Rhetorical Devices Used In President Bush's Speech Essay

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In President Bush’s address to the nation, he uses many rhetorical devices. A rhetorical device is a literary device that is used to persuade the audience to support the argument made. Bush’s address uses Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. They were invented and studied by the famous greek philosopher Aristotle. Ethos appeals to credibility, Logos appeals to logic or reason, and Pathos appeals to the audience’s feelings. They form a triangle consisting of the speaker, the message, and the audience. Bush appeals to logos by using the word “our”. The use of the word “our” appeals to logos because he is talking about the whole nation and himself. He also appeals to logos when he uses really lengthy sentences and then uses a really short sentence. This appeals logically because the short sentences then stand out, as if they were highlighted or bolded. Bush’s usage of alliteration when he says “deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.” appeals to logos. It does so by appealing to the reader’s rhythmical senses and makes the reader pay more attention and focus on the rest of the speech. Bush uses a rhetorical device in this quote; “And we responded with the best of America, with the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could,” Bush not only sounds well by rhyming, he uses “we responded” once and leaves it out the next couple …show more content…

By using the word “our” he is stating ethos. He does so because he is stating that he is leading our nation. In the third paragraph he claims his first priority was to help the injured and to take every precaution to protect our citizens. He is stating his credibility by saying that he is being very cautious and doing everything he can to protect our