Rhetorical Analysis Of Rosa Parks

Through the use of tone, first hand evidence, and allusion, Barack Obama achieves that we all have responsibilities as Americans to act on what we see and that we should live our lives in a way that exemplifies Rosa Parks’ life and values. The speaker of this speech is former President Barack Obama who is the first black president of the United States. Obama has a special connection to who he is commemorating which is Rosa Parks since he can relate to the discrimination and challenges people of color face everyday and realize that without her bravery and activism he wouldn’t be delivering this speech as a president. Through this speech Obama is using Rosa Parks’ life as an example to exemplify how one person standing up against injustice can

Obama uses an allusion when referencing back to what a childhood friend said to him about Rosa Parks. He uses the allusion to introduce the story of Rosa Parks and the event that started the bus boycott. Obama uses juxtaposition when he states “ and with that victory, the entire edifice of segregation, like the ancient walls of Jericho, began to slowly come tumbling down.” (Obama 41) Obama is insisting that the end of discrimination on buses in Montgomery is similar to the walls of Jericho collapsing. Both of these events took an unexpected turn in the right way and took patience and perseverance. Obama calls the audience to action at the end of the speech when he declares “ but we can do no greater honor to her memory than to carry forward the power of her principle and a courage born conviction.” (Obama 89) In other words, Obama asserts that we can honor Rosa Parks through having courage and standing up for what is right especially when it is difficult. Obama uses first hand evidence when retelling a story he heard from a childhood friend to help establish credibility and show his personal connection with Rosa Parks as a black man who has experienced