Winston Churchill's 'Their Finest Hour'

THESIS: “Their Finest Hour” by Winston Churchill brought Great Britain together, giving people hope and strength in a time of need.

Winston Churchill was born November thirtieth, 1874 “to an aristocratic family” (“Winston Churchill”). He was in the military and became a journalist. Eventually, however, he took after his father and went into politics. Churchill was in British Parliament, and “served as minister of war and air and colonial secretary under Prime Minister David Lloyd George” (“Winston Churchill”). On the tenth of May, 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister during World War II. He led the UK to victory against the Axis during this time, giving multiple speeches that have gone down in history. He died in 1965.

World War II began in September 1939. Germany and the Axis were attacking many countries in Europe, and it was a time of chaos. Only a few weeks before Churchill’s speech, “the French and British had been evacuated from the coast of France at Dunkirk” (“Winston Churchill Timeline”). France surrendered to

Churchill says, “If we can stand up to [Hitler], all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.” The tone of the first sentence is extremely uplifting, but the tone turns much darker in the second part when Churchill warns against the consequences of losing. It is also important to notice that Churchill uses the word we in his speech many times, rather than they or you. This word choice helps establish his theme of unity. There are many places where this great speaker uses ethos, pathos, and logos. A great example of a pathos would