Imagery In Noah Sweat's The Whiskey Speech

Noah Sweat Jr’s “The Whiskey Speech”, utilizes formality and contrasting imagery in order state his stance on the legalization of whiskey. The young lawmaker presents his speech in front of the Mississippi state legislature. His speech does not take a stand on the issue, however. Though, he does make it appear as such by using words with strong connotations. Sweat is familiar with his audience. With this knowledge in mind, He appeals to his audience emotionally to produce an effective speech with minimal factual information.
In the opening of his speech, Sweat establishes his credibility to allow his audience to relate to him. His audience is composed of politicians, legislators, and other people of political standing. Sweat is a lawyer and

The use of words with strong emotional connotations makes it appear as if he supports both sides of the issue. We see this when he describes whiskey negatively in the second paragraph but then sheds a positive light on whiskey in the third paragraph. The use of these words appeal to the audience’s emotions. Especially when he describes whiskey as “the bloody monster that defiles innocence… and creates misery and poverty” and as the “philosophic drink… that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips”. These descriptions appeal to everyone regardless of if they are for or against the legalization of whiskey. He begins both paragraph with “if when you say”. This takes the focus of him and places it on the audience. By beginning with that phrase, the audience can relate to the descriptions of the drink. This aids in the overall effectiveness in his

An example of this is when he says “all right, here is how I feel about whiskey”. The audience would expect him to elaborate on his stance but he goes on to present two different stands in a second person point of view. This is an example of doublespeak, a technique used by politicians to gain approval from both opposing sides. By being ambiguous the audience is allowed to interpret his speech in a means that applies to them. He uses the phrase “if when you mean” frequently when discussing the two opposing stances. Allowing him to appeal to both sides without making his own statement for or against whiskey. This is also backed by his use of the word “you”. He rarely refers to himself to distance himself from both sides. He ends the speech with “This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise”. The end statement ties into his image of an honorable lawmaker. Making it seem as if he made an effective argument when in actuality he danced around the subject at