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Oklahoma City Bombing Rhetorical Analysis Bill Clinton Essay

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Oklahoma City Bombing Rhetorical Analysis The Oklahoma City Bombing would be considered the worst terrorist attack on America prior to the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. Just outside of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, on April 19th, 1995 a truck exploded, killing 168 people. 19 of those 168 being children. The explosion caused damage to 300 surrounding buildings. Oklahoma City was going through a tragedy and needed guidance from a leader.
Who would be a better option to comfort the families and friends of the lost victim, than the current president of America, Bill Clinton, who had once resided in Oklahoma himself? Oklahoma City needed someone to soothe their pain and give them back their lost hope. Clinton uses rhetorical …show more content…

“Today our nation joins with you in grief. We mourn with you. We share your hope against hope that some may still survive.” In this statement, he is using a pathos appeal to make his audience feel one with their nation by their shared emotions of remorse and sadness, Oklahoma is not the only state that is grieving. America has lost many sons and daughters. By using the words “grief” and “mourn” Clinton shows how tragic and emotional the current event is and shows that he can interpret and understand exactly what his audience is going through. Clinton reminds them that he will be there for them for every step of the difficult process.
Another way Clinton uses pathos is when he tries to comfort the people who have lost loved ones by saying, “You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything.” Clinton lets the audience know that they have people that will help them through this hard time and they have the nation behind them: “You have certainly not lost America, for we will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes.” Clinton ultimately reaches his goal of comforting his audience by using ethos and pathos strategies throughout his speech. Clinton’s next move was to give advice from someone who had been in a similar situation. Referring to the letters he received after the bombing, Clinton explains that one letter in particular stood out. Clinton gives words of wisdom from a widowed

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