Rhetoric In Yes We Can

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The power of rhetoric is used commonly by political and public speakers to persuade their audiences and change alter their perceptions on specific event in order to gain followers. Rhetoric is used greatly in the ‘Yes We Can’ speech by Barack Obama and the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech by Martin Luther King Jr. These speeches were both written from the hope of change and positivity; however, they differ slightly in their causes. While Martin Luther King spoke to bring equality to black people, Obama spoke in order to gain voters and become president of the United States. In the ‘Yes We Can’ speech, Obama uses a variety of persuasive techniques to engage his audience. At the beginning of the speech, Obama starts to discuss a woman, not giving us any…show more content…
However, no matter the topic he discusses at each specific point in the speech, the words ‘Yes We Can’ are always said in the same pitch, rhythm and speed. For example, when Obama first says ‘Yes We Can’ all words before it are rising and falling constantly in pitch and rhythm then dropping to a short, blunt tone to say the three words. Another point in which he uses this at the end of the speech, he crescendos, building up dramatic tension for a long time, from ‘to restore prosperity’ to ‘that sums up the spirit of the people’ before tipping over the edge and dropping back down into the final ‘Yes We Can’. This builds the speech up into climax, sustaining tension within the audience, leaving them holding onto his every word until the…show more content…
He explains how ‘the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination’, referring to slavery by his use of the words ‘chains’ and ‘manacles’ sets the idea of torture in the minds of his audience, leading them to realise that even though they are no longer physically shackled, black people are still very much restrained. As the speech develops and with it his ideas, he turns his point away from the current situation the United States are in to encouraging the audience by explaining that they ‘will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream’. Referring to the power water can have in great volumes, King adds the feeling power to the mass of emotion he delivers to his audience along with a sense of unity as the water will not be strong enough in small amounts, everyone is needed for change to take place. One of the purposes of the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech was to unite everyone in the United States in order to eliminate segregation. King’s use of the words ‘we’ and ‘you’ allow his audience to feel personally involved, which was essential in his cause. By using sentences such as ‘I am happy to join with you today’ and ‘as we walk, we must take the pledge…we cannot turn back’ King was assuring each member of the audience individually that they were essential to his cause and that no single person is
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