Logan Peck Mrs. Miller English 101 28 March 2024 The Legacy of an Honest Politician The 1900’s in American history was a time of change – greatly needed change. Following the conclusion of World War 2, there was a massive internal look at the state of the country. What many saw when looking inwards was that there existed numerous injustices that simply needed to change. This sparked multiple movements where Americans across the country began to fight for their rights. One such movement, the human rights, or gay rights movement, began in 1969 and many would say is still an ongoing endeavor. The beginning of this movement can be traced back to one event – the Stonewall Riot. This was the first real joint outcry from the queer community and is
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The purpose of Milk’s speech is primarily to raise awareness of and reinvigorate the protection of queer folk. He does this by encouraging queer individuals all across America to not give up, to get more representation in office and just overall, get more people involved in the ongoing movement. It's very clear these goals are at the forefront of his speech because he references garnering more of a population for the movement as the very first words uttered are as follows: “My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you.” How explicit Milk is about what he hopes to accomplish is a recurring aspect of his diction within the speech. This is also a way he establishes his most prominent rhetorical device, establishing his credibility on the subject of the gay rights movement. A major reason this speech was impactful was how he demonstrated an excellent understanding of the problems facing the …show more content…
This, in turn, helps build his reputation for his audience: it helps his audience put trust in what he's saying. This trust is of massive importance in the context of what Milk hopes to convey to his audience and who Milk is as the person who's giving the speech. At this point, Harvey Milk is the first openly gay elected official, a point that is massively important for the idea of getting more representation in the government. While Harvey Milk was assassinated a few months after delivering his Hope Speech, he did succeed in bringing the community together. Many supporters of Milk often noted that even before his speech Harvey “could galvanize people. He was like a lightning rod — he had the electricity in him.” (“Bringing People Hope: Harvey Milk and the Gay Rights Movement in America”). However, many saw his hope speech as the culmination of his unifying power. In regards to the gay rights movement, a lot has changed. However, a lot has also stayed the same. Large strides have been made in procuring rights for queer individuals. For example, in 2015 gay marriage was legalized and more recently, more laws have been put in place to protect queer
The purpose of Milk’s speech is primarily to raise awareness of and reinvigorate the protection of queer folk. He does this by encouraging queer individuals all across America to not give up, to get more representation in office and just overall, get more people involved in the ongoing movement. It's very clear these goals are at the forefront of his speech because he references garnering more of a population for the movement as the very first words uttered are as follows: “My name is Harvey Milk and I'm here to recruit you.” How explicit Milk is about what he hopes to accomplish is a recurring aspect of his diction within the speech. This is also a way he establishes his most prominent rhetorical device, establishing his credibility on the subject of the gay rights movement. A major reason this speech was impactful was how he demonstrated an excellent understanding of the problems facing the …show more content…
This, in turn, helps build his reputation for his audience: it helps his audience put trust in what he's saying. This trust is of massive importance in the context of what Milk hopes to convey to his audience and who Milk is as the person who's giving the speech. At this point, Harvey Milk is the first openly gay elected official, a point that is massively important for the idea of getting more representation in the government. While Harvey Milk was assassinated a few months after delivering his Hope Speech, he did succeed in bringing the community together. Many supporters of Milk often noted that even before his speech Harvey “could galvanize people. He was like a lightning rod — he had the electricity in him.” (“Bringing People Hope: Harvey Milk and the Gay Rights Movement in America”). However, many saw his hope speech as the culmination of his unifying power. In regards to the gay rights movement, a lot has changed. However, a lot has also stayed the same. Large strides have been made in procuring rights for queer individuals. For example, in 2015 gay marriage was legalized and more recently, more laws have been put in place to protect queer