Barack Obama's Speech Keynote Speech Analysis

Decent Essays
On July 27, 2004 at the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts, Barrack Obama, a relatively unknown political figure, delivers a memorable and exciting keynote speech titled “The Democratic National Convention Keynote Address”. Obama make use of a strong emotional plea, by tying in equality and patriotic expressions of unity to enhance his credibility during the speech. Obama strips away labels to present an equalitarian view of America to help build ethos. Obama uses quotes from the constitution to add credibility when using patriotic expressions. Obama uses his own experiences growing up and that of his family to capture his audience’s attention and help identify himself as a regular person. Obama uses people’s stories of strife despite having …show more content…
Obama’s speech speaks to people of all ages, gender, race, and political belief. Throughout the dialogue, he relates to people throughout the country, citing his heritage as the child of an immigrant and the product of two very different cultures. Using pathos, he effectively associates himself with people of similar backgrounds, proclaiming his pride of his heritage and his success as a minority in American politics. He also notes that his parents gave him the name Barack, meaning “blessed” (2). Maintaining the theme of equality is more pronounced believing that in a tolerant America your name is no barrier to success” (2). By promoting the idea of America as progressive and full of opportunity the audience is more apt to listen. Obama builds his credibility during his speech. Obama speaks of his parents’ educational beliefs, “They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential,” (2) effectively using pathos to create a similarity between himself and people of America who are in the same situation that he was …show more content…
Obama takes on issues dealing with the economy because factories are being relocated internationally, a father who “was losing his job and choking back the tears, wondering how he would pay 4500 dollars a month for the drugs his son needs without the health benefits that he counted on,” (2) and a young woman who “has the grades, has the drive, has the will, but doesn’t have the money to go to college” (2). Millions of people across the country have the same problems, and millions of people across the country heard Barack Obama sympathize with their situation. By using these examples of hard-working people, Obama helps create an emotional connection with the audience. These images work well with his audience, as he comes from a similar background and he can relate to people who are in the same circumstances. Obama successfully gains the trust of many of these people because of his knowledge and concern for them. Obama appears to genuinely care for the hard-working, honest American. Obama expertly uses pathos to get an emotional appeal from his audience. Obama also notes that he understands that people do not expect the government to do everything for them. He describes this by saying “People don’t expect government to solve all their problems. But they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we

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