Imagery And Alliteration In Jason Reynolds's Speech

In his incredibly moving and subtly humorous speech given to the students at Lesley University in May of 2018, Jason Reynolds clearly eloquences and intensely persuades his audience through the use of imagery and alliteration to describe the importance of lifting and empowering others. Jayson Reynolds proved that he is a very persuasive, and powerful speaker, that also uses emotion to authorize others. He shows that speaking to people is his way of moving people. At the beginning of his speech, he shows a bit of humor as well as charm. Reynolds states in his speech, ¨And in middle school, perhaps, this same speech began with a squeaky-voiced class president professing, ´We made it´ and ended with an earnest, but pubescent, charge of leadership.¨ Using the phrase ¨We made it¨ adds humor in the first few minutes of his speech to engage the

For example, Reynolds describes a past story when he was in high school about his teacher and a fish. He describes his old high school teacher as, ¨… an odd gentleman dressed in neon Oxford shirts and knitted ties and dingy Nikes. He had an actual bowl cut, which was especially funny given the fact that his hair was porcelain white. ¨ The use of imagery is impeccable throughout these two sentences giving the audience a full representation of what his teacher looked like, helping them recreate the story in their minds. Reynolds also shows alliteration by stating, ¨It flipped and it flopped and it flapped, gasping, inflating, deflating, dying in front of us.¨ The description of the fish flopping on the ground as it is breathless on the ground, shows the symbol of the story, and the purpose of the story. Get in trouble to save the fish, or not get in trouble and not save the fish. Overall, the use of rhetorical devices helps the audience understand Reynolds way of speaking, and clarifies the topic of empowerment and