A Rhetorical Analysis of Barack Obama’s last speech.
15 October 17
A Rhetorical Analysis of Barack Obama’s last speech.
Last speeches can be the hardest one and because they require much
diligence due to their importance. Brazilian lyricist and novelist, Paulo
Coehlo, describes goodbyes as “if you are brave enough to say goodbye, life
will reward with a new hello.” The speech I have chosen is the last speech of
Barack Hussein Obama who is an American politician and served as the forty-fourth
President of United States from 2009 to 2017. He gives the speech to the people
who supported him during his presidency. He talks about what he did during his
presidency and what he is going to do after his presidency.
Barack
Obama uses his pathos to show his sadness and meantime his happiness to the
audience. The words that he uses are strong and impactful to touch the
audiences’ heart. For examples; “Michelle and I have been milking this
goodbye, all of you come together, it grew and built, it was infused with a
sense of hope, you proved the power of hope, All the amazing things that
happened over these last year are evident to you, our democracy is you.” Those
words are the most effective and emotional words given by Barack Obama using
his pathos to appeal the audience.
Barack Obama uses his ethics successfully to appeal to
the audience through his credible eight years of service as a president. “We
did so with an abiding faith, change the country in ways that would make life
better, some folks didn’t think we could pull it off, you knocked on doors, it
wasn’t blind optimism, it wasn’t willful ignorance to all the challenges that
America faces, we have been the face, the military is a group of committed
patriots willing to sacrifice everything, this is not a period, this has been
the privilege of my life, we look forwarding to continuing this journey with
all of you.” Those words are given by Barack Obama using his ethos. After
eight years serving as a president, those words are persuasive and successful
to appeal to his audience. He is successful in encouraging the audience for
what they have done together and by what they can do for the future. As an
example, “it's just a comma” it is a strong message for audience.
Barack
Obama, in his last speech, does not use much logic. Because it is his last
speech, it is unnecessary to use much logic for appeal. He rather appeal to the
audience through emotions and ethics. However, what he did during his
presidency is to convey logic through evidence and examples. He uses logical
appeal just a few times in his last speech. As a example, “Some of them a lot closer to Malia’s age than mine or Michelle’s.”
Barack
Obama, in his last speech, aims to touch the emotions of his audience deeply.
So the speech is mostly emotional. He usually uses his ethos and pathos to
appeal to the audience. Even though the speech does not have much logos, I
believe that Barack Obama was successful in getting the point across with his
ethical and emotional appeal. Barack Obama is loved and because he is a loving
person, so it makes it easier to appeal to his audiences through ethos and
pathos. In conclusion, he was very successful at making people feel appreciated
for their help and support.
Ridvan Raphael Kol
Work Cited
Obama, Barack Hussein. “Farewell Remarks at Joint
Base Andrews” delivered 20 January 2017, Prince George County, Maryland, americanrhetoric.com/speeches/barackobama
/barackobamafarewelltostaffandrewsaft.htm Accessed 15
Oct. 2017.
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