Madeleine Albright Rhetorical Analysis

Words: 475
Pages: 2

In 1997, the United States secretary, Madeleine Albright gave the commencement speech to the graduating class of women from Mount Holyoke College. Her goal was to give hope to the young women, she used historical examples, emotional persuasion, motivation and or encouragement to obtain this message throughout her speech. An example of how she used emotional persuasion is on lines 39 to 44. She mentioned that women are no longer toning down their voices or sitting sedately down. Women everywhere are rising, no matter from what ground or background, they are standing up and spreading the word that women are ready to claim their rightful place as citizens. These sentences are emotional to women because women have always been looked down upon by society, and by saying …show more content…
Believe in yourself and what you’re doing. These written lines make women not only emotional, but it also gives them hope. It makes them think that they’re beliefs are worth it. A way that she uses an historical example is on lines 70 to 75. She starts by saying, “If you aim high enough, also meet resistance, for as Robert Kennedy once said, “If there is nobody in your way, its because youre not going anywhere.” This makes the audience think, prepare and they’re encouraged to keep pushing against all odds. Young women know that there will always be someone in their way, but they’re not going to forget to have courage. You must preserve the truth. They’re on their way because they don’t want them to achieve their goals. A way that she encourages her peers is on lines 49 to 59. She mentioned that in recent years she had met with women in Sarajevo who have been weighed down by personal grief and they’re reaching out across ethnic lines to rebuild their collapsed