ipl-logo

Rhetorical Analysis Of The Sandy Hook Shooting

1111 Words5 Pages

The Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown Connecticut resulted in the death of twenty school children and six adults. Following the shooting, President Obama delivered a speech that moved citizens all over the country. President Obama became notorious for his subtle diction and natural body language that conveys sincerity and truthfulness along with the direct implication of his true thoughts. In this speech he effectively identifies himself not as a Democrat or Republican, but as a parent who wanted nothing more than to protect the children of our country. To do this, he uses vivid diction, open body language, controlled facial expressions, and a somber tone to deliver a speech that made the American people waiver. He identified with the parents …show more content…

He even uses an anecdote to illustrate the children during the shooting to show himself being moved by the scenario. Hurting right alongside Americans, not as a president, but as a parent wanting to protect his children saying, grief stricken, “we have wept with you. We’ve pulled our children tight (Lee)¨. The purpose of the speech is a call to action to enact gun laws, but President Obama recognized that this scenario could have been prevented with guns in the hands of protectors instead of threats. So to counteract this, he identified himself with the parents who want to ferociously protect their children even if that means using guns, then with a remarkable explanation that with the path we are going on, nothing will change and we will forever be in fear of the children of this country being shot down in a safe place. Saying, “And in that way we come to realize that we bear responsibility for every child, because we’re counting on everybody else to help look after ours, that we’re all parents, that they are all our children......We’re not doing enough. And we will have to change (Lee)”. With showing that he too, only wants to protect the children he was able to identify with these parents and deliver a solution to this constant state of fear. This is important because it gave people a chance to see him as a …show more content…

Fortunately, Obama uses his inflection to show he is aware of what he is saying rather than just reading from paper. This effectively ensures that the audience sympathizes with him and recognizes his struggle to deliver a speech over such a painful subject. President Obama even directly says, “We can’t tolerate this anymore...In the coming weeks, I’ll use whatever power this office holds to engage my fellow citizens(Lee)¨. The purpose is to show that he is in pain alongside the victims and does not want this problem to be such a constant and preventable one, however it is, so we must enact gun laws to protect our people. This is important because it opened the people to suggestion and is still relevant today because we still refer back to the Sandy Hook Shooting and this speech when calling gun laws to

Show More
Related
1092 Words | 5 Pages

Austin King Ms. Den Otter A.P. English Language and Composition President Obama Speech Analysis     On the morning of September 11th, terrorists hijacked 4 planes, 2 of which were crashed into the World Trade Center Buildings, another hit the Pentagon, and one was crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. This tragic morning in American history caused the death of almost 3000 people, and the leader of Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, was behind it. After planning a mission for around 4 years to execute Osama bin Laden, on May 2, 2011, he was killed by US special forces. President Obama follows this event with a speech, its goal being to inform the American people of the death of the man who had caused the death of so many loved ones, and achieves this by using rhetorical devices such as parallel structure and appeals to emotion.     In the beginning of President Obama’s speech announcing the death of Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, he reminds the American people of the tragic events that took place on the morning of 9/11, when “nearly 3,000 citizens were taken from us.”

Read More
941 Words | 4 Pages

He must know how to conduct himself as not to create an uproar or mass hysteria. The President handled this situation a true leader and did not minimize the importance of being a teacher for those young children on that horrible day in American

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

During a funeral for Reverend Clementa Pinckney, a Charleston shooting victim, President Obama delivered an influential eulogy. This eulogy turned out to be so powerful that it traveled throughout the internet and became known as one of Obama’s best speeches from the duration of his presidency. The speech resonated so well with many citizens because of its relatable content and connections to passionate issues in today’s society. The delivery of the eulogy played a gigantic part in its effectiveness to Americans as well. President Obama’s eulogy contained beyond relatable content and various connections to the issues racking society’s bones today.

Read More
697 Words | 3 Pages

This is the first terrorist attack that we have experienced in the 21st century. President Bush spoke out to the American people to empower and soothe them in a vulnerable time. President Bush reassures citizens and the victim’s families that America and its people are not only strong but are safe and will rise up again. Bush effectively executes his 9/11 speech and uses rhetorical devices to catch the citizens attention, calm the America people and unite them together again.

Read More
1767 Words | 8 Pages

Considering the state that the country was in after the attacks, the presentation of this speech may have seemed an almost necessary thing to do for the president. However, the use of rhetoric goes above and beyond the basic presidential speech, it enables a connection with the American people on a personal level. Overall, we will never forget the events of that day, but we will especially remember how we pulled together as a nation, and how President Bush’s speech aided that feeling of

Read More
610 Words | 3 Pages

A domestic terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City on April 19th, 1995, killed 168 people (including small children) and injuring more than 680 others. Four days later, on April 23rd, 1995, President Bill Clinton gave a speech addressing this event at the Memorial Prayer Service. Clinton speaks to everyone affected from the bombing to unite the country in this feeling of tragedy, and to show the victims, and their families, that they are not alone. In his speech, President Bill Clinton uses pathos to unite the country in a feeling of tragedy and loss.

Read More
453 Words | 2 Pages

The speech given by George Bush on September 11, 2001 is one of the most memorable and pivotal speeches ever given by a U.S. President. Our country was in turmoil on that day. Its citizens were feeling many different emotions. Some felt sadness, others anger, some fear, and still others felt lost. President Bush was burdened with the task of satisfying them all, in a few short minutes.

Read More
805 Words | 4 Pages

His speech that was broadcasted to the entire world highlighted everything America needed at this time of grief, and will forever be remembered. In the introduction of Bush’s speech, he describes the despicable acts of terror our country witnessed that day. Bush shows his compassion for those affected by the attacks. He knew he could not repair what had been done, but he knew we could fight back.

Read More
1012 Words | 5 Pages

Firstly, he wanted to distinguish why the nation is being addressed after this specific shooting. He did this through identifying the shooter and what he had done, and using it repeatedly throughout the speech. The shooter was used by the rhetor to give the audience a figure to put the responsibility on for this massacre. This is used to give the audience a form of closure that they know who was person to the cause to this event. After addressing the shooter, the next key term, an act of terrorism on the nation follows.

Read More
1704 Words | 7 Pages

Speeches have been a main staple of political rhetoric that goes has been America’s history. There have been memorable speeches from passionate citizens such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Sojourner Truth, and many speeches from our past presidents that have influenced America today. One such speech was given by President Bill Clinton when he addressed the American public on September 11 in 1998 to answer for a moral scandal that took place in the nation’s capital that involved himself and Monica Lewinsky, an intern working at the White House. When called to speak about the internal affair at the White house Clinton gave a memorable speech in which he used clever and strategic language to illicit certain feelings and actions from his unhappy crowd. His mastery of language and his understanding of the people he was speaking to comes through in one intentional speech.

Read More
716 Words | 3 Pages

In the lines “tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any of us spoken through the ages in Psalm 23”, Bush uses anaphora by starting each statement off with “I”, this made Bush become on the same level as the families and showed that he is no better off than they are with this whole situation and made them feel

Read More
1145 Words | 5 Pages

He starts by stating, “Last week, 17 people, most of them teenagers, were shot dead at a Florida school. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School now joins the ranks of Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Columbine and too many other sites of American carnage. What do these shootings have in common? Guns, yes. But also, boys.

Read More
1480 Words | 6 Pages

It was on February 14, 2018 when Nikolas Cruz walked into Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He opened fire and in the end, 17 people were killed. Although there had been several school shootings that had already happened before, like the Columbine High school shooting where 13 people died, the recent incident at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida caused a turning point in history because students all around the country were sick of constantly being in danger. In the articles, “Students plan Denver march focused on school safety” and “Organizers plan for 500,000 attendees at ‘March For Our Lives’ gun-control march in Washington,” students around the US are gathering together to voice their fear,

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

Barack Obama’s win for President in 2009 was a historical moment for the United States. His inaugural speech was much anticipated, because this was going to set the tone for his presidency. His speech told the American people that improving the economy is one of his priorities, but there were also other areas he would like to improve like healthcare and the education system. This was a speech that was meant to persuade the American public to take action for them to rise as a nation again, and for them to put their trust into him. His message addressed a couple of specific points like his gratefulness to the American people, the different crises America is facing, how America will overcome these crises, replying to his cynics, addressing the world, and then he reminded America again to be brave like they’ve always been to overcome the hard times (5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama's Inaugural Speech, (n.d.).

Read More
979 Words | 4 Pages

Actions speak louder than words. Not only does Obama express that in his speech, but in everyday life. Obama cares for every individual, and makes it clear in the given speech to find solutions for the issue of immigration instead of just giving up when times got hard. Making for an appeal to pathos because it moves people emotionally and shows that Obama cares for not only people individually, but the overall

Read More

More about Rhetorical Analysis Of The Sandy Hook Shooting

Related Topics

Open Document