Cluster Criticism: The LGBT Community

Consuelo Esters

COM 3253

Dr. Richard

Cluster Criticism Essay

September 18, 2016

Cluster Criticism Essay

On June 12, 2016, president Barack Obama lowered the flags at the white house to honor the lives lost in Orlando, Florida. One shooter murdered forty-nine lives and wounded fifty-three others that day. This was the largest massacre caused by a single individual in the United States and one of the largest acts of violence against LGBT community in America. Obama addressed the nation right after this tragedy and used rhetorical skills along with effect key terms that merit exploration. During his speech, he uses these elements to console and inform the nation effectively. How might the rhetor use key terms effectively to address the audience?

The first key term that appears throughout the speech is the shooter. This key term was called several other names like the murder but is still is identified as the shooter. An act of terrorism is the key term used to label the aftermath of the shooting that is used throughout the speech. Americans, is the last key term identified used to address the audience in the speech. Even though they are the audience he must address them as a key term to individualize them and be able to talk to them. Also, this key term is said in various ways such as friends, victims, we, our, and LGBT but can always be referred back to as an American. How does the rhetor use these key terms: the shooter, an act of terrorism and Americans, to address the audience

Firstly, he wanted to distinguish why the nation is being addressed after this specific shooting. He did this through identifying the shooter and what he had done, and using it repeatedly throughout the speech. The shooter was used by the rhetor to give the audience a figure to put the responsibility on for this massacre. This is used to give the audience a form of closure that they know who was person to the cause to this event. After addressing the shooter, the next key term, an act of terrorism on the nation follows. This key term was used to articulate what exactly had been done in Orlando. The audience knows that this was a shooting, but classifying it as an act of terrorism tells the audience the scale of how atrocious this event was. The shooter and an act of terrorism are cause and effect clusters that go together well to explain to the audience what happened. Then, the audience is the last key term. The rhetor makes the audience itself a key term to easily identify and relate with the audience using pathos and logos that was discussed earlier. Using the audience as a key term is an resourceful way to grab their attention. He uses this to not only talk to the Americans, but also to sympathize, relate, and grieve with them. This may allow the reader to recognize the use of key terms in speeches to effectively reach an audience.

Citations

Foss, S. K. (1989). Rhetorical criticism: Exploration &