Lamp's Lang/Lit Lounge

Nirali and Aashna Breaking Down Obama's Second Inauguration Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Aashna) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 04:00:00 +0000

BTW: Nirali=Nirali and me=Aashna

Nirali: AASHNAAAAA

Sent at 9:46 PM on Friday

Nirali: heyy

me: hey

ready??

Nirali: blegh i guess

Sent at 9:48 PM on Friday

me: okay so from the beginning, Obama likes to convey a sense of nationalism by talking about history and the constitution

for example, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Nirali: definitely and you can totally see that he uses "we" to bring that feeling of togetherness

i'm sure that if they counted "we" on the word cloud, it would probably be as big as "people"

me: haha yeah.

he really wants to evoke a sense of unity

Nirali: he does refer to the constitution directly from his parallelism of "we the people"

Sent at 9:52 PM on Friday

me: it helps him build up his point of saying that hey we have been through so much and the reason we succeeded was because we were together

Nirali: true, for example: "Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune."

Sent at 9:54 PM on Friday

Nirali: Obama's known for using parallelism very frequently, but I think in this case the majority of that was focused on instilling that we are one nation

Sent at 9:55 PM on Friday

me: and that the success of our future depends on us staying as one nation. in some ways,

Sent at 9:57 PM on Friday

me: it really makes you want to just believe him and trust that he will lead his country correctly

which is an example of pathos

Sent at 9:58 PM on Friday

Nirali: you know, it's really interesting that you used the words "trust and believe" because the theme is "Faith in America's Future"

me: haha well then he is very good at getting his point across even from the beginning

throughout his whole speech, i think he is trying to get us to trust him. i mean considering the fact that the reason he was re-elected was because of the electoral votes- not the popularity votes

Sent at 10:01 PM on Friday

Nirali: well i don't think the point is to trust him, but more like recognizing the equality in our nation

i mean

he directly references the Declaration of Independence in:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

i'm looking over the whole transcript right now

and the amount of times he says "we" is ludricous

even here: "My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together."

me: his overuse of we acts as a great rhetorical device (paralellism).

Nirali: using the words "my fellow Americans" just adds to his intense focus on community

me: again evoking a sense of faith in our nation and future.

Nirali: i think what's really important that he's identifying is the difference between "then" and "now"

especially here: "For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn."

i think he's definitely stressing on remembering the past and working toward the future

me: throughout his speech, "past" is used negatively and "now" is used positively. like the quote that you just pasted, he talks about the past as though our lives were flushed down the toilet back then and "now" we are going to change that all and everything is going to be better. i guess that is just another way for him to incorporate pathos into his speech

Nirali: definitely

Obama's known for incorporating pathos in his speeches

he speaks eloquently and also reaches climaxes in his speeches to emphasis his points

me: he is a really great public speaker but the way i saw it was that his whole speech incorporated a lot of pathos (such as when he talks about the girl born into poverty but has big dreams and hopes)

Nirali: now that i look at it more closely and take time to put it all together instead of watching it, i think there are really good, key points that he's planning to focus on

but what kind of happily surprised me was this:

"our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts"

me: feminism

Nirali: i mean, i don't mean to be all OH WOMEN ARE AWESOME but seriously, that was awesome

me: yeah it was him basically pointing out that women should also be treated equal

which i totally respect him for that

Nirali: and between his first inaugural address and his second?

"A New Birth of Freedom" and "Faith in America's Future"

me: well because of the evolution of time from when his first speech was to his second speech, the concerns of his speeches are different. the first one focused on the war and global affairs while this one is mostly concentrated on fortifying the nation

Nirali: yeah but i think they both still really stressed on national unity

me: true

Nirali: you're totally right though, the first inaugural address was focused on America's challenges in itself and globally

me: its a reoccurring theme- unity i mean

but i feel that now he realizes that his goal should be to unify the American nation rather than on taking part in global affairs like wars.

Sent at 10:23 PM on Friday

Nirali: definitely, the three key things he really focuses on are strengthening, unifying, and moving forward

and we can definitely see the correlation between the theme of the future in his second inaugural address and his reelection campaign them "Forward"

Sent at 10:25 PM on Friday

me: i think now being elected for the second time, he has shown signs of being more experienced and knowledgeable and understanding what the position of the president really is. he wants to unify America and the citizens. and he expresses that thoroughly. his speech in some ways mimics the MLK Jr. speech such that he doesn't say "I have a dream..." but he addresses that his dream is equality and unity for the future of America.

in replace of "i have a dream.." he says "We, the people,"

Sent at 10:30 PM on Friday

Nirali: definitely, there are a lot of easily seen historical allusions such as "We, the people" from the Constitution, a couple phrases from the Declaration of Independence, and intense parallelism like MLK Jr.

OOH can we talk about word clouds

i really like them

me: haha they are indubitably (i had to) cool looking and informational :)

Nirali: yeah they give you the gist, but in a colorful way!

well i think the fact that "must" is the largest word definitely shows how much force he's using to convey his ideas

me: if you compare the two word clouds, you can see that he is promoting change for the nation

this time around

Sent at 10:34 PM on Friday

me: and you are right, "must" is such a strong word that it shows that he is looking at a better, brighter future of America

Nirali: definitely and he's usually using "must" after "we", making that responsibility of change one that the whole nation needs to recognize

that was a little wordy but you get my point

me: haha point understood. since your world cloud was similar to the real one, did you already assume what his speech would envelope before??

why did you choose the words you did??

Sent at 10:37 PM on Friday

Nirali: not really, we just kind of thought generally + recent things during his last term + stuff he should want to point out like the progress we've made, and that it was a collective effort

Sent at 10:38 PM on Friday

me: because when me and Mike were making it, we used the old transcript and tried to point out the key words. i guess we subconsciously assumed that the second inaugural speech would be no different from the first.

but i can assure you that I felt there were major differences

Sent at 10:40 PM on Friday

me: for one thing, i think his speech improved and more rhetorical devices were used

Nirali: there definitely were major differences, his first inaugural address felt focused on what more Americans can do for their country, his second seemed more of a push for our whole nation to recognize their responsibilities

me: but in all, since most people listen to the speech once, he made a really strong first impression about what he hopes to happen/do in his second term.

Akhil's Thoughts on President Obama's Second Inaugural Address

noreply@blogger.com (Akhil Chakravarti) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 01:42:00 +0000

This Monday, millions around the country gathered to watch President Barack Hussein Obama give his second inaugural address. Listening to Obama give a speech is always a thought-provoking experience as he is, in my opinion, one of the best orators in American history. Personally, of speeches I have heard by U.S. presidents, my favorites have come from Bill Clinton, but I must say that listening to President Obama speak is something I consider to be a privilege. Over the past four years or so, we have grown accustomed to a certain style of speaking from Obama. Long pauses. Rhetorical questions. Constant emphasis on the importance of patience as we try to move our country in a positive direction. This speech, however, deviated from a traditional "Obama speech."

In fact, Jon Favreau, the director of speechwriting for the White House, said it was one of the hardest speeches he has written, and rightfully so. Having to write a speech (the second of its kind) for one of the greatest orators in American history and at arguably the most important stages of Obama's presidency? Sound pretty tough to me. Favreau looked at previous second inaugural addresses and found that they all had themes associated with them. For Abraham Lincoln and George W. Bush, their second inaugural speeches were an attempt to set the tone for the next four years, to show the people what direction the nation was moving in. Similarly, Obama had a theme for his speech, a form of rhetoric in itself, for subconsciously we all got the same message out of his speech: we must do something now.

In class we were tasked with predicting the words that Obama would use in this speech. A mistake that Shawn (my partner) and I made was that we chose our top words based on 49 pages worth of transcripts from Obama's previous speeches. The words we predicted were the following: America, people, and country. These are three common words that would be spoken by a president, but this was no common speech, especially for Obama. During his first inaugural address, a central theme was a call for restoring responsibility. After having served for four years, Obama now understands that the only way that he and the rest of this country can succeed is that each and every one of us hold ourselves accountable. He seemed to be stressing that we need to come together and make sure that we make are at our best. He emphasized words like must, people, and time, which were not what we predicted, but definitely noteworthy.

There is no doubt that all of this was tailored to the situation our country is in, Obama wanted to drive the point home that the only way we can move our country in the right direction is by working together. He said, "This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending. An economic recovery has begun. America’s possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive; diversity and openness; an endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together."

With all that has gone on with disagreements in Congress, Obama understands that the best way to capitalize on the opportunities that await us in the next four years is to collaborate. There is no time for petty arguments, we must work together. Obama stressed this point as much as humanly possible, starting three paragraphs in a row with "together" and SEVEN consecutive paragraphs with "we." If that doesn't scream parallelism and repetition, I don't know what does. I think Obama did a great job in stating how we can (and should) play a role in America's future rather simply saying that we should.

Did anyone catch the similarity between a lot of what President Obama was saying and "I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr.?

"Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm." - President Barrack Hussein Obama

"From the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Obama was appealing to our pathos to evoke the passion that this country has for one of its greatest Civil Rights Activists. Since nearly every student in the American school system is educated about Martin Luther King Jr. from a young age, they have almost certainly have heard this speech and understand its significance, further capturing the emotional appeal of a line like this. Additionally, our country has greatly rallied each other after the tragedy in Newtown, and this line was crafted to increase emotional connection to the speech, an effective use of pathos. This was a speech full of patriotism, which despite all of our differences, is one thing that we can all come together on.

Despite this not being a traditional Obama speech, it definitely had traditional "Obama climax" toward the end. "You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country’s course.

You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals." Parallelism, climax, it was all there and it all had that "Obama effect" where you heard his voice gradually increase in strength, a signature.

And then there was a twist. As a master rhetorician, instead of the traditional, God bless you and God bless these United States of America, President Obama said "Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America." Subtle, but perhaps this was an attempt to show that the next four years will be different then the previous four. Only time will tell.

Casey and Adrian: Obama Chat

noreply@blogger.com (Pork-Chop) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:30:00 +0000

ccamarco: Obama's speech used a lot of rhetorical devices.
ascherer: I know he is really good at speaking with rhetoric
especially parallelism
ccamarco: his ability to use the climax technique is insane!
he completely controls the crowd
ascherer: haha exactly thats why everyone loves to come out and see him speak
ccamarco: That explains the large crowd at a second inauguration. that is unheard of.
ascherer: i know it was huge and i found it interesting how similar his speaking was to that of MLK jr especially how often he uses parallelism
“Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers. Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play. Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.”
ccamarco: that is exactly what i was going to say
he uses that to draw the crowd in
ascherer: I love parallelism
ccamarco: and it works very well
ascherer: Its easy to listen to
it is a good example of ethos
ccamarco: besides just the repetition, he also uses the word "we" in each of those lines to draw a connection between him and the people
which is a great example of ethos.
ascherer: exactly it appeals to the people
ccamarco: he uses the crowds emotional attachment brought about by the word "we" to sway their opinion.
ascherer: which is pathos
yeah like when he says "we" it makes me feel like hes a regular guy
and I think that is what he was going for in the speech
ccamarco: and that he and i are very similar and worked toward this together.
just very well put together
ascherer: yeah and that ties into the whole faith in America's future theme
Like we can do it together to improve
ccamarco: yes it does. Very well, actually.
he tries to play down all the discrimination out there and make the people believe it is changing.
Especially discriminations against various cultures/religions.
ascherer: yeah agreed
well i think that the speech was focused on stuff like that it was more about the social status of America
ccamarco: that is true.
ascherer: which is good, but I really think he avoided some key issues such as the economy
ccamarco: he focused on improving the country as a whole, but didn't look into the economy as much as expected.
that may be because there was not much of a change since the Bush administration.
ascherer: yeah I think that he wanted to avoid the issue and talk about things that the crowd would relate to and inspire the crowd
which ties back to the ethos/pathos/logos thing
me: as long as the crowd is on his side then he has a better image with them. by not talking about it he is trying to not tarnish his image.
ascherer: exactly and tarnishing his image would hurt his ethos
ccamarco: yes it would
ascherer: i'm trying to find some other examples of rhetoric
ccamarco: this can also show what he learned from his last term.
ascherer: yeah it can
ccamarco: he has learned that nothing in the economy has really changed so he didn't talk about it in the speech.
ascherer: I also think at times he hinted in the speech at the fact that the congress didn't really let him get things done in the last term which he learned can really hamper his progress
"For now decisions are upon us and we cannot afford delay"
ccamarco: i saw that as well. he was subtle.
ascherer: yeah again he doesn't want to just go out and piss off the republicans by calling them out but I think he wanted to sort of cover up his for his rear end for the things he didn't get done so to do that he hinted at the fact that he congress did not let him get things done
that is pathos
ccamarco: yes it is. a little off topic but i thought his use of a quote from the constitution. was very good.
"We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths –- that all of us are created equal –- is the star that guides us still;"
It really tied our country's past with our future.
scherer: Definitely. It brings the audience back to the time of hope and freedom and equality. A time of good
ccamarco: A time when people set out to improve their lives through hard work and freethought.
ascherer: which is what Obama was promoting. He wants to focus on work and education and innovation to keep America changing and the hub of the world. This reference to the past actually almost helped show the theme of moving forward for the future.
ccamarco: That is the truth!
ascherer: Like that those principles of the past should be used now and in the future to move America forward.And going back to rhetorical devices, I like the way Obama used climax
ccamarco: he used it throughout his speech.
much like most of his other speeches.
ascherer: He tied it in well with parallelism He would build up to it with "We" and then hit the climax
ccamarco: his tone also helped play up the emotions emotions of the crowd to have the climax.
ascherer: Yeah and on a public speaking note, he had a very good feel for the crowd and would almost work their applause into the speech and use it with climax to his advantage
ccamarco: his previous inaugural speech climaxed at the ideas of moving forward. that was also a theme in this speech but not as much as we had expected. that can be seen by our wordle because forward is the largest word while it is not even close in the wordle of this speech.
ascherer: I know man! I thought we had it dead on with forward and future and innovation as the main words. Those were themes, but I would've really thought there would have been more emphasis on it and moving forward with the economy, education, etc. All the parallelism used made “We” such a key word. Knowing Obama’s frequent use of parallelism we definitely should’ve added “We”
ccamarco: We definitely should have included “we.” But our predictions of “nation” was spot on and so was “America.” Although we had those, we should have had them larger because they were common in his speech. i can’t believe he didn't say poof! We went out on a limb and it didn't pay off.
ascherer: Haha lolol I would’ve expected him to say that at least once! I’m sure he poofed while he was up there too so it really should’ve counted.
ccamarco: hahahaha he was definitely poofin’ it up there.
ascherer: Yeah. Well anyway he has learned a lot from the past four years and I can’t wait to see what’ll be in store for the next four. Hopefully he will improve the economy so that we can get jobs coming out of college!
ccamarco: I think there is a good chance of that. His first four years was his warm up years. Now he is set and ready to go.
ascherer: yeah i’m sure he now knows what it is going to take to get things done. I’m excited to see what he can do.
ccamarco: I am excited to see the “change” he is going to bring to this country.
ascherer: Alright man nice chatting with you. We kicked butt.
ccamarco: Indeed we did. Its been real.

Obama: The Return

noreply@blogger.com (Teddy Buriani) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 03:17:00 +0000

I, like millions of Americans, am not the biggest politics fan. In my free time, I don't go on YouTube and watch old presidential inauguration speeches. So in my life, I've really only listened to/heard an inauguration speech from two presidents: Obama and Bush. I'm also, nor have I ever been, an expert on rhetorical devices. Pathos, ethos, and logos to me are like transcription, translation, and DNA replication to the average incoming freshman. However, even I could tell that out of the two, Obama's speeches, and speech-giving abilities are clearly superior to Bush's. Obama's first inaugural speech (for lack of a better term) "rocked by socks." And what did I think of his speech given this past monday? Well, let's just say it didn't disappoint.

This year's speech, much like the one back in 2009, was chocked full of rhetorical devices. Right off the bat, he gives us a little sneak peek at the rhetoric that is to come with a bit of repetition in his line "What makes us exceptional-what makes us American." Almost immediately after that, Obama goes back in time to quote the Declaration of Independence. He also, at various other points in the speech, references America in 1776. He specifically highlights the patriots that founded this country during that time period, in order to inspire nationalism throughout the audience by highlighting the accomplishments of our founding fathers, and to convince us continue to "keep safe our founding creed" that "for two-hundred years, we have."

Obama was also frequently guilty of using parallelism throughout the speech. Two paragraphs after his reference to the patriots of 1776, Obama recites a trio of sentences about America's triumphs over the years (such as determining how to effectively use railroads and highways to benefit the economy, discovering how a free-market should be run, and resolving our responsibilities as a nation.) All three of those sentences began with the phrase, "Together, we..." The purpose of this was again to remind us of what we have, and can accomplish if we work together as a nation. Another instance of this parallelism was (among the almost hundred times he used the word "we") when he began three sequential paragraphs with the phrase "We, the people, still believe that..." Much like with the repetition of the word "we," Obama repeats this specific phrase emphasize the fact that despite our individuality, we are still nation of Americans united as one. This goes back to the motto that together, as a nation we can achieve anything.

Another rhetorical device that Obama made use of a lot during his last inauguration speek was Gradatio. To me, it's not much dependent on the writing, but on the speaker's execution. Obama used this device a couple times in his speech, one example being when he says, "We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own." The reason why it is such a powerful device is that it really energizes the audience to aid in maintaining support from it. It also works to "spice up" an otherwise boring speech (not that this speech was boring)

From listening to his speech, I also learned I am terrible at predicting what Obama is going to say. Looking at my word cloud versus Obama's you can see some glaring differences. The first is that I have about thirteen or fourteen words, while Obama's has probably over one hundred. I guess since his speech was twenty minutes, I assumed he would only speak for about five minutes or so. However, a few of the few words that I did have were somewhat close to what Obama said. My "biggest"word, nation, was used a lot by Obama. Although, Obama seemed to want to use America more than nation, while I thought the opposite. The theme of my word cloud seemed to be overcoming differences to eventually unite as a nation. Obama appeared to bypass the differences, and go right to uniting the nation.

Between Obama's first and second speeches, I'd have to choose this one over the first one as my favorite. I think the main difference between these two speeches is that his first speech spoke a lot about the country's status at that time. He talked about the crises that our nation faced at the time and who we were individually as a nation at the time. While he did make a few references to the past, and talked about a few thing that we "must do" here and there in his last speech, I feel like this most recent speech really strayed away from the present and focused on the past and the future. He talked about what we've done in the past as a nation, and lessons we can learn from the past to benefit the future. This is particularly evident by the theme of "Faith In America's Future." I definitely think he stuck to that theme, in the sense that "as evident by our past, he has faith in what we could do in the future."

That was all a technical, class-related response to his speak. Personally, I actually think the speech was great. My favorite part of it? My favorite part was his "shoutout" to the the town of Sandy Hook, CT. To me, it showed how much he actually cares for not only the victims of the shooting, but all of us as Americans. It showed that tradgedy is not something that he address in the aftermath because it's his presidential duty, but because he actually cares for the victims.

All-in-all.... way to go Barry O.

Inaugural Address Activity by Nina

noreply@blogger.com (Nina Hjelm) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 02:50:00 +0000

So I'm really not into politics and they really make no sense to me so excuse me if I sound like a neophyte (yay vocab word!). I felt like Obama's speech focused mainly on economy, work and children. Reforming programs and policies was another central topic. To me, he pretty much followed "Faith in America's Future," but focused more on how we can improve the future, which I guess is sorta the same (ish) thing. Regardless of staying on theme, I think the content of the speech was good and didn't completely bore me to sleep like most politics do, so I'd definitely say that's good! He talked a lot about working together and ignoring our differences.

Here he used parallelism excellently to emphasize the importance and history of the country and the people working together:

"Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce; schools and colleges to train our workers.

Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.

Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune."

He used the same kind of strategy later in the speech but used "We the people," followed with longer paragraphs and repeated it for another parallel effect.

All throughout the speech he alluded to the Preamble, to the Constitution, to Civil Rights, to the Revolutionary Period, and made it all fit together nicely to fit today. He definitely had a lot of pathos in there, one time in particular referring to the "little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own." He also talked about Sandy, which was more pathos. But he balanced out the pathos with logos as well by talking about creating jobs and businesses.

Compared with the speech from last year, both talked about working together and jobs and economy. 2008's seemed to focus more on the nation and work and the people, but this years was definitely more focused on "together" and equality and how we're on a long journey. I feel like these themes are really similar, which isn't necessarily bad. They each have their nuances though! (LOL another vocab word!!)

And I'll end with my favorite quote from the speech, which happens to use parallelism:

"We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall."

Obama Round 2: The Reinaugurating

noreply@blogger.com (MyNameIsNotTroy) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 02:08:00 +0000

Obama's presidency has, of course, not gone without criticism. Some of that criticism was accurate, and some was not, but here is neither the place nor the time for discussing the details pertaining to either opinion. What is important, now, is Barack Obama's second inauguration address. It sets the tone for what he hopes the next four years will be like, and it allows him to lay out his plan for America.

One important facet of his inauguration speech I noticed almost immediately was the invocation of the Declaration of Independence and tales of the American Revolution. Here is an example of Obama doing something he does well, often: combining two different aspects of rhetoric. This particular example combines logos and pathos, by combining stories of the American Revolution with his plan to help America come together and move forward.

"Moving forward" was one of the promises of Obama in 2008, and he continues that promise here, albeit on a more subtle level. In 2008, he asked that everyone follow him; now, he wants everyone to work at the same level. The word "together" is used as anaphora towards the beginning of his speech. It was predicted in the word cloud, in fact, that "together" would be an oft-used term.

Much like the word "together," "we" pops up often. Over seventy times, to be exact! His emphasis on community and togetherness is echoed throughout the entire speech, and it represents an interesting departure from his rhetoric four years ago. Then, he saw his election as a turning point for America. His rise to power brought CHANGE® and HOPE® and PROGRESS®, and he would bring America towards a brighter future. Much of what he said then was a response to the Bush administration, and Americans elected him because they wanted someone new to lead them.

Now, Obama's rhetoric is less hopeful. Rather than claiming that his inauguration is a symbol of change in itself, he asks America to work in harmony and strive towards a better future. Perhaps this reflects a less optimistic President, or perhaps simply a more realistic one. He is keenly aware of the partisanship that many have criticized over the past four years, as he refers to the fact that his oath is "to God and country, not party or faction." Here, there is a use of ethos. He is attempting to re-assert his credibility with the American people.

Another good example of Obama's use of ethos is when he uses anaphora and parallelism to list the challenges that America must overcome to ensure a bright future, from civil rights to immigration to public safety. He continually states that America needs to overcome its differences to help those who need help the most. He even cites Newtown in his plea to keep America's children safe in a not-so-hidden example of pathos.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of Obama's second inaugural address is the fact that there are no questions in the entire speech. There is no use of hypophora, nor any rhetorical questions. Since Obama and his speechwriters pore over these sorts of things for months and months in order to make certain that everything is perfect, there is no way that this is unintentional. Personally, I see Obama's use of no types of questions a deliberate attempt to shy away from implying that he has no answer to them. He gives only answers, in fact, to try to prove that his next term in office will be better than his first. It is a subtle and cunning use of logos by Obama, one that could serve him well over the next four years.

Obama's Second Inaugural Address According to Shawn

noreply@blogger.com (Shawn Srolovitz) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 02:00:00 +0000

Considered by many the best orator and rhetorician of all the presidents, Obama had high expectations to meet for his second Inaugural Address on Monday. In his speech, Obama focused on “Faith in America’s Future,” as he outlined some of his plans for his next four years in office. Likewise, Obama made use of various rhetorical advices to appeal to the US citizens and to evoke patriotism and public support for the future of America.

One of the main devices used by Obama is allusions and not only allusions but also direct quotations from some of America’s most famous documents. For example, Obama directly quotes the Declaration of Independence, by stating “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” By doing so, Obama attempts to appeal to the pathos of the American people. He is evoking a sense of patriotism and support for restoring our nation to its glory, by citing some of the most America’s most prized possessions. Another example of Obama’s allusions references Martin Luther King, especially appropriate because the inauguration was on Martin Luther King Day. Obama augments his ethos, by showing his knowledge and understanding of the rich history of the United States of America.

In addition to allusions, Obama’s use of gradatio is significant in not only his Inaugural Address, but in all of his speeches. Obama creates climaxes throughout his speech to create enthusiasm and to emphasize the importance of taking action against the problems America is facing. Obama often starts by describing a problem and then increasing his enthusiasm and tone as he reaches points regarding how we can work to solve said problems.

In response to the hardships that America has faced over the past few years, Obama stresses his hope (and the hope we should all have) for improving America’s position in the world. Obama describes ways that he plans to help America, including reforming health care, supporting democracy across the world, and decreasing our impact on the environment. Interestingly, two of the most commonly used words in this speech are “we” and “must.” We had predicted that Obama would use words like "America," "promise," and "country" most often based on a variety of his past speeches, but he surprised us by using other powerful words. By using the word “we” over seventy times, Obama emphasizes the importance of working together as a nation, not as individuals. The success of the US dependent on the collective efforts of us as a people, not on the hard work of a few individuals. Similarly, the use of “must” describes the imperativeness of improving our nation; Obama believes that we need to fix our nation soon and utilizes his second inaugural address to try to motivate the US citizens to help work for change.

Obama does a great job in addressing the theme of “Faith in America’s Future.” He clearly displays that he wholeheartedly believes that America can be restored to its glory and its position as the most powerful nation in the world. The passion in Obama’s address makes it easy for American citizens to choose to support Obama’s cause for change in the current state of our country.

Compared to Obama’s first inaugural address, this one has a slightly greater aura of urgency. By using words like “must,” Obama insinuates the necessity to change the course America is on. In his last inaugural address, Obama focused more on his plans to improve national unity and fix the issues that he inherited. In contrast, his second address Obama describes his visions for the future of America, long past his term in office. His first term in office seems to have taught him the importance of persevering as a nation and the necessity of national unity through various crises and tough times. By understanding both the accomplishments and his shortcomings of Obama’s first term, he will be able to better serve the country as the President and bring the country back on the track to success, away from economic depression and foreign opposition.

Twitter discussion (in class) - Ceci, Maura, Tia

noreply@blogger.com (Ceciliarose3xx) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:50:00 +0000

Obama's Speech as Percieved by a Politic Neophyte

noreply@blogger.com (Riley Englehart) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:33:00 +0000

***Disclaimer: I know nothing about politics so all views mentioned in this post should be taken with a grain of salt***

So, as visible above, I’m a not a big follower of politics. I don’t religiously watch the senatorial news or listen to the presidential debates. I’m proud of my knowledge that there’s a president, a senate and a house of representatives; the fact that I know there’ s an electoral college and a president’s cabinet? Well that’s just an extra gold star for me. But that’s beside the point. The thing that I’m trying to say is, despite my lack of exposure to political speakers, Obama gives one heck of a speech.

I’m serious.

The way he flows from phrase to phrase leaving out the “ands” is just so smooth and eloquent. The way he uses first person pronouns instead of isolated second person ones is just so relatable. The way he phrases all his paragraphs with parallel structure is just so captivating. The whole speech is just so… Wow.

Now, I can’t really tell you what anything in the speech has to do with anything. I can’t tell you what changes he’s going to implement or what policies he’s going to remove. I mean, the only thing I understood from all of the verbiage was “that all of us were created equal”. And honestly, rereading the transcript, the only concrete idea that I seem to find is equality. Equality for you, equality for me, equality for the random homeless person sleeping on the side of the street.

But, somehow… When Obama speaks it feels like his speech means everything in the world. Even though a word of it might not make sense to my brain the sound of it is like music to my ears. He inflicts his voice with such emotion, such conviction that what he is saying is correct, is necessary. He doesn’t waver and I think it’ pretty cool.

I’m sure that the fact he talked about freedom and equal rights drew some people in but I think that what we often ignore is that no matter what a speech may be about it is the way that it is verbalized that makes it a good or a bad speech. You can listen to a little girl give a speech about the importance of having a cat but the ridiculous of the argument won’t turn you away because the girl is articulate. Because your ears take pleasure in hearing the noise produced from the girl’s lips.

That’s how Obama is.

I’m sure he had a wonderful speech that actually makes sense to people who know something about politics but for me it was the melody of his talking that drew me in. But that’s just my two sense, and I already told you that you shouldn’t trust my views expressed in this post.

Adios readers,

Riley

Melissa's Post on Obama's Second Inaugural Address

noreply@blogger.com (Melissa Dong) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:18:00 +0000

On Monday, January 21st, 2013, President Obama made history again. He is not only the first African-American president to be elected president for two terms but also the first president to use the word "gay" in his inaugural speech.

I don't like politics, and most of the time I don't really understand it. I did grasp his focus on equality and the balance between personal and government responsibility; however, politics aside, President Obama is a skilled public speaker who knows how to use rhetorical devices well. His consistent use of parallelism, climax, and allusions help make him such a great speaker.

Obama speaking during inauguration 2013

His constant parallelism is seen in many of his other speeches and debates. In this particular speech, he emphasizes "We, the people" and "Together", and based on all the other posts so far, it has been effective in making it clear to everyone that he wants to build a future together as a nation. The parallelism gives a sense of consistency and assurance in what he is saying, and because he uses the device so much, it becomes a trademark of his. For me personally, parallelism also adds to the flow of the speech, and as I'm listening, I become more and more attentive each time he begins the same phrase because it seems like he will build up to a final point.

This parallelism often results in a climatic effect. Each time he continues with a certain phrase/word, he begins to emphasize it more and more. For example when Obama begins to describe "our generation's task" he uses the phrase "our journey is not complete" multiple times. Eventually, it culminates to great applause and cheering. This section contains a lot of specific scenarios to which many people can relate, using pathos. This is the point when President Obama mentions gay marriage rights and voting rights, and the "little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own."

The large crowd at the National Mall during the speech

President Obama alludes to many different instances from history (Lincoln's address, Seneca Falls, Selma, Stonewall), reminding us that to get through this tough time, we must stay true to American values and principles. Obama's ethos is strengthened by these allusions, proving his credibility. In fact, his ethos distracts me from some of his points that apparently, weren't exactly legitimate. For example, when we watched a bit of the speech live in history class, Mr. Ross pointed out when he says "that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action" and asked us to analyze what Obama meant by that. I didn't even catch it the contradiction at first because I just listened to and believed everything Obama said because he is a brilliant speaker, and, well, the president.

In general, I think it's clear that Obama has grown over the past four years, just like everyone else in the country. He looked jaded, gray-haired, and tired, but his speech had a determined focus on the "Faith in America's Future." The most used word "must" (according to International Business Times, not me because I was pretty off in my predictions) was relevant in presenting the urgency of the situation. With his constant reminder of coming "together" to complete "our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American," President Obama brings faith to the American people.

Aashna, Mike, and Franki's Discussion on Obama's Inaugural Speech

noreply@blogger.com (francesca) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 01:15:00 +0000

Michael Lichardi: want to start with the use of historical allusions?

(and what would that be considered? ethos?)

Aashna: like the fact that he used "we, the people", over and over again?? and yeah i believe so

history has credibility

Michael Lichardi: true true

ok ill go for it

Aashna: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” he starts off with this quote

Franki: I think that Obama wants to emphasize the fact that America should be a united front.

Aashna: i thought he was saying how far they have come as a nation

me: He is trying to evoke a sense of unity and nationalism right off the bat, by starting with that quote

Sent at 7:08 PM on Thursday

Franki: I agree with you Aashna, it is also evident in how he referenced the constitution as one of the "founding documents"

Michael Lichardi: He's using pathos and ethos here. Pathos because he's appealing to, like Franky said, the nationalistic side of people and making everyone feel a sense of pride to be apart of these United States.

Aashna: in his first speech, he started off by noting all the presidents that took the oath and again notes the We the People so not much has changed

Michael Lichardi: Ethos because he references the Constitution.

Aashna: he still is a man strong in his appeal of nationalism and unity. i think its both ethos and pathos.

Franki: Exactly, he wants people to feel as secure in him and his actions as people did when the Constitution was written

Michael Lichardi: He used "We the people.." a lot.

This repetition serves as more pathos.

Aashna: something about unity is just a calming thought and that is every much gonna touch the hearts of the people.

Michael Lichardi: It gives the people that sense of pride and belonging feeling everyone so desires.

Franki: Exactly, he wants the public to view him as a common man and as though he is a typical American man who people can relate to

Aashna: he wanted to set aside differences of race (MLK reference) and politics and show that set aside their differences and they are all still every much one nation

Michael Lichardi: " My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment, and we will seize it – so long as we seize it together."

To support your claim, Franky

Aashna: ahhh he repeats the words "together" alot

Franki: That was another historical allusion he used to express how America has changed and evolved

Aashna: again probably trying to evoke a sense of unity

Franki: Unity seemed to be a very important theme of his speech

Michael Lichardi: Well since we're in a time of rebuilding after a war, it makes sense.

Aashna: he also did that in his first speech. showing how AMerica has changed for the better even though there are still problems, they have grown as a nation

Franki: Yes, and he also shared his plans for evolving out nation even more

wait, ignore that

Michael Lichardi: "We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure – our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared."

sorry for the big block of text

it basically outlines what America has to do to move forward and strive.

Franki: That was a huge emotional appeal as well

Michael Lichardi: He references the creed our fathers once declared.

Franki: Obama was trying to stress the importance of being an American and how that meaning has evolved.

Michael Lichardi: That ties pathos in with a historical allusion, making him seem very reputable (ethos).

Franki: This was evident when he said, "We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own."

Aashna: personally, that just seems like a lot of words to hide the fact that we are in the midst of crisis and we need to make alot of changes. but you guys are right. he adds a lot of historical allusions to make it sound reputable

Michael Lichardi: Oh of course, Aashna.

However, he can't come out and say that, since it will make it seem like his presidency was a failure.

Aashna: haha yeah probs not a good idea

Franki: I mean there is a time and a place for dealing with crises and addressing the public about it, but I think he wanted to keep the inauguration speech more uplifting instead on focusing on the hardships we are currently facing

The devices he uses allows the speech to be motivational and inspiring to listeners.

Michael Lichardi: Plus he needs the support of the people, and making himself seem like a bad president is very bad ethos.

Franki: Exactly, he needed to convey that he is the best choice for President and that America did not make the wrong decision

Aashna: and plus his goal for this presidency is to change from our past mistakes and move on

fto improve ourselves

to^

Franki: "But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. "

Aashna: personally, i think the reason he reaches so many families is because he is such a family guy and he shows that through his speech

Michael Lichardi: That ties in his political beliefs in a very moving way.

Good pathos.

It makes people who are against those beliefs seem like bad people, which is clever.

Franki: It is a clever way to word his views because it will make people think twice about his views.,

Michael Lichardi: Exactly.

Aashna: and again it just goes to show the whole unity thing

Michael Lichardi: "Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom."

This highlights the "Faith in America's Future" point well.

Aashna: and it is definitely pathos.

Michael Lichardi: There's tons of pathos in this speech. I think that's mainly because we already know he's a reputable president, he just needs to get more supporters now that he's in office for another years.

another years **

another 4 years**

sorry...

my 4 button stopped working...

Franki: His "Faith in America's Future" is also evident when he speaks about controversial issues.

"It is now our generation’s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law – for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.

That is our generation’s task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. "

I'm sorry for the really long quote, but it represents his idea of America's future.

Aashna: he advocates change all throughout his speech and shows that America will become better.

Michael Lichardi: So i think we can agree that Faith, Unity, Happiness, and Moving Forward with Positive Change are the main themes of his speech?

Franki: I think we can because this is what he sees America to be after his term is over

Aashna: which are all examples of pathos.

if you look back at his first speech, we see that he was really trying to make a big point of the problems but now he is trying to show that even in the means of crisis, we must stand together.

Franki: Eaxctly, he uses so much parallelism with the mentioning of "we" and "you and I" consistantly throughout the speech

Aashna: We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, reach higher.

forgot the quotes

but anyway he shows that he is well aware of the problems and the verbs he uses are really strong too

Franki: This is his vision of America, and this is also apart of the climax, a rhetorical device, used in his speech.

Aashna: like revamp and empower and remake

Michael Lichardi: thats a good point. He uses a lot of very strong words when he climaxes.

Which he does quite effectively.

Aashna: and those strong words make us want to trust him and believe in having faith and change

Sent at 7:33 PM on Thursday

Franki: Those words often evoke inspiration when heard. His delivery of the speech allows people to view those points as the basis of his speech and presidency

Michael Lichardi: Would you guys like to wrap this up with a quick discussion on the word clouds?

Aashna: "But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American."

Franki: Surely

Aashna: again he goes to show that he wants to help every single American and that he understands what we are going through

Franki: My word cloud was kind of in the right ballpark of words, but the words Nirali and I chose were common, such as nation and American

Michael Lichardi: Aashna and I made "We" the most commonly used word, which was fairly accurate.

Aashna: and those words all come to the conclusion of unity

so sorry for being so repetitive

Franki: That was a really good prediction, seeing that he wanted a sense of togetherness among himself and the citizens of this country

Michael Lichardi: No problem Aashna. He was very repetitive, so we have to be to discuss it lol

Franki: I agree, in everything he said there was an underlying sense of unity among the country and how the country has evolved and will evolve together

Aashna: again American also is a historical allusion to MLK because MLK always wanted that every race discrimination be rid off such that they are all Americans even with different skin tones

Sent at 7:38 PM on Thursday

Michael Lichardi: He uses the fact that he is of different skin color to his advantage a lot.

Which, again, is good pathos.

Franki: Although it shouldn't matter, it is what made him stand out in 2008, making him a pop culture icon

Michael Lichardi: which is unfortunate.

Aashna: and the fact that his speech so happened to fall on MLK day just gives a boost to his speech. i also find it interesting how he talks about environmental crisis which really impacted the last few months of his presidency.

Michael Lichardi: And arguably got him elected

Aashna: "Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms."

Franki: That was meant to evoke emotion in the listeners.

Michael Lichardi: PATHOS

Aashna: to show that he understands what many of the families went through even though he wasn't there

Franki: Yup! For example, anyone in the New York and New Jersey areas immediately though of Sandy and it hit home with anyone who has been affected by any natural disaster

Michael Lichardi: Yeah, and the people over by New Orleans thought of Katrina, and what Bush did or didn't do.

Franki: Yup, people all over have been affected by something, whether it be personally or whether it happened to someone they know

Michael Lichardi: I'm trying to keep politics out of this, but I think he used that to make himself seem like he had a better response to Sandy then Bush to Katrina.

Aashna: also in his last speech, he addressed how they were in the war decade and in his speech he addresses how they have left the war and now they should focus on building the nation rather than foreign affairs.

sorry that was totally off topic

Michael Lichardi: not really, it has a lot to do with the disaster we have to move through

Franki: exactly, were you guys surprised by anything he said?

I personally was surprised at the mention of Newtown because it is still a sore subject and was a tragedy that rocked America at its core.

Aashna: not really. i feel that his goal was to show perspective of his goal to build unity and a stronger nation. and he accomplished just that.

Franki: I thought that it was a little to early to start using that, but it did help his point in a positive way

Michael Lichardi: Same, think it was a fairly predictable speech in the sense of what he would talk about.

Sent at 7:47 PM on Thursday

Aashna: i think his goal was to hit home and look out of the whole political barrier and really show that they have to set their differences aside if they want to accomplish anything

i feel that addressing what occurred at Newton did just that

Michael Lichardi: did i get disconnected?

Aashna: it also showed that he is a family person and he understands what a family is considering he has wo daughters

umm no i dont think so Mike

Franki: that's true, and it helps him relate in the end

what do you guys think Obama has learned from his first term in office

Michael Lichardi: I think we'll see in a year or two

Aashna: i dont know if you watched the oath he took on Saturday (the day before his speech) but there were a lot of stuff going on about how he raises a family while being President

Michael Lichardi: He almost didn't screw up the oath, so maybe he learned to practice that more

Aashna: I think he learned that his job is to ensure unity considering he brings that topic over and over in his speech

fyi, he is the second president to have taken the oath four times

Michael Lichardi: Oh I need your opinion on something I was thinking throughout the speech

Franki: I agree, like he was able to get across his new point on unity

Michael Lichardi: I kept thinking Rise of the Proletariat when he was talking about the rising middle class and how we all need to rest on their shoulders

Aashna: that was also one of the main focuses when he was campaigning.

Michael Lichardi: that it was

Franki: yup, there was a pretty big difference in his speeches

Aashna: i guess that has to do with a majority of the American population fitting into that category of being a middle-class citizen

which speech did you guys like better??

Franki: in his first speech it was broader and did not hit any specific points

Aashna: he was just a neophyte then

Michael Lichardi: wow.

nice.

Franki: in the second speech, he went into detail about how the country would change, not just simply stating the fact

Aashna:

Franki: you go with the vocab word

Michael Lichardi: someone's a cool cat

Aashna: i like to think so

Franki: okay so another difference is that this speech had a more positive outlook on change and the future of the country

the first speech only focused on negative aspects, such as war, job loss, and health care issues.

Aashna: personally, just the way his speech was written, i think that we can see that his word choice has changed. his words seems to be more bolder and he is getting better at his use of his rhetorical devices

Franki: Although he used different approaches to get his point across, the theme was still in the same ballpark

Michael Lichardi: I think that's because in his first term, we were in a time of war, and he needed to show he was against it.

Franki: i agree, like now he feels as though he has fixed some issues and can now focus on the future and moving past errors made and moving forward as a nation

Aashna: he stands away from adressing many controversial issues to build on the whole unity and faith themes

Michael Lichardi: i agree as well. I also think that the inaugural address is more of a "come on and follow me, because you're stuck with me anyway!" speech rather than a "pick me over him!" speech.

hence all of the pathos

Franki: that makes sense because hes trying to have all of America back him up, which is a commonality of both speeches

this is probably why his word cloud had people as the top word

he wants everyone to have a sense of unity, therefore supporting his ideologies and his theme of "Faith in America's Future"

Aashna: another world that appeared was "must" to show that they must change

word^

Franki: exactly, his word cloud is representative of what his main points and themes were. I think that;s it.

Michael Lichardi: BYEEEEEE

Franki: bahahh welll BYEEE GUYSS

Aashna: byeeee

Adam, Brianna, Cristina & Sarah: Obama's Inaugural Addresses Chat

noreply@blogger.com (XtinaXtreme) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:37:00 +0000

· Conversation started today

5:58pm

Cristina Panetta

Hi guys!

5:59pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

oh you figured it out

I think Obama's inaguration was better than his first.

6:01pm

Cristina Panetta

I definitely think this one is more positive compared to his first one.

6:02pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

And he was more positive about it. Really tappin' on dat ethos there

6:02pm

Cristina Panetta

For example, in his inaugural address in 2009, he discussed how the nation was in the middle of a crisis, "Our nation is at war... Our economy is badly weakened...Our health care is too costly..." etc.

6:03pm

Brianna Berlin

While I agree that you are right Cristina, I beg to differ

6:03pm

Cristina Panetta

whats your opinion?

6:04pm

Brianna Berlin

Obama's first speech was filled with hope. He used logos and appealed to the logical side of America, by explaining the problems of our nation he hoped to solve.

6:04pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

We sound like robots

6:04pm

Brianna Berlin

But his second Inaugural speech did not mention the ongoing economic crisis he failed to solve in his first term.

6:04pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Probably because he didn't want to sound like a man full of empty promises.

6:04pm

Brianna Berlin

This ignores a crucial part of logical reasoning.

That's true

6:05pm

Cristina Panetta

Yeah, that's a good point! I think he wasn't able to use the same language as in the first one, because he had already been in office before.

6:05pm

Brianna Berlin

He did try and appeal to Ethos this time

6:05pm

Cristina Panetta

Obviously, he's not going to say, "our economy is horrible" if he has just served four years in office

6:05pm

Brianna Berlin

It was a historical moment when he called for gay rights in his inaugural speech

6:05pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

I will admit, he did have a lot on his plate for first term and I'm glad America gave him a chance to prove himself. I hope he succeeds.

6:05pm

Brianna Berlin

Me too.

6:05pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

YEAH IKR SO MUCH ETHOS

6:05pm

Cristina Panetta

oh definitely! I hope so1

6:05pm

Brianna Berlin

Like I was saying though

it really was ethos

he is the first president to openly support gay equality

6:06pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Like they say, as long as they believe it, then it works.

I like how he recited from the Consttution

JKJK IT WAS THE DECLARATION

6:07pm

Cristina Panetta

haha

6:07pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

I think that taps on both ethos and pathos

Because obviously the declaration is legit

And pathos because he was kind of making poignant reminders of why America was built in the first place.

6:08pm

Cristina Panetta

i think that his speech was full of ethos, for example:

6:08pm

Cristina Panetta

.We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.

6:08pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

So any Joe Blow could be successful.

6:08pm

Cristina Panetta

that was copied and pasted.

6:08pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

really

6:08pm

Cristina Panetta

kay sarah. no need for the sass.

6:09pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

No need for your scandalism in this chat.

6:09pm

Cristina Panetta

do you think he used any logos in his second inaugural address?

6:10pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Well obviously.

Like for example when he was taking about equality

for an America, that is kind of a staple

And I don't mean we take it for granted

It's just that we've come to know it as a way of life here

So it only makes sense to continue that golden path onwards

That's logical, right?

6:11pm

Cristina Panetta

definitely!

6:11pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

YAH BECAUSE I TOTALLY DID NOT JUST USE SOPHISTRY THERE

6:12pm

Cristina Panetta

although i don't recall any specific statistics being stated, I think by referring to the Declaration and discussing history, he was able to support his points well.

which would be using logos, and maybe even ethos as well

6:13pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Because the declaration is really logical to Americans.

6:13pm

Cristina Panetta

and it uses pathos too.

6:13pm

Brianna Berlin

It really uses pathos

6:13pm

Cristina Panetta

HES THE MASTER OF ARISTOTLES APPEALS.

definitely.

6:14pm

Brianna Berlin

especially when he mentions slavery and civil rights

and the Revolution

6:14pm

Cristina Panetta

pathos and ethos

6:14pm

Brianna Berlin

about how far we've come and how far we can go

yeah! exactly!

6:14pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

He kept repeating the word together, which I think is pathos. Emotionally, by saying we're ALL IN THIS TOGETHER like in High School Musical, it makes everyone happy because we're all equal.

6:14pm

Cristina Panetta

ohmygoodness. i just realized that my excerpt isn't ethos, its pathos. my bad. HOWEVER, i guess it could be ethos too, just because of the ideals that we as a country have.

besides the aristotle appeals, were there any other rhetorical devices you found in his speech?

6:15pm

Brianna Berlin

hmm.. let me think! I think there were a few points where he contradicting himself

6:16pm

Cristina Panetta

really? share!!!

6:16pmYou added Adam Ferrick.

6:16pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

WELCOME ADAM

6:16pm

Adam Ferrick

yay

thanks guys

6:16pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

TO THE BLACK HOLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

6:17pm

Brianna Berlin

We were just talking about a few rhetorical devices

6:17pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

We were just talking about contradictions.

6:17pm

Brianna Berlin

I found that Obama used Anatanagogue a lot

6:17pm

Adam Ferrick

can you cite an example?

6:17pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

what dat

6:17pm

Adam Ferrick

its where you put a good thing next to a bad thing

6:18pm

Cristina Panetta

to reduce the impact of the bad thing

6:18pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Oh yeah, looking at my trusty activity sheet, I can clearly see that.

6:18pm

Brianna Berlin

here is an example:

"This generation of Americans has been tested by crises that steeled (ph) our resolve and proved our resilience. A decade of war is now ending."

He mentions the war

which was quite unpopular

6:19pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

How is that a contradiction though?

6:19pm

Brianna Berlin

and how we are going through hard times

then he points out a good thing:

at least I ended the war in Iraq

6:19pm

Adam Ferrick

well

the first one was about the war ending

and the second was about the war ending

i think both are good things

6:20pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Yeah, I thought they were both good too.

6:20pm

Cristina Panetta

i can see what brianna is saying though

how there were crises in the past, but one was solved.

6:20pm

Adam Ferrick

he was saying that because of the war and hardships, our patriotism and enthusiasm as americans grew and stood strong

I do see quite a bit of diacope, i believe

i lied, its not diacope

parallelism in a way

6:21pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

I saw diacope too.

6:21pm

Adam Ferrick

"Together we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers. Together we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play. Together we resolve that a great nation must care for the vulnerable and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune."

6:21pm

Adam Ferrick

you dont have to read that, but he says "together we" a lot

6:21pm

Cristina Panetta

together was everywhere in his speech!

6:21pm

Adam Ferrick

yes!

6:21pm

Cristina Panetta

i think that would one of the biggest words on the word cloud for this speech.

6:22pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

He said "We the people" a lot too.

6:22pm

Brianna Berlin

I heard on the news that "Together" was the most said word in his oration!

6:22pm

Cristina Panetta

yeah, he focused on unity a lot in this speech

just as a reference, in his last speech the most common words were "new" and "nation"

6:23pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

That kind of makes sense

6:23pm

Adam Ferrick

i also noticed that

6:24pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Since that's essentially his primary goal in his last term.

6:24pm

Adam Ferrick

he addresses a lot of improvements he wishes to make in his 2nd term

in a way

6:24pm

Cristina Panetta

yeah

6:24pm

Adam Ferrick

he talks about stuff that happened in the pastt

6:24pm

Cristina Panetta

did his speech agree with your predictions for what words you thought he was going to say the most?

6:24pm

Adam Ferrick

then says how we will change in the future

not really

6:25pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

He wants to offer hope and tap more on that pathos. Emotion, when trying to convince a society, is most important. Logos goes down the drain when someone says they can save you from hardship. Look at what Hitler did. Not that there's a correlation between Hitler and Obama, but just saying.

6:25pm

Adam Ferrick

marko and i thought he was going to address more of the negatives that happened and say that we'll get better

6:25pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

I feel like he purposely didn't address the negatives though.

6:25pm

Adam Ferrick

but instead he took a different approach and talked about the greatness of the country and how we'll get better from there

yeah

i agree

6:25pm

Brianna Berlin

Yeah

6:25pm

Adam Ferrick

he wanted to keep our morale high

6:25pm

Brianna Berlin

I feel like he appealed to pathos

6:25pm

Adam Ferrick

and motivate people more

saying negatives would bring us down

6:26pm

Brianna Berlin

yes to keep morale high

and acknowledge his failures

6:26pm

Cristina Panetta

i don't think he really acknowledged his failures very much

personally,

6:26pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

I always appreciate when someone acknowledges his failures, but I didn't see it in this speech.

6:27pm

Cristina Panetta

like he definitely talked about how the war ended. in fact, he talked about the war in his first speech: "our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred"

so he focused on his successes

6:27pm

Brianna Berlin

He did have a good element of climax in his speech though, which lifted everyone up and distracted from failures.

He didn't mention the economic crisis

6:27pm

Adam Ferrick

also by saying "we" a lot, as was discussed in class, he is making the point that the US depends on us, the civilians, to make things happen and that without the help of the common people nothing would change

6:27pm

Brianna Berlin

or how he was going to fix it...

he mentioned how "We"

6:28pm

Cristina Panetta

yeahh to both brianna and adam

6:28pm

Brianna Berlin

were already in the process of making it better

6:28pm

Adam Ferrick

he might not have had a plan for it

if he didnt have a concrete idea for the economic problem i doubt hed say something

however, like we said before

6:28pm

Cristina Panetta

i agree

6:28pm

Adam Ferrick

that is a negative thing

and he also probably wanted to stay away from the negatives

as i scroll through the transcript, just about every paragraph praises us and says how strong we are and how we're improving even more

"America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe."

etc etc

6:30pm

Cristina Panetta

yes definitely. he talked about youth a lot as well.

6:30pm

Brianna Berlin

Obama praises us

I don't think he ever said "I"

in the context of talking about our nation

6:30pm

Adam Ferrick

thats a good thing

6:30pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

The whole "we" part, he also talked about how he was being sworn into America, not a specific party or faction. I thought that made him sound like he was the equivalent of us.

6:30pm

Adam Ferrick

right

6:30pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Yeah good things whole point of speech imo

6:30pm

Adam Ferrick

he is still a civilian, like us

6:30pm

Brianna Berlin

Saying "We" avoids making him the leader, the culprit, the one responsible

yes

but he still had responsibilities

6:30pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Yeah, exactly Adam

6:30pm

Brianna Berlin

still has them

6:30pm

Adam Ferrick

he's not a king or anything, he was elected by us

6:30pm

Cristina Panetta

exactly, he made it relateable to the average citizen

6:31pm

Adam Ferrick

and he acknowledges that

6:31pm

Cristina Panetta

promoted democracy a lot in his speech i think

6:31pm

Brianna Berlin

the president has responsibilities to keep our nation safe though... safe from economic collapse

he did

6:31pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

True that Brianna. But In this case, I think he was going more for the humble, fellow citizen type guy.

6:31pm

Brianna Berlin

but it really bothers me...

6:31pm

Adam Ferrick

he's also had that "we" thing since his first campaigning

with his "yes we can" slogan

6:31pm

Brianna Berlin

why didn't he mention HOW he was going to fix the economy?

6:31pm

Adam Ferrick

he didnt have a plan

6:31pm

Brianna Berlin

if he has no plan then rhetoric and high spirits won't do us any good

6:31pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

It wasn't that kind of speech.

6:31pm

Brianna Berlin

words are powerful but cannot pay the trillions of dollars we owe

6:31pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

It was a more "lift the spirits" speech

6:31pm

Brianna Berlin

still

6:31pm

Adam Ferrick

plusplusplus

he doesnt even need to

6:32pm

Brianna Berlin

an inauguration speech is about how the president hopes to change the nation

6:32pm

Adam Ferrick

because he doesnt have to worry about running for re election

6:32pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

People will still agree as long as they feel good about it.

6:32pm

Brianna Berlin

he only said how "we" would do it

true Adam

6:32pm

Cristina Panetta

i think its not a debate, its more of an uplifting speech

6:32pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

Exactly, xtina

6:32pm

Adam Ferrick

he can always address the economy later

6:32pm

Cristina Panetta

definitely

6:33pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

An inaguration speech to me is supposed to re-introduce yourself. Create a new slate.

6:33pm

Cristina Panetta

yes, thats a good way to look at it!

like a motivational speech, if you will. he discusses how America is going to be great

6:33pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

BECAUSE IT IS GREAT

6:33pm

Adam Ferrick

right

6:33pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

totally

6:34pm

Brianna Berlin

it was a good uplifting speech

6:34pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

it's....totes amazeballs

6:34pm

Brianna Berlin

but rhetoric is still rhetoric

6:34pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

what do you mean, brianna?

6:34pm

Adam Ferrick

also since theres recently been some negativity toward obama, by making this uplifting speech he can change that attitude toward a positive one

6:34pm

Cristina Panetta

thats true! i think Obama's speaking skills are amazing. like seriously.

6:35pm

Adam Ferrick

he's really good when he reads off the projector thing

6:35pm

Cristina Panetta

lol yeah

6:35pm

Adam Ferrick

if he's freely speaking he says "uh" a lot, in that obama-y way

with larg epauses

large

6:35pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

yeah obviously didn't come up with this on the spot.

6:36pm

Cristina Panetta

i don't think he came up with it at all... aren't there people to write it for him lol

6:36pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

well, i'm sure he had a say in what he wanted.

ANYWAY

6:36pm

Cristina Panetta

but i'm talking about the way he says the speech. the way he is able to create gradatios and stuff

6:36pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

so what's a gradatios?

6:36pm

Cristina Panetta

climax

6:37pm

Adam Ferrick

yes! he did that last speech too

building up to something big

6:37pm

Cristina Panetta

definitely

6:37pm

Adam Ferrick

and then getting a massive applause

6:38pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

it must be nice to be lauded by the whole country like that

6:39pm

Cristina Panetta

lol

6:39pm

Adam Ferrick

you mean applauded...

lauded is something different

6:39pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

it means praise, right?

6:39pm

Adam Ferrick

not really

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/laud

6:40pm

Brianna Berlin

what does laud mean?

it does mean praise

6:40pm

Adam Ferrick

i just linked it

6:40pm

Brianna Berlin

that is a synonym

6:40pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

YAH IT means praise/acclaim/extol/lionize

I KNOW MY SAT WORDS

I TAKING IT SATURDAY

6:40pm

Adam Ferrick

i think its like praise toward god though

"solemn praise to God"

obama aint no god, sarah

6:41pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

secondary meaning

6:41pm

Brianna Berlin

oh.. well, obama isn't a god

6:41pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

he not like a tsar?

6:41pm

Brianna Berlin

or ain't as adam said

6:41pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

6:41pm

Cristina Panetta

STALIN.

kay sorry.

6:41pm

Brianna Berlin

nope

6:41pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

MAOOOOOOO

6:41pm

Brianna Berlin

guys, quit STALIN for time!

right MAO!

6:41pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

kay i'll be russian

6:41pm

Cristina Panetta

lollll

6:41pm

Adam Ferrick

you better not be Putin this in..

6:41pm

Cristina Panetta

back on topic,

6:41pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

we will don't worry

6:41pm

Brianna Berlin

Look, I'm Lenin towards Adam's side.

we need to get on track.

6:42pm

Adam Ferrick

about that

6:42pm

Cristina Panetta

do you guys wanna talk about how well Obama addressed his theme?

6:42pm

Adam Ferrick

i have to go, sorry y'alls

thanks for letting me in this wonderful conversation

i'll see yas tomorrow

6:42pm

Cristina Panetta

kay! bii

6:42pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

bifocals

hai so are we done yet

6:44pm

Cristina Panetta

almost,

we gotta talked about Faith in America's Future

so how well do you think he related it to his theme?

6:44pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

there is none

6:44pm

Brianna Berlin

Goodbye Adam!

6:44pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

he was positive

6:45pm

Brianna Berlin

I think that he really related Faith well to America

by talking about how we've overcome so much as a Nation in the past

6:45pm

Cristina Panetta

and how we can move forward!

6:45pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

so even if NO ONE had ANY faith, because it was so positive, he was able to ram that faith right back down your throat.

6:45pm

Brianna Berlin

we have only 200 years as a country but we survived a revolution against the greatest industrial power, broke through a civil war and ended the hatred of slavery and then segregation

6:45pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

yeah wasn't his motto like FORWARD with his logo in the O for this election?

6:45pm

Cristina Panetta

i really liked this excerpt: America's possibilities are limitless, for we possess all the qualities that this world without boundaries demands: youth and drive, diversity and openness, of endless capacity for risk and a gift for reinvention. My fellow Americans, we are made for this moment and we will seize it, so long as we seize it together.

6:46pm

Brianna Berlin

he also mentioned how we can move forward with gay rights and marriage equality and women's rights!

diversity and openness... that really exemplifies my point

6:46pm

Cristina Panetta

Brianna i really liked your quotes! they definitely involve pathos and show how we can go on to bigger and better things

by talking about how we need to improve education, i think, ties in to the theme. discussing how we need to make the country even greater than it is for future generations

6:55pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

hi gaiz

6:57pm

Cristina Panetta

hihi

6:57pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

done?

i tired

6:57pm

Cristina Panetta

um we have to do part c

6:58pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

we kind of already did it

we referred back to his old speech a lot

this one was more positive

he didn't need to convince us of anything since we already knew what to expect

this was his lastt term so he had nothing to lose

all that

6:59pm

Brianna Berlin

I feel that last term Obama's speech was very hopeful

and filled with optimism

much like this one

the only difference

is that he was able to reflect on several successes this time

having already been the president for one term

and that he used a lot more imagery of America's past

rather than celebrating the present like he had when he became the first African American president

7:00pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

he was probably like yolo i'm the president and i did good things

7:00pm

Brianna Berlin

Do you agree?

Haha, yes sarah

7:00pm

Cristina Panetta

i think that describes it well

7:01pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

and like yolo more good things to come

yay the end ok good night

7:01pm

Cristina Panetta

he definitely made a point of restating the things he said he would do in his first address, and then stated what he wants to do in the future.

he used a lot of the same rhetoric, like repetition and parallelism.

7:02pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

that's kind of like his trademark

he's like

We have done good things. We have done bad things. We have gone through this together. And we will do it again.

Basically like that.

7:03pm

Cristina Panetta

if you had to sum up the speech, that would be it.

ahaha

7:03pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

My name is Obama and I approve this message.

7:04pm

Brianna Berlin

I think that's about it!

7:04pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

k bye i want sleep

7:04pm

Cristina Panetta

WAIT. did we talk about the effect of his rhetorical devices. because we have to if we want to master rhetoricians instead of developing orators.

hopefully were not n00bs.

7:05pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

i'm a neophyte

7:05pm

Cristina Panetta

i guess all of the rhetorical devices make his speech more powerful, and definitely relate to pathos. it makes the speech more impactful and emotional, which makes citizens listening more excited about America.

7:06pm

Brianna Berlin

I feel that we really did discuss the effect of his rhetoric

7:06pm

Cristina Panetta

oh.

okay fine.

7:06pm

Brianna Berlin

Obama dodged listing his failures in the first term

by focusing on hope and the future

as well as America's past successes

and avoiding the present

things were better, things will get better

7:07pm

Cristina Panetta

KAYY. SOUNDS GOOD. LOOK AT US.

7:07pm

Sarah Banwait Natale

the rhetorical devices helped arouse the americans into a blind following so they would love him and make him sound like a good person for his second term

7:07pm

Brianna Berlin

he drew the listener in with anecdotes about American history, which emphasized the fact that history is being made by him everyday

It was awesome chatting with you! I really liked this discussion it was a nice break from normal class assignments

See you both tomorrow!

Ryan McKinney's Critique of Obama's Second Inaugural Speech

noreply@blogger.com (Ryan McKinney) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:11:00 +0000

This Monday, President Barack Hussein Obama spoke to the country in his second inaugural speech. He drew upon many of the same key issues that he addressed in 2009 but still are not resolved, and are as much as a problem today as they were 4 years ago. Obama used many rhetorical devices during his speech in order to garner support and "psych up" the country to support the decisions he makes and the "Road to Recovery" which is an often coined term of Obama. Right away, before Obama began to speak, I was reminded of the 2009 speech, this was embodied through the Oh-Bam-Ah chant that sounded like an eerie echo of '09.

I found it interesting how Obama started his speech. He was referring to the founding of our country, over 200 years ago and how we must remain true to those principles should be what motivates our country today. I was very surprised by this since many of Obama's initiatives and policies are in stark comparison to the conservatism of the Founding Fathers. Nonetheless, Obama continued his speech often drawing on Pathos as the mechanism of connecting with the American people. There was absolutely zero logos seen during this speech, and while I did not expect there to be any it is still important to note. Obama used a combination of Ethos (appealing to the audience of the honesty and authority of the presenter) and Pathos (an appeal to the audience's emotions) to enhance his speech. When speaking of the "patriots of 1776 that did not fight to replace the tyranny of a king with the privileges of a few, or the rule of a mob." he is eliciting patriotism and nationalism in the audience which is displayed through enthusiasm and applause from the audience. This is also a loose example of an antimetabole, in which Obama reversed the order of repeated words to intensify the final formulation

Mr. President proceeded to relate the founding motives of our country to the modern issues that are pressing and that is when he pulled out the big guns (rhetorically speaking). Climax was a key device that was utilized and Obama successfully applied this skill to his speech; he would start by talking about an issue, continue to speak about the injustices, then as he added emotion, he would state what must be done, including how and why this must be done. The following quote from the speech is one such example that displays the text of a climactic delivery:

"For the American people can no more meet the demands of today’s world by acting alone than American soldiers could have met the forces of fascism or communism with muskets and militias. No single person can train all the math and science teachers we’ll need to equip our children for the future. Or build the roads and networks and research labs that will bring new jobs and businesses to our shores.

Now, more than ever, we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people."

This was immediately met with intense applause and cheers all throughout the live audience, and surely by those behind televisions as well. I am very impressed by President Obama's rhetoric speech after this inaugural address and strive to emulate his ability. He used diacope effectively which is reflected in this example:

"We must act. We must act knowing that our work will be imperfect (ph). We must act knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years and 40 years and 400 years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall."

President Obama's repetitive use of the word must places additional emphasis on what he believes our nation must do.

My word cloud predictions were very accurate at all, Kevin and I had predicted that America, progress, and generation would be the top words used, but that was wrong. While those three predicted words were very large in the word cloud, people, must, and time were the three words which truly had the most repetition during his speech. This is a reflection on Obama's ideas about doing things today to help the next generation's tomorrow.

I feel that the central focus of the speech was to continue the policies and actions that Obama set into place after 2009 and continue on the path that he is leading us. No radical change was suggested though it might have seemed that there was something fanatic going on by the gesticulation and inflection of Mr. President's voice. Obama recognized America's increasingly accepting culture for people of all ethnicity and background. It was also extremely evident in Obama's second inaugural speech that he recognized that the future is very important and rehashed the theme of Faith in America's future.

Obama has set a path for himself to continue for the next four years that was directed by his past four years, which entails social benefits reformation, education and technology importance, and fiscally soundness.

Marko's Musings: The Second Inaugural Address

noreply@blogger.com (Ambiguous) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 00:05:00 +0000

Barack Obama has done it again. I don’t mean his reelection, but rather something more special. Barack Obama has a gift. Barack Obama is an exceptional speaker. He is a word wizard. He is a master of the art of rhetoric. Whether you like President Barack Obama or not, you have to respect him.

Obama’s four years in office have been anything but placid, but it is often said that the things that make you uncomfortable make you stronger. The most notable of things that made Barack Obama uncomfortable were the recession, reelection, hurricane Sandy, and the fiscal cliff. And although people have contrasting views on the man, it’s likely that Obama has learned something these last four years.

Obama used his weapons of choice in his second inaugural address. His weapons of choice seem to be the climax and the allusion. President Obama is deft in the use of rhetorical devices, and these two devices are no exception.

President Obama begins by stating the things that make us American. He speaks of the history of the United States, quoting the Declaration of Independence. It’s clear that Barack has learned a lot. He speaks of a journey, and adroitly ties it to the challenges Americans face today. He notes that we are a republic, a government by and for the people. He uses historical allusions to successfully bring us into his speech due to our identities as Americans.

The theme of history continues. The necessity for railroads, the necessity for schools and teachers, and the necessity for regulations on commerce were all important ideas in the past. Barack Obama is a smart man, and he probably isn’t just saying those things. Those ideas seem much like the ones we face today. The necessity for more roads and highways, the necessity for more teachers in inner-city schools, and the necessity for regulations of large companies are all ideas that have come up in the last four years.

President Obama then transitions into the unification of Americans, which was also a recurring theme this year. This was President Obama’s “power play” in his inaugural address. We responded to Sandy together, and we solved issues of legislature together. We came to agreements regarding the fiscal cliff together as well. This was all done together. He states that we were made for the moment and we could seize it together. This was one of the times President Obama reached the height of his speech. Here, it is obvious why few people can do what President Obama does. He incorporates climax so easily.

I believe that this is where President Obama’s knowledge comes in. This is probably what he learned from his first four years as the President of the United States. He learned that no matter the topic, we have to do it together. It will require compromise, but it will allow us to seize the moment we are made for.

Of course this is not to say that the President didn’t mention his own ideologies, but few speakers can incorporate climax the way President Obama does. He reaches out to the people, unifies them, then builds up to points that are truly pivotal. This is why President Obama is a word wizard.

Nick Natale's Inaugural Address

noreply@blogger.com (Bigman) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 22:44:00 +0000

A huge factor in the Presidents speech

We, We, We. It shows up more than 70 times in Obama's speech and he is definitely aiming at the pathos sweet spot. This idea of unity, and respect for everyone is also a huge hit when it comes to another appeal: ethos. There seems to be continual idea of needing to make the tenants of the truth happen, not allow them to happen on their own because they never have. Mr. President states that "For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they have never been self-executing; that while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by His people here on Earth". I feel like this is as true a statement as he could've possibly made regarding the enforcement of freedom and equality. What's amazing, to me at least, as that he doesn't place this responsibility in his own hands or the hands of leaders, but in the hands of all the people in the country, and the world for that matter.

Together we are heading toward a new era. Together.

The President uses a lot of repetition to convey an idea or set of ideas. One of the most impressive uses of repetition was his use of 'We must..' : "We must act, knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall". Not only does he recognize that whatever victories we may achieve are not permanent, but he also realizes that we need to build a base structure for future generations to be able to stand on. Instead of looking to the future and what it may hold, we must prepare for the tomorrow, the next week, and the next century. Between the lines, I think this is really aiming to support the idea of the up and coming generations being the new normal. These generations are all about tech and thats going to become extremely prominent in the coming years.

Personally, I knew he would use the word close to a hundred times. Its a word that instills the idea of unity and strength while also maintaining such a subtle aspect. It does not appear to the common eye as something amazing, but when looked at in context, it truly is amazing. This leads into the whole central focus of the speech, the idea that we as a people must move forward with heads held high. If someone holds out a lantern in a dark cave, we must follow them to success, we cannot remain in the dark if people are providing the ability to escape.

We will prevail as a people regardless of what obstacles are thrown at us.

In the past four years, Mr. Obama has experienced more than most of us could dream of....or have nightmares of. From prevailing over an evil in the middle west to comforting the families suffering after two tragedies in the northeast, Obama has maintained the ability to be a shoulder to lean on and a person to follow. He understands there are still issues within the country that need to be worked on and this will come in time. Promises are not the best thing to make when there are only four years to fulfill them, yet we as a people have given him a second chance at fulfilling his promises. We hope he will succeed, and he hopes we will allow him to.

Obama's Use of Rhetoric: A Little Too Much?

noreply@blogger.com (JRedds) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 04:53:00 +0000

In the ever-changing use of language in media, is there ever such thing as too much rhetoric? Is there ever such thing as too much BOLD, BOMBASTIC, AND INFLATED LANGUAGE? Is there ever such thing as a reasonable limit to alliteration and all other amazing, astonishing and astounding literary devices? Surely this is completely ignoble and not imaginable. In the constant and stable world of media can mere presence and atmosphere mask anyone's contradictions? In today's world IS THERE EVEN SUCH THING AS A NEED FOR SUBTLETY!?

Now that I've gotten that out of the way let's move on to Obama's inaugural address. Obama makes extensive use of rhetoric in his inaugural speech. You can clearly tell that he wanted to convey his second inauguration as a very emotional and powerful event. The speech consists almost entirely of pathos and ethos; Obama frequently quotes and paraphrases from the Declaration of Independence, especially "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal..." Much of Obama's speech talks about fairness, that "a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune", "preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action" and "we must do these things together, as one nation, and one people." This speech is filled with things that sound very kind and idealistic, and since it does not actually address how such things can be achieved it is clearly only there to captivate its listeners via ethos.

Obama also relies heavily on pathos. Several times Obama emphasizes that he is for the common working man by denouncing the rich one percenters with statements like "our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it". Additionally Obama began about every other sentence with "We, the people.." and "my fellow Americans". It is very clear that there is an emphasis that was put on we, and Obama clearly wants to emphasize that his interests are synonymous with the American people's.

Personal, while I think that Obama is a great speaker, this speech was one of the worst he's ever given. The language is so loaded and his voice/emphasis can be so powerful at times that a lot of it feels very forced. Upon learning a lot about rhetoric in this class I have found that I like speeches that are quieter, subtle and thought provoking. I was unable to really form any thoughts on Obama's speech until I read the transcript because when listening to it Obama's rhetoric and presence was too relentless to give me a quiet moment to think.

Kevin Kenneally's post for Inaugural Address

noreply@blogger.com (Kevin Kenneally) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 04:15:00 +0000

President Barack Obama addressed the nation on Monday in his second Inaugural Speech. Obama built upon his first Inaugural Speech to the nation on Monday and urged that the nation must act together in order to face the problems in the present and the problems that we will face in the future. For it is only as a united nation that we can solve the major issues which we all face in the present.

Obama used several rhetorical devices in his address to the nation in order to emphasize specific points and appeal to our emotions. Specifically Obama used many examples of parallelism and climax in order to emphasize the need for a united nation that must act immediately and face the problems that lie in the present and future. Throughout the middle to the end of his speech he said the words “We, the people, still believe…” several times while addressing the need for America to truly accept the ideals and beliefs upon which the nation was built. The parallelism is effective at connecting America’s ideals to the issues that we face in the present and that even in the 21^st century, these beliefs still hold true.

Eventually the parallelism “We, the people, still believe…” led up to the climax, “[w]e, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal –is the star that guides us still.” The climax, which Obama states here calls for the immediate assertion of the beliefs central to America in order to guide us through our differences in the present.

In addition, Obama uses the parallelism “Our journey is not complete…” in order to directly address many of the central issues, which our country faces in the present including equality for women, gay rights, immigration reform, and even gun control. Obama emphasizes the fact that it is our journey in order to call attention to the need to act together to solve these issues. The use of “our journey is not complete…” to allude to several of the major issues we face today appeals to our pathos and emotions because many of the issues which he alluded to in his speech are areas where people today still struggle for equality and freedom. Many of the members of the audiences let out loud cheers when these topics were mentioned by the President, as they are issues which many hope the President will be able to solve in his second term as President

President Obama also used an antanagoge in order to refer to the challenges that we will face in our journey for alternative and clean energy sources that can help slow the impact of climate change. “The pat towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it,” Obama stated. The search for alternative energy sources is full of numerous challenges, but we cannot let those challenges deter us from striving towards a sustainable energy future.

Before the speech was made on Monday, I made a word cloud in order to predict the words which would be the most common spoken words in the speech. I had predicted that the three words that would be used the most would be “middle,” “economy,” and “opportunity.” All three of these words are words that are at the center of any discussion by the President on the country’s economy. In addition the President mentioned these words many times during the elections in November and throughout his first term as President, so I had these words to also appear in his second Inaugural Address.

However, I was mistaken and the three most common words spoken in the speech were “must,” “people,” and “time.” These three words tell a lot about the central focus of the speech because these three words together emphasize that America’s people mustact in order to solve the issues of their timeand the issues of future generations.

The central focus of the speech appeared to be focused on the need for united country that must act together to solve its present and future problems. This central focus can be clearly seen in the word choice Obama used in his speech such as the more forceful word “must” rather than “should” and the word “time” in order to emphasize that we need to act together to solve this issues that we face in our time.

The official theme of the speech was Faith in America’s Future, which I believe Obama fully addressed in his speech. Obama stated in his speech that the “We must act, knowing that today’s victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence…” in order to address the fact that our work towards a better future is never complete, and that we must always strive together, especially in the present, towards a better future for ourselves and future generations.

President Obama has served for four very stressful years as President of the United States. In that time President Obama has grown and learned from many of his experiences as President. Specifically President Obama addressed the need for more engagement in the Middle East and other parts of the world in order to forge “strong alliances in every corner of the globe.” President Obama recognizes that we live in a multicultural world, in which boundaries and borders no longer separate distinct ethnic groups, but rather countries are a hodgepodge of cultures and ethnicities. Therefore a greater understanding of different cultures and peoples will help America build new friendships and create lasting peace between nations.