The Checkers Speech
In order to provide a sound justification for analyzing this rhetorical artifact, it is necessary to know the general situation from which this artifact emerged. The Checkers speech qualifies as one of the most successful rhetorical exercises in American history. Nixon’s focus of the speech was on a combination of things. The main emphases were on restoring his image with the American people due to the allegations of accepting illegal campaign funds, decreasing the separation between “the common man” and politicians, and to present himself as an asset to the Republican Party who was planning on dropping him as vice president on the Republican Party ballot (O’brien, 1989). Nixon gave his side of the story and overcame this…show more content… Nixon was placed in a rhetorical situation in which he had to respond to the situational necessity and attempt to save his political life. The outcome of the speech and the audience’s reaction was, arguably, due to the rhetorical strategies and the appeal to emotion rather than the actual content of the speech (Mazo).
The Checkers Speech has been criticized by rhetoricians and analyzed by many rhetorical strategies over the years. Kevin Mattson, Connor Study Professor of Contemporary History, argues that Nixon “downplayed his connection to the wealthy donors, and the speech set the stage for decades of conservative rhetoric who are critical of elites (Colbert). University of Missouri-Columbia professor William T. Wells analyzes Nixon’s Checkers Speech using Bormann’s fantasy theme analysis. This analysis highlights how Nixon was able to save his political career using rhetorical vision and dramatization aspects of the fantasy theme analysis (Wells). At the time the speech was given, Nixon’s fund caused ethical concerns, especially if a special interest group…show more content… Next, it explores the various ratios, or relationships between the terms, and then identifying the dominant term. Weighing the pentadic elements against one another will help determine ratios between the elements (agent-scene, purpose-agency, etc.) as well as a dominant element, which will ultimately shed light on the rhetorical motives of Richard Nixon’s Checker’s Speech. Thus, the role of the pentadic analysis is to investigate the motivations behind language. To accomplish this, the evaluative criteria for this analysis will be based on three factors, the five pentadic elements, ratios, and identifying the dominant element. Through the use of Burke’s pentadic analysis, I will discuss the way the speech’s five pentadic elements attribute to Nixon’s overall motive(s). The paper will emphasize how Nixon tries to redeem his image by embodying agencies such as humbleness, crusading, ethos/credibility, and morality. In addition, I will argue how Nixon adapted his rhetoric to his audience and situation, adjusted his dependability to match situational pressure, and styled his delivery in response to media
