Isaiah McGuire
It Takes One The writer personifies fear, and uses references from history and religion to convince students that they individually could change the world. The writer explains that having fear is bad. The writer does this by making fear appear as a criminal. Fear robs one “of [their] individuality, [their] soul.” This connects fear with crime. This makes it seem as if it is some kind of sin to be afraid at all. By comparing fear to that of a criminal, it dissuades the reader from wanting to be afraid. The writer references the bible to convince the students that they could change the world. The writer compares the student's power to that of God, stating that they were “created in the image of god” and they have the “ power and the will to choose right from wrong.”This comparison connects to the theme of this speech, for in the bible god has the power to change the world, and with this comparison it gives the idea that man alone can change the world. This gives the students confidence knowing that they alone have the power of god to choose the right from the wrong, This enforces the idea that one person can change the world.
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The writer does this by alluding to ruthless tyrants like “ Hitler and Caesars and Mussolinis and Stalins” and saying that it takes one generation of change to rid the world of people like this. This allusion stirs up images of hate and evil, and serves as a motivator to change. This allusion is very powerful for the speech was given in 1951, which is very close to WWII. The devastating effects of war are probably still on the student's mind when the writer gives this speech. This adds more meaning and depth to the writers speech because to many in the audience, the war affected them on a personal level. To the audience a world without hitler could mean that a relative would still be