Rhetorical Analysis of President Obamas Inaugural Speech - Essay Example

?Going through the transcript of President Obama’s Inaugural Speech, I cannot help but be moved by the inspiring words enunciated by a President who ascended to power during America’s financial crisis. The inaugural speech is likened to a battle march as he recalls how our forebears met their challenges when this country was still in its infancy. Quoting he “let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive ... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]." He reminded us what we are as a people, of what we are capable of and how we can rise above any challenges. The speech feels like the fresh morning dew that soothes our doubting soul as we traverse the scorching heat and difficulty of a financial crisis. The speech intended to lift us from our debilitating skepticism about ourselves and our world to believe once more in the enduring spirit that made America “the prosperous, most powerful nation on earth”. It is a speech where all the three rhetorical concepts of pathos, ethos and logos were astutely utilized not only to deliver a message, but also to touch and affect its audience. To underscore further President Obama’s message of hope, he used pathos or emotion as a primary medium for him to get his message across and for the audience to relate to him. It is very noticeable in that inaugural address, that the word “I” was sparingly used and was only mentioned twice. First, it was only mentioned in the opening statement which was in the context of humility that he is grateful of the trust that was bestowed upon him and “mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors”.  The second time that President Obama mentioned it was in a collective context involving the audience by saying “today I say to you that the challenges we face are real”. It manifested how astute a political leader he is because he avoided self-aggrandizement that could have alienated his audience. He was able to convey a grand message without being self-centered and always on the context of a “we”. President Obama’s used of pathos or emotional appeal is very evident when he underlined that he came from a humble origin that his father “less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath”. He was inviting sympathy without even asking by subliminally hinting that he, a black man, suffered too just like many of the audiences yet the opportunity of America enabled him to rise above his circumstances and now bestowed a position of great honor. Subconsciously, he was playing an underdog while calling for America to rise above the challenge, to unite and to once more take the challenge of leadership. In a way, he was subconsciously saying that if he was able to be where he is right now when before blacks cannot be even served at a local restaurant, then the rest of America can also overcome the challenges that they are facing like he did. President Obama’s used of emotional appeal or pathos is reinforced by his own credibility or ethos. As a political leader, he is known as a man of integrity and has never involved in any compromising political situation. His life, his background, and his deportment is worthy of emulation such that when he said what he said, he is believable. He is not known to manipulate the truth nor have slanted circumstances to serve a political end which makes people skeptical. His message is also grounded on stressing the importance of integrity as he mentioned “but those values upon which our success depends — honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths”. When one speaks and stresses the importance the value of credibility and integrity in overcoming difficulty, these values also subconsciously rubs on him that enhances his already credible reputation. The usage of emotional appeal or pathos in connecting to his audience reinforced by ethos or the credibility of the character of the person delivering it such as President Obama, the message itself became easier to convey. The audience can now relate to the speaker making it easier to believe as the messenger himself is credible. This is especially true when the President spoke of integrity, loyalty, hard work and other lofty ideal that is associated with credibility. Such that, the audience cannot help but believe what the President is saying. Combining these two concepts of rhetoric of pathos and ethos, the American audience is now very receptive of the logos or logic of the message. We have to consider that in grand speaking events such as Inaugural Address of the highest officer of land, the audience expects that the message would use a lot of logos or logic. After all, only those who are the best and the brightest occupies that office not to mention that the audience knows already that a President has his or her own set of Advisers and Speechwriters. It is already expected that the President will rarely go wrong with the logos aspect of the speech given the resources that he has. Most of the time, the inefficacy of an Inaugural Speech does not lie on the deficiency of the logic of the speech itself, but on the manner of how the speech is delivered. The failure often lies in the lack of the pathos or emotional appeal that disconnects the audience and the absence of credibility or ethos of the politician. But when a speech is grounded on the appeal of pathos or emotion and has the assertion of credibility or ethos and has a very sound logos or logic, a speech will not just become a beautiful literary masterpiece but can in fact compel the audience to action. President Barrack Obama’s Inaugural Speech was titled “Time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit” because as the President of the United States, he is duty bound to respond to the lingering crisis that America is facing. His speech was titled as such because it was intended to address and respond to the issues that America is currently facing which is logical. People are losing their jobs, families are being dislocated as they lose their homes and life is becoming increasingly difficult for everybody and it is only logical that his speech should enunciate the logos and speak about hope that America can overcome its challenges as it did before, while recognizing the issues that it is currently facing. Perhaps this struggle can be best encapsulated with President Obama’s enunciation as he reminds “time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction. This is the journey we continue today”. Logos also reinforces the ethos or credibility aspect of the speech in the same manner that ethos supports the logos. A political speech, such as an Inaugural Address has to have a sound logic or logos for the audience to know that the speaker meant well and not just to entertain them with a grand speech. A political speech that is all pathos or emotion and ethos or character without logic or logos will eventually lost its emotional appeal or pathos as the ethos or credibility will be undermined when the speech does not serve its purpose – that is to logically respond and address the current political issue that is besetting the country. In the Inaugural Speech of President Obama, he optimized all the three rhetorical concepts which are pathos, ethos and logos. The speech first attempted to connect with the audience as the President relate that he is one of the “People (who) have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers”. He sparingly used the word “I” so as not to alienate his audience and only in the context of a collective “we”. It is followed by ethos and logos which are mutually supportive as he recognized the issues that America is facing and how it can be overcome. He spoke of lofty ideals that are associated with positive values such as “honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism” that it rubbed on him. The President also spoke of unity in the midst of political recriminations and proclaimed to “end petty grievances and false promises” recognizing that America is shaped by “every language and culture, drawn from every planet of this earth”. It is not a wonder why the President’s Inaugural Speech became so popular that it is even being considered as a subject of this article – it contained all the essentials that makes an excellent political speech. Read More