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Rhetorical Analysis: A More Perfect Union

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‘A More Perfect Union’ is a speech that was delivered by the then US Senator for Chicago, Barack Hussein Obama, in response to criticism and condemnation that was hurled at him due to his association with Reverend Jeremiah Wright in March of 2008. Videos had surfaced earlier that month of Obama’s (now former) pastor in Chicago making “racially inflammatory remarks” that criticized the American government and accused it of discrimination against people of color (Yahoo News, 2015). Reverend Wright had come under attack from many corners of American society due to what people termed as ‘anti-American’ sentiments that Reverend Wright shared with his congregants, the most prominent of them being Senator Obama. The goal of the speech is for …show more content…

Through the use of emotional appeals, he alters the thoughts and feelings of his audience through storytelling, imagery and illusion. The topic or race itself evokes strong emotions from the listener. His use of logical arguments is minimal. The intended audience is those who are able to vote for Obama as well as African Americans who will identify with his assessment of race within the black community and subsequently be inspired and motivated to incite social change in a positive way. My favorite aspect of the speech is the use of anecdotal evidence to relate to the audience. The senator begins by telling a story of his grandfather “who survived the Depression to serve in Patton’s army during World War II” (Obama, par. 6). The use of key terms such as Depression, Patton’s army, and World War II evoke the emotional responses of patriotism and self-sacrifice.
The audience is able to connect through the emotional appeals that take place at the very core of humanity. It is easy to disrespect and dishonor something that is foreign and unknown, but it is hard to turn away from the essence of another man’s soul. As fellow humans, the audience recognizes the sheer humanity in the

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