Rhetorical Analysis Of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Infamy

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Actions have consequences, especially the unethical actions. The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii territory, on the morning of December 7,1941. Therefore, President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s (Roosevelt) Infamy speech addressed the nation while enlightening the citizens of America and firing up the military for redemption. In particular, Roosevelt's use of rhetorical devices in his speech empowered the overall perception towards the audience. Roosevelt instigated the Congress of United States to join World War II through the advancement of reasoning, credibility, and emotions.

First and foremost, Roosevelt assembles evidence in an effort to convince the Congress of the United States to retaliate. In Roosevelt's Infamy speech, he describes the damage what Japan has done by mentioning “caused severe damage to American naval and military forces,” generating statistics to open the eyes of Japan (Paragraph 5). Appealing to logos, reasoning was instilled when Roosevelt discussed the destruction caused by …show more content…

Roosevelt lists actions taken by Japan through “last night Japanese forces attacked Guam…last night,” manipulating an anaphora to display he is aware of Japan’s behavior (Paragraph 8-11). Roosevelt’s image enhanced as he exhibited his insight on the Pearl Harbor attack; exploiting statistics alleviated his character to a point where his footsteps would be followed by the Congress of the United States. Furthermore, Roosevelt continues to build his reputation. He states his authority and what he is capable of, developing symbolism between “Commander in Chief” and the verdict whether to join or not to join World War II (Paragraph 13). His appearance is upgraded in the viewpoint of the Congress of the United