Rhetorical Analysis Of Jk Berling Commencement Speech

Alliana Wicik
Mrs. Glass
AP Language & Composition: Period 8
16 March 2023
Rhetorical Analysis ~ J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement Speech We all strive for success, overlooking the downfalls and celebrating the accomplishments. The failures of life are brushed aside or avoided due to the constant fear of being unsuccessful. J.K. Rowling addressed the meaningful values of failures in her speech at Harvard University in 2008. To not ignore or neglect them but to embrace them. Another significant theme she addressed was the importance of imagination. After analyzing her speech, it is clear that she had implemented narration, exemplified an inspirational tone, utilized humor, and referenced various allusions to emphasize her main themes while

Rowling integrates twists within her speech through narration. Most of the address reflects her life stories. Her reflections present the graduating students with how she learned those themes. The themes that include the benefits of failures and the importance of imagination may seem simple, however, once put into context cannot be as easily applied. The irony is as follows: these students are graduating from Harvard, an elite school. She points out these graduating students by saying, “... the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure” (Rowling). The fear of failure is a constant sediment as these students desire nothing more than success. J.K. Rowling reaches out to her audience to not only accept their failures but embrace them. Encouraging students to fail otherwise you have failed to fail in the end. A constant fear of failure would not help in progressing in the future. By reconsidering the failure to be positive then anyone can build further into a more prosperous future. For even better, failure aids in understanding self-value and discovering valuable friendships. She includes her experience of failure by recognizing “...rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life” (Rowling). She twists a stereotypical saying of rock bottom to be considered as a foundation rather than a lower point. Consideration of a different way of looking at downfalls certainly underscores new life lessons.

Rowling’s speech has been placed strategically. Doing so enhances her appeal to ethos and logos which brings groundwork to support her arguments. These arguments can simply be explained without examples but with true experiences and relevant knowledge. Based on her past experiences she had stumbled upon more lectures than just benefiting from failures and imagination. She says, “... written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality” (Rowling). Her application of this quote demonstrates what a person does in their lies will affect those around them. The impact of what a person does in life is greatly reflective based on their mindsets and passions. The more an individual discovers themself, the more they can improve the world around them. Another quote that was strategically placed was in J.K. Rowling’s final remarks. As follows, “And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Senec, another of those old Romans… As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters” (Rowling). These graduating students are ready for the world behind the doors of Harvard. Each is eager to prove themselves to be successful now that they are finally graduating. Rowling reminds them to take a step back from everything they have done and understand that the rest of their lives are put in their hands. That is their responsibility to make the best