At the time, Senator Barack Obama, currently now the president of the United States delivered his speech called “ A More Perfect Union” on March 18, 2008 during the 2008 presidential race. In his speech, Obama addresses the controversial comments made by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, but he also gives wise comments about the matter of race in America. We all know that race is a touchy subject, but Obama is able to freely converse about it so all Americans could relate to the topic. What made his speech so victorious is the use of the three Aristotelian appeals which are ethos, logos, and pathos. Obama not only used each appeal effectively alone, but they also combined together to make his argument stronger to oscillate the audience. His excellent use of rhetoric makes his speech so inspirational as well as provoking.
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This rhetoric tool is used to establish character in his speech. For those who don’t know ethos refers to the way a speaker’s character appears to the audience. Obama establishes his ethos by including references to present and past conflicts that have impacted America, and by showing his interest in the American history. For example, Obama shows ethos right from the beginning of his speech when he begins with “ We the people, in order to form a more perfect union” also shows ethos.
Continuously, Obama also establishes ethos by giving his personal story on his family history. He states, “I am a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas” by telling his family history Obama shows how and why he is supremacy on race issues. By him sharing his own personal history allows him to gain ethos by creating a personal connection the audience and himself. The audience will connect, and trust Obama more if the audience can relate to his speech on a more personal
This rhetoric tool is used to establish character in his speech. For those who don’t know ethos refers to the way a speaker’s character appears to the audience. Obama establishes his ethos by including references to present and past conflicts that have impacted America, and by showing his interest in the American history. For example, Obama shows ethos right from the beginning of his speech when he begins with “ We the people, in order to form a more perfect union” also shows ethos.
Continuously, Obama also establishes ethos by giving his personal story on his family history. He states, “I am a black man from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas” by telling his family history Obama shows how and why he is supremacy on race issues. By him sharing his own personal history allows him to gain ethos by creating a personal connection the audience and himself. The audience will connect, and trust Obama more if the audience can relate to his speech on a more personal