In his 2009 Inaugural Address, former President Barack Obama analyzes the crises the United States was going through at the time and defines what he intends to do to fix them. Obama’s purpose is to build faith in his people and encourage them to take action. He adopts a confident tone in order to empower the citizens of the United States. Obama effectively evokes feelings of pride and determination in his audience through use of parallelism, metaphor, and anaphora. Obama begins his speech by describing the various plights the country was in at the time he was sworn in. He maintains, however, that the United States as a country has survived plenty of adversity before, and will continue to do so. Obama utilizes the strategy of parallelism to
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As his speech begins, Obama examines the various political climates the presidential inauguration has taken place under. He states that the presidential oath has been taken “during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace” (1). By drawing a comparison between political climate and water, Obama allows for ease of visualization amongst his audience. Another powerful metaphor the author uses is found near the very end of the speech. Obama addresses the enemies of the United States, remarking that they are on “the wrong side of history”, but mitigating this by addressing them directly in saying that “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist” (4). This metaphor is particularly effective because it involves the juxtaposition of two universally-familiar hand gestures: one associated with violence and one with help and forgiveness. It is a metaphor that prompts the audience to see both themselves and the “enemy” as human. This is something that is core to the ideals of the United States, according to Obama. He emphasizes that his country must work together with both “old friends and former foes” to neutralize the threats it faces (4), and this metaphor summarizes his belief
As his speech begins, Obama examines the various political climates the presidential inauguration has taken place under. He states that the presidential oath has been taken “during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace” (1). By drawing a comparison between political climate and water, Obama allows for ease of visualization amongst his audience. Another powerful metaphor the author uses is found near the very end of the speech. Obama addresses the enemies of the United States, remarking that they are on “the wrong side of history”, but mitigating this by addressing them directly in saying that “we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist” (4). This metaphor is particularly effective because it involves the juxtaposition of two universally-familiar hand gestures: one associated with violence and one with help and forgiveness. It is a metaphor that prompts the audience to see both themselves and the “enemy” as human. This is something that is core to the ideals of the United States, according to Obama. He emphasizes that his country must work together with both “old friends and former foes” to neutralize the threats it faces (4), and this metaphor summarizes his belief