Rhetorical Analysis Mandela's Speech

Mandela, the first official president of South Africa, speaks to a country which has suffered apartheid and turns a new leaf toward democracy. In this celebratory event, Mandela uses parallel structure, pathos, inductive reasoning, and other rhetorical devices to aid his speech to give South African strength and hope, commemorates the nation’s route to democracy, and to show gratitude to the contributors to the democracy.
For example, Mandela commemorates the nation’s route to democracy through inductive reasoning, metaphor, and pathos. Using inductive reasoning, Mandela shows the South Africans’ contribution to democratic nation. Mandela states that they have pledged “to liberate…people…from the continuing bondage of poverty… [they] succeeded …show more content…
Mandela encourages the South Africans to have hope and strength by using pathos. Mandela makes the statement that out of the experience an “extraordinary human disaster…must [bear] a society of which” boasts with pride. By making this statement, Mandela displays the idea that the pride of the South Africans lie in the strength in surviving the nation’s darkest times, which heartens in the South African people. This statement also allows the audience to feel that justice has come for the long suffered South Africans. The feelings of pride and justice give the South African people emotional strength and hope for the people. Furthermore, Mandela uses parallel structure to give South Africans hope. Mandela repeats the phrase “let there be” followed by justice, peace, work, bread, and water. Mandela then finishes the series of sentences with “for all”. Applying parallel structure to the sentence emphasizes the freedoms South Africans currently behold, and the equality their country brings “for all”. The parallel structure on these sentences assures the South Africans that justice, peace, and equality will reigns over their nation. The offering of peace and justice for their new nation, gives South Africans hope in their nation’s future. Moreover, Mandela motivates the South Africans to strengthen and unite with the use of anaphora. Mandela first tells the South …show more content…
First, Mandela uses pathos by dedicating the day to the “heroes and heroines in this country” who sacrificed their lives for the freedom of the nation. Mandela also adds that “their dreams have become reality” and “freedom is their reward”. Mandela uses pathos here to recognize the many that have died to make “sacrifices” for the freedom of the country have peace or “freedom’ in making their dream a reality. Mandela uses pathos by calling the people who had made sacrifice to this nation “heroes and heroines” and by assuring the audience these sacrifices are what made peace and freedom. This way, Mandela allows his audience to feel grateful for these sacrifices that ultimately led to the democratic nation. Second, Mandela uses metaphor to put to light the security forces which aided in protecting the first elections and the whole nation’s transition to democracy. Mandela recognizes the “security forces…for the distinguished role they have played in” securing the first democratic election “from blood-thirsty forces which still refuse to see the light.” This metaphor compares the apartheid as a blood thirsty force and light as democracy or peace. Doing this, Mandela makes the audience see apartheid as dark evil forces and the security forces as the essential protectors from this force. This way Mandela puts light upon the security force and shows his gratitude