Basic Questions for Rhetorical Analysis

• Who is the author/speaker?

-Obama uses ethos when he quotes about Ronald Reagan:
"And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them — this is Ronald Reagan speaking — urging them to listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of military-style assault weapons."

• What is his/her intention?

- His intention is to have America on board with him issuing Gun Control.
-Stop violence

 

• Who make up the audience?

-The target audience is America, and the secondary audience is Congress.
"To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act, and Congress must act soon. And I’m calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away."
-Obama uses PATHOS when he talks to the audience about the small beautiful children that died at the Sandy Hook shooting and the brave teachers who also died. The audience feels sad and also angry that innocent people died because of the use of gun violence.

• What is the form/structure/medium in which it is conveyed?

-Obama states the problem in his speech and then tells why it is a problem and how we need to fix it. By doing this the audience can easily follow along with him and be persuade into being on board for issuing the Gun Control proposal

• Which persuasive and rhetorical devices are used to accomplish the purpose?

-Obama uses many rhetorical devices throughout his speech.
"we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us. " He uses this from the Declaration of Independence to show ETHOS. It moves the audience because it is powerful and famous words.
-At first Obama uses a sad or sympathetic tone in his speech when he reads the letters from the children about stopping gun violence and when he talks about the Innocent people who died because of it. Then later on in his speech Obama tone is very authoritative when he talks about how congress needs to help too and what we as Americans need to do together.
-Obama also brightens up the mood in his speech when he reads a little girl letter to him.
"You know, in the letter that Julia wrote me, she said “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.” The audience gets a little laugh and then the president agrees with her and makes his point that Congress needs to help with the gun control.