The Rhetorical Analysis Of Douglas Macarthur's Speech

also pairs these strong verbs with vivid ideal that this motto instills in these cadets. MacArthur uses these this technique to show the listener how this creed can empower them to be “humble and gentle in success,” “not to substitute words for actions,”not to seek the path of comfort,” and “to be an officer and a gentleman.” These ideals are then constantly reinforced throughout the rest of the speech through repetition. In fact, he says the phrase “Duty, Honor, Country” seven times spaced out through the entirety of the speech. This constant repetition of the central idea of his speech works through two rhetorical techniques in this speech. This repetition works to emphasize the main point of his speech, portraying to the reader the power and importance of these words, and also works to break up the different parts of this speech and remind the reader of the previous sections. Another extremely effective tactic that MacArthur uses in this speech is that he reminds the audience just how credible of a source on the American soldier he is. Francis Sempa claims that “no man had better claim than MacArthur to comment on the character of the American combat soldier,” in his review of this speech, and MacArthur takes a portion of his speech to show that to his listeners. The speaker does this through reflecting on his combat experiences and …show more content…
Douglas MacArthur’s father was the quintessential soldier. He was a hero of the civil war, a commander in the Indian war, and a Metal of honor recipient at the age of 19. Francis Stempa’s review of this speech even states that “Douglas worshipped his father.” Throughout this speech it is blatantly obvious that MacArthur’s ideals of the American man-at-arms stem in part from the ideals that his father instilled in him. This idea gives this speech an even more moving tone, and shows again just how dedicated MacArthur was to this