Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Submitted By rponder06
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Hearts Break for Shooting Victims The tragic story of the shooting in a movie theater that occurred in Aurora, Colorado quickly spread throughout the nation. On July 20, 2012 President Barack Obama addressed the nation about this horrible event that shocked America. He had planned that speech to be initially a campaign speech, but decided instead to speak on behalf of all the victims, their families, and America’s support for them. He reminds the audience that ultimately its not the small things in life that truly matter, but how we choose to treat and love one another, because life is fragile and can be gone in an instant. Obama ends his speech with asking them to keep the people of Aurora in the hearts and minds throughout that day (Obama, 1-4). His main purpose for the speech was to express that he and America would do whatever it took to bring justice, and that in times of tragedy, America was reminded why we are united. Obama used his authority in our country, great emotional pull, and reason to convey his speech and make his audience realize what the people of Colorado were going through. In this speech, there is so much conveyed because of the topic. This topic can hit close to home with anyone, because we all have people we love and would hate to lose in such a tragic way. Because Obama is the president, his authority over our country makes people want to listen to the things he talks about for various reasons. He is the example, in this speech, of ethos. He and his family have great political authority in our country, and he uses that authority and the respect that comes with it to deliver this speech and ensure that the audience knows how he feels about the tragedy. He comes from a background in politics before his presidency, which makes him even more respected. In his speech, he also mentions his wife, Michelle, and his two girls to connect the audience with his family. The audience is likely to connect easier with him if they come to the conclusion that he has feelings for his wife and children, just as they do for their families in regards to an event like this one (Obama, 2). He appeals to his when he tells them that they will take every step to ensure the safety of the country’s people. Here Obama is trying us his authority to reassure the people so they will not be afraid in day-to-day life.
There is more use of pathos in Obama’s speech than logos and ethos combined. Because of the many emotions that tie into a shooting, even if our families are not directly affected by it, this speech is expected to be filled with good heart tugging examples. One example in this speech of ethos is when Obama states that we, meaning our country and the government, are going to stand by the people of Colorado during this hard time. He expresses how heartbroken we all are for their situation. He continues with another example of appropriate emotional appeal saying that he thinks violence like this is senseless and how tragic it is that these children lost their very full lives ahead of them, as well as the broken hearts of their families that have come from this. I think his best point in his entire speech is when he thinks that this is a reminder of how quickly life can leave this earth. He points out that it is not the small things in life that matter but how we choose to treat and love each other. I think so many people forget that someone can be gone in an instant, and I think this point probably hit home with so many in the audience. One of his last and powerful examples of ethos in this speech is when he asked the audience for a moment of silence for the victims, their families, and the acts of violence like this every day (Obama, 2-4).This speech was definitely filled with fabulous examples of ethos, and showed
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