President Barack Obama held a speech at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia in 2009 in which he stressed the importance of education. It was broadcasted nationally to students of all ages in order to get the message out: Do not give up because “you’re not just quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on your country” which is sure to set every patriotic heart on fire in sheer pride. To think that the entire future of the country is depending on me! That is the reaction that President Obama is hoping for in all the students who were listening because that feeling of importance will most likely motivate them to work hard for a brighter tomorrow and ultimately pave the way to greatness.
The composition of the speech is neither complex …show more content…
He states that he knows how difficult life can be sometimes and that he has had his share of troubles himself but that it is possible to break the negative social heritage. He acknowledges that some people have it worse than others because of their appearance, ethnicity, or financial status but “That’s no excuse for not trying” . This is a typical American value and in fact, President Obama even talks about the American dream, which is based on the notion of creating your own happiness and future. The Pathos-O-Meter just hit the roof! He then goes on to personify this dream by listing three people from different states in the US who fought against all the odds and have achieved what was considered the impossible. This part of the speech is the very core of the central message. Saying this as a politician in any country other than the United States simply would not work (at least not to the same extent) because only the Americans value the “from newspaper boy to president”-dream this much. There are countless Hollywood films with this theme and they have almost all been box office hits seeing that many Americans define themselves and their nationality in regard to exactly this idea. President Obama is well aware of this and by telling the students that they get to be as Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell as long as they study hard he is effectively saying that “if X, then Y” which obviously is not true in every case. Some would even consider this a flaw in his argumentation but the truth is that ultimately it is just a rhetorical tool that works. It is likely that older students who have been taught argumentation analysis in school are able to see through this trick which will take away some of President Obama’s credibility, however, these students will also have realized on their own that education is important no matter who says it or how they say it.
The composition of the speech is neither complex …show more content…
He states that he knows how difficult life can be sometimes and that he has had his share of troubles himself but that it is possible to break the negative social heritage. He acknowledges that some people have it worse than others because of their appearance, ethnicity, or financial status but “That’s no excuse for not trying” . This is a typical American value and in fact, President Obama even talks about the American dream, which is based on the notion of creating your own happiness and future. The Pathos-O-Meter just hit the roof! He then goes on to personify this dream by listing three people from different states in the US who fought against all the odds and have achieved what was considered the impossible. This part of the speech is the very core of the central message. Saying this as a politician in any country other than the United States simply would not work (at least not to the same extent) because only the Americans value the “from newspaper boy to president”-dream this much. There are countless Hollywood films with this theme and they have almost all been box office hits seeing that many Americans define themselves and their nationality in regard to exactly this idea. President Obama is well aware of this and by telling the students that they get to be as Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell as long as they study hard he is effectively saying that “if X, then Y” which obviously is not true in every case. Some would even consider this a flaw in his argumentation but the truth is that ultimately it is just a rhetorical tool that works. It is likely that older students who have been taught argumentation analysis in school are able to see through this trick which will take away some of President Obama’s credibility, however, these students will also have realized on their own that education is important no matter who says it or how they say it.