Rhetorical Analysis Of Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech

It is a difficult task to say goodbye to something or someone beloved, but it is even more grueling to do so with optimism and grace. On July 4th, 1939, Lou Gehrig said his final goodbyes to baseball in his infamous “Farewell Speech.” After 17 seasons in the MLB with the New York Yankees, Gehrig was forced to part from his career after being diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), now commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a neurological disease that breaks down nerve cells, reducing functionality in the muscles and impacting physical function with no known cause (“What Is Als?”). Throughout his speech, Gehrig is personable with the crowd at Yankee Stadium to express the impact of the baseball community on his life.

Gehrig opens and closes his speech with a juxtaposition of a “bad break” and being the “luckiest man” with “a lot to live for” (Gehrig). By putting these two opposites together in both the beginning and ending of the address, Gehrig shows the light in his situation as opposed to feeling devastated about his condition and proves that he has an optimistic outlook on his life. He repeats phrases like “sure [he is] lucky” when referring to his successful career and, “that’s something,” when speaking about the support he has, placing emphasis on how he is honored to be treated so well by everyone around him. By repeating these phrases, he conveys his overwhelming gratitude towards the numerous people that have played a role in his life and emphasizes how he is the one who should be thanking and honoring them instead of the reciprocal. Also using anaphora, Gehrig repeats “when [he has]” at the beginning of a set of sentences to reveal to the crowd that people like his teammates, staff, and family are the ones who got him to this point in his career. He tells the world that he has countless other reasons to live for besides baseball and proves that his career will always stick with him. Gehrig makes use of allusions to display both his credibility and connection to multiple important figures in the baseball world. He mentions

By spending his entire career with the New York Yankees, growing and playing in the same stadium for seventeen years, it makes it more impactful that he is leaving in the same place he started. By delivering the address at the home plate of his team’s stadium, he is more effectively evoking emotion into the crowd, his teammates, and residents of the stadium. The home plate has more meaning to it and more history behind it than a table at a press conference would, conveying how much Gehrig’s baseball career means to him. The setting of Yankee Stadium represents how he will never truly leave the stadium as he leaves his legacy there for decades to come. Gehrig also delivers the speech on July 4th, which tends to be an upbeat holiday celebrating freedom. Giving his parting words on Independence Day exhibits that he is accepting of his imminent death and feels free instead of confined by his disease. The holiday is full of inspiration and celebration, allowing Gehrig to hearten his fans and keep a cheerful atmosphere instead of dispiriting them. By administering his “Farewell Speech” at Yankee Stadium on July 4th, Gehrig inspires his fans and any other listeners to follow their hearts and leave a fervent footprint in the