Rhetorical Analysis Of Jesse Jackson Speech

Equality in America has never been something that’s been just handed to many groups of people. Through an inspirational tone, repeated themes, anaphora and a chiasmus, Jackson inspirationally discusses all the problems in the United States that only we as citizens can fix, problems such as inequality, poverty, and government spending, and how we can fix these problems. Jesse Jackson was a civil rights leader and two-time democratic presidential candidate. Through his life he always had a strong adherence for equality. Jackson was born on October 8, 1941 in Greensville, South Carolina. His mother was only 16 when she gave birth to him, and likewise with her mother, according to history.com. Because of this and many other hardships Jackson

According to Pbs. org, there was eighteen standing ovations for Jackson that night. His impact on the audience that night was greater than ever. Throughout his speech Jackson touched topics such as; racial inequality, poor and the rich, Reganomics, the war on drugs, and government spending and involvement. With everything he discussed in his speech he had to have touched everyone in the audience in someway that night. Jackson states in his speech; “Because neither lions nor lambs can survive nuclear war.” When comparing people to being either a lion or a lamb throughout their lifetime. Jackson says that in order for us not to get to a point where nuclear war occurs we must find common ground. He says; “A small village that became the birthplace for three religions- Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.” Three completely different religions all coming together in one spot. Jackson uses this as an example of people finding common ground. Jackson’s purpose for this speech was to motivate citizens of The United States to work for a better country, a more safe place for

One of these themes is “we can win”. Jackson repeatedly proclaims to his audience that they must hope, dream, and not give up until we have accomplished equality for all as a country. The repeatedness of this theme is effective to his overall purpose because it motivates the audience and gives them the sensation that the power is in their hands and that if we all come together we can achieve these goals. Another repeated theme in Jackson’s speech is common ground. As explained in the 2nd paragraph, he views common ground as a way for all these people from different backgrounds to come together to better our country. Once again the repeatedness of this theme motivates the audience and really drills the idea into their head. These themes and multiple rhetorical strategies is what makes Jackson’s speech so