In his touching, relatable, and impactful speech given to the Lesley graduating class of 2018, well-known author Jason Reynolds clearly persuades and emotionally connects to his audience through the use of emotional appeals and real-world connections to state the importance that success offers opportunities to help others in return. Jason Reynolds opens his graduation speech by cracking a few jokes about himself, telling his audience that he struggled putting on his graduation cap because of his afro. Reynolds also repeated the phrase “we made it” multiple times throughout his speech. The phrase “we made it” is a main point because it is said whenever at any graduation or event you look forward to. Jason says it in his speech because he is …show more content…
He makes it a point to get emotionally engaged with what he is saying. An example of when he does this is when he tells a story from when he was in high school and his teacher, Mr. Williams, got his class of fish, who they later named Confucius. As he goes on, he describes how two girls got suspended for trying to save the fish after they were specifically told not to touch it no matter what. He appeals to the emotions of the audience and the story by making them feel sorry for the two girls, but to also understand the lesson being taught, even good actions may have consequences. Reynolds said, “Spread your wings, those broad wings you've been developing-- the ones you've been fortunate enough to be reminded of over and over again”. In this quote from his speech, he conveys how the most effective thing a person of Greater Advantage can do for someone less fortunate is to offer assistance and help to those in need. Furthermore, by saying this, Reynolds is prompting the audience to "stick" (or “tether”) rather than “fly” so high that everyone else appears smaller. He is trying to get this idea in their heads and does that by digging into their emotions with his