Rhetorical Analysis Of Will Ferrell

When you think you're alone, just remember God has your back no matter what. Will Ferrell uses many devices to his advantage throughout his commencement speech to the USC graduating class of 2017. As “USC” alumni, Ferrell already had one step forward with the students. Farrell had a humorous persona throughout the whole speech just about. He also had some great advice and he used his personal experience and life experience to captivate the audience's attention and get them to listen to what he had to say. Ferrell appealed to the audience's emotions and thoughts to gain credibility and trust. Farrell used many devices to try and relate to the students somehow. By the end of Farrell’s speech, he had the trust of those students and he captivated …show more content…
Ferrell connects to the student’s pathos and credibility He says, “I immediately get a job right out of college working for ESPN, right? Wrong. No, I moved right back home.” Here, Ferrell is telling the students how he went to college to be a sports commentator and he never got a job, he’s also talking about how he moved back in with his mom for two years. Everyone has someone to fall back on, in Ferrell’s case, it was his mom. He continues by saying, “And I was lucky, actually. Lucky that I had a very supportive and understanding mother, who is sitting out there in the crowd, who let me move back home.” Ferrell was very appreciative of his mother and he was trying to again, gain their trust by telling them his story. He also wanted them to know that it is okay to need someone and it’s okay to have setbacks and rely on someone else. Ferrell also used allusions to his advantage in his speech. He said, or sang, the iconic song by the very well-known Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”. Sure, Ferrell did this to be funny, and humorous but he also was giving them a message. He was telling them that he loved them personally, because he went to school there, himself. He also sang the Star Trek theme song. He knew the students would relate and know the song because of their generation and age. He also did it for the obvious reasons of course, to be funny, which he ended up succeeding …show more content…
Ferrell is a very well-known comedian so that was credibility before he even began to speak but Ferrell is also and alumni from USC. Will Farrell had many setbacks and he wanted the students to know that they will to and it’s okay to rely on other people and need help. Ferrell completed his desire and purpose of the speech. He also gave some great advice about kindness and empathy. I think he just wanted the USC graduates of 2017 to know that money and fame isn’t everything, having a good heart and caring for others