Mr. Johnson AP Language 27 April 2023 Becoming Your Past: A Rhetorical Analysis of Barack Obama’s Speech on Rosa Parks In his speech on Rosa Parks delivered on February 27, 2013, Barack Obama emphasized the importance of honoring the past in order to shape the present and the future. Obama spoke to a diverse audience, including members of Congress, civil rights leaders, and students, at the unveiling of a statue in honor of Parks in the Capitol building. Through the use of rhetorical strategies such as allusion, repetition, and metaphor, Obama effectively communicated the significance of Parks' legacy and how it can inspire us to continue the fight for justice and equality. Obama began his speech with an allusion to Parks' famous act of defiance on a Montgomery, Alabama bus in 1955.
During a funeral for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a Charleston shooting victim, President Obama delivered an influential eulogy. This eulogy turned out to be so powerful that it traveled throughout the internet and became known as one of Obama’s best speeches from the duration of his presidency. The speech resonated so well with many citizens because of its relatable content and connections to passionate issues in today’s society. The delivery of the eulogy played a gigantic part in its effectiveness to Americans as well. President Obama’s eulogy contained beyond relatable content and various connections to the issues racking society’s bones today.
In-Class Essay Practice Rosa Parks once said, “I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free.. So other people would be also free”. Rosa Parks was the Civil Rights Activist , who refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation. The author of this speech, Oprah Winfrey, shows how thankful she is, and how Rosa Parks change the world through her eulogy. To remember her life to change our world, Oprah Winfrey delivers eulogy for Rosa Parks.
On April 3, 1968 King delivered his final speech “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” in Memphis Tennessee to a massive crowd at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple Church of God. His speech was to bring awareness to the unsafe working condition and wages that the African American sanitation workers received. Prior to Reverend King’s speech on Feb. 12, 1968 roughly one thousand black Memphis sanitation workers went on strike and refused to work until their demands were met. Unfortunately, their request was denied and King, as well as Reverend James T. Lawson, traveled to Memphis to lead a nonviolent march but some of the participants started to become violent breaking windows of building and looting. This was a setback for the peaceful boycott due to rowdy few one person was shot and killed.
Winfrey then utilizes figurative language to emphasize how indebted she feels towards Parks. To demonstrate how grateful she is that Rosa Parks did not move out of her seat she writes, “I know that. I know that. I know that. I know that, and I honor that” (Winfrey Par. 2).
Martin Luther King Jr., a minister and social activist, led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. He was an advocate for equality between all races and a civil and economic rights Activist. Because of his leadership, bravery and sacrifice to make the world a better place, Martin Luther King was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. His incredible public speaking skills and ability to properly get his message across can clearly be scene throughout the speech. Tone: Dr. King delivered his speech at the university of Oslo in Oslo Norway in front of a large group of people.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy delivered his “Civil Rights Address” on June 11, 1963 to talk about how everyone is born equal and just because you are born with darker skin you shouldn’t be considered less of a person and have less rights. It was filmed in the oval office and broadcast on national radio and television. This speech is about equal rights for african americans. It was made because two black children had to be escorted to school by state troopers after numerous threats. John F. Kennedy used diction as well as logos and ethos to make listeners believe that his argument is right and they should take his side.
was able to give hope about the future to his audience by using logos, ethos and pathos. Because of his background in civil rights, he uses ethos to capture his crowds attention. Also, he shows us how logically flawed America was for it did not follow the principles it was based on. In conclusion, he uses suffering to emotionally inspire Americans to take a stand and do something for their future and families. His speech was so persuading and rhetorically satisfactory that it motivated the government take action on civil rights in America.
During the era of the civil rights movements in the 60s, among the segregation, racism, and injustice against the blacks, Martin Luther King Jr. stood at the Lincoln Memorial to deliver one of the greatest public speeches for freedom in that decade. In Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech he effectively uses ethos, diction and powerful metaphors to express the brutality endured by African American people. Yet his most important method of reaching his audience, and conveying his enduring message of equality and freedom for the whole nation was his appeal to pathos. With these devices, King was able to move thousands of hearts and inspire the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Opening his speech Martin Luther King Jr. sets up his credibility with his use of ethos, referring to the Declaration of Independence saying, “This note was a promise that all men… would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life.”
The 44th and first African American President, Barack Obama, in his Inaugural Address, promotes a call to action. Obama’s purpose is to express his gratitude for his opportunity to become president and discuss his plans for economic advancement. In order to reach the American people of the U.S., Obama adopts a serious and thought-provoking tone to urge them to support his plans for advancement. During this time of economic crisis, Obama clearly conveys to the American people through his use of metaphor, allusion, and anaphora, that it is time to take a stand and make a change in America.
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
The world has developed in many areas such as in gender, sexual, and racial rights. Shirley Chisholm stands as one of these individuals in history that has paved a path to equality. Her Presidential bid, delivered on January 25, 1972, is one moment cemented in history. This paper will analyze that speech by examining her pathos, logos, and ethos. Pathos is Greek for an appeal of emotion.
Obama said that Rosa Parks, “walk[ed] miles … not thinking about the blisters on [her] feet,” invoking that just as God was able to walk barefoot through thick and thin and never complain or give up, Parks did the same. Obama mentioned this biblical reference in his speech about Rosa Parks to convey how much she endured facing discrimination and showing the reason why she decided to not sit in the back of the bus. Rosa demonstrated bravery and strength. She was selfless; she didn’t just do it for herself but for the whole community. By comparing Rosa to God or the Bible, Obama wanted the audience to see the sacrifice Parks made in order to change the way people viewed the African American population.
Martin Luther King Jr. was an important figure in gaining civil rights throughout the 1960’s and he’s very deserving of that title as seen in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” letter. In both of these writings Dr. King uses logos - logical persuasion - and pathos - emotional appeal - to change the opinions of people who were for segregation and against civil rights. Although King was arrested for a nonviolent protest, he still found a way to justify his actions with the use of logos and pathos. MLK uses both ways to gain the attention and agreement of the audience but, he uses pathos not just more, but in a more relatable way in order to appeal to his audience.
On August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a famous speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and freedom, this speech was called “I have a dream.” This speech was focused on ending racism and equal rights for African Americans during the civil rights movement. He displays a great amount of pathos, logos, and ethos in his speech. Martin Luther King Jr. displays pathos by targeting the audience’s emotion by talking about his American dream that could also be other peoples too. He shows logos by giving a sense of hope to the people that better things will come in time.
