Rhetorical Devices In Otto Warmbier's Speech

Otto Warmbier, a highly intelligent individual attending the University of Virginia, had an adventurous and curious nature and had hopes of traveling to many different countries. Warmbier was visiting North Korea in January of 2016 with Young Pioneer Tours and was detained in the airport on the way back to the States on the grounds of allegedly stealing a propaganda poster. He was eager to hold a press conference where he apologizes to North Korean government for his actions and begs for forgiveness and also uses it as an opportunity to inform America of his current situation and plead for their help. In Warmbiers speech, he employs rhetorical devices in his address to the nation to admit guilt and ask for pardon and encourage everyone to do …show more content…
He describes his “humanitarian” treatment that he’s received and goes on to refute the Americans beliefs on the communist country by saying,“through my tour in this country i have come to see that reality of the dpr korea is very different from the state of evils that the west hacked and i have come to see that the current civil rights issues in North Korea consistently highlighted by the United States administration is nothing more than an excuse to harm and eventually overthrow the DPR Korea.” Americans typically stereotype the DPRK as an “evil” place. He effectively uses this to explain what America has taught him to believe about North Korea in order for him to commit such actions. This shows the audience that it’s not entirely his fault that he commit this hostile crime against their country because Americans instilled these beliefs of North Korea onto their citizens. These stereotypes show that no matter where you’re from and what views you have on other places and people, not everything is that