small way to reduce waste. The title of his speech is called, “How to use a paper towel” and was filmed in March 2012. In this TED Talk by Smith he talked about how to save paper towels. He wanted to clarify how much we really waste and what we can do to reduce paper towel consumption. He showed the audience a effective way to use the paper towel through a simple demonstration..
The TED talk video by Paul Piff discussed how socioeconomic status impacts the behavior of a person, and wealthy people are more likely to have an unethical behavior than those come from poor background. I agreed with Piff, because I think that how our mind works. Our mind recognizes of the advantage that we have and uses it for our own benefit. Wealthy people are more likely to commit crimes because they know that they can afford to pay for any penalty. Similarly with the deindividuation effects, when a person knows that they are protected behind a monitor screen, and their identity is hidden from social media and Internet forums, they will not hesitate to give a hateful speech to others.
Humans’ actions and thoughts are complex, many people spend their lives researching why people act in certain ways. In the TED Talk ‘Why we do what we do’, Tony Robbins, motivational speaker and life coach, helps people understand the reasons behind their actions in order to show how they can reach their full potential and use it to help and understand others. The rhetorical and speaking strategies used in his speech aided him in his effort to reach his audience. The ethos and pathos were very strong and bolstered his message, but his attempt at being logical did not improve the quality of his speech, and affected the extent his audience will take his message to heart.
TED is one of the non-profit organizations that does help to share different ideas of different people to the world through their persuasive talk. Sir Ken Robinson, in his Ted Talk, discusses how systems of public education disregard the creativity as it is an important factor related with the growth of students, academically. Robinson does focus on the creativity by arguing through different examples, which does make audience, and other viewers to think on this issue and take action which is being ignored by public education system. The use of pathos, ethos, and logos while his talk regarding creativity in school makes the case of education system entertaining and understand, by giving proper examples with the use of humorous tone.
To dream is to desire an achievement which seems unobtainable. Most everyone has trouble convincing themselves that their dreams are within reach. Jim Carrey once said, “So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality.” This is a result of allowing dreams to remain dreams and, instead, opting to take a more reliable path. In doing so, a sense of emptiness that never completely dies out is often developed.
Admiral William H. Mcraven addressed the 2014 graduating class at the University of Austin, Texas with more than eight thousand students in attendance. The address given by Adm. Mcraven touched the hearts of millions from all around the world by his inspirational message of how one person can change the world if they simply helped change the lives of ten others in their lifetime. I chose this speech for my rhetorical analysis because of the simple message it portrays, how helping a few can eventually help many. Adm. Mcraven’s address was especially effective for his audience, much due to how he relates to the students by reminiscing of the day he graduated from UT while providing advice for young college graduates preparing to begin their adult lives.
Great Storytelling Lu Jia Delivered on a campus in California to an audience of a few thousands, yet it ended up inspiring tens of millions from both U.S. and worldwide; worshiped by Silicon Valley as the ultimate career talk, yet it embodied many aspects of life - chance, love, loss, and ultimately death. Short but smart, targeted yet universal, poignant and timeless – thus is Steve Jobs’ 2005 commencement address at Stanford. Some attribute its success to Jobs’ personal influence and charisma – they do add significant weight to the speech, undeniably. But close inspections from the lenses of rhetorical analysis allow us to appreciate this speech from a different perspective – in particular, how the speech was crafted into a fitting response to its rhetorical situation and how Jobs managed to strike a chord with his audience through the masterful use of logos, pathos and ethos, whether planned or not.
The United States is made up of some of the most diverse and interesting cultures in the world. Jamila Lyiscott proves this by showing her different dialects and how they are all equally important. Lyiscott believes that the way she speaks towards her parents, towards her friends, and towards her colleagues are all one in the same. Throughout the entirety of her speech, Lyiscott changes up her vocal patterns and dialects so that the audience can understand first hand what each of these dialects are. When she talks about her father, Lyiscott uses her native tongue, when she talks to her fellow neighbors and close friends she switches it up to a more urbanized dialect, and when she is in school she masks the other two dialects with a professional sounding language.
The Steve Jobs commencement speech was a speech that was given by the former Apple Inc. CEO to Stanford University during the 114th commencement on 12th June 2005. The speech Steve Jobs gave Stanford University is a very effective speech, because of his use of rhetorical devices. Jobs especially use his background and childhood to play upon his rhetorical approach. In Steve Jobs, he tells several stories about love, detection, death, loss. The main part of the Speech is how Steve Jobs encourages the students to pursue their dreams, and do what makes them happy, even if it all doesn’t go after the plan.
Oprah Winfrey uses her Cecil B de Mille acceptance speech to cast light on societal issues of corruption, discrimination, objectification, and racism. Oprah’s speech reflects an age and dialogue of constant controversy and arguable division surrounding allegations of sexual assault, mistreatment, and the seemingly unthinkable idea of an underlying patriarchy within the film industry. Oprah explores and conveys these ideas through the use of various persuasive linguistic and oratorical techniques. This is seen through her use of ethos and pathos when creating an emphatic delivery and appealing to the emotions of the audience when utilising anecdotes. This is also further seen through her repetition of female pronouns when persuading the audience
