Rhetorical Analysis Of Michael Lewis Graduation Speech

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In the year 2012, at Princeton University’s graduation ceremony, alumnus Michael Lewis gave the new graduating class’ commencement speech. That day, hundreds of anxious young adults would begin to live and develop their career in the “real world.” Using several anecdotes in the introduction and body as well as ethos in the conclusion, Lewis was able to deliver an engaging speech that explicated luck’s role in everyone's success. Earning a positive response, Lewis opened his speech with an ironic anecdote that explained his budding desire to write as a college student. He discovered his passion for writing while developing his senior thesis, but he moved away from that career path after his college professor claimed he “should never try and make a living at it.” Showing immense humility for sharing such an embarrassing personal story, Lewis had the audience enraptured. How could someone so rich and famous be so humble and average?…show more content…
His first job was as an expert on derivatives for a prominent Wall Street investment bank, and that was what laid the foundation for his career. He would have never felt that same flare of intellectual passion he had experienced while writing his senior thesis, if he had not gotten the job, and now that he had his passion back, Lewis wanted to pursue writing again. So, he quit the Salomon Brothers and wrote his first books Liar’s Poker and Moneyball, both of which were based on luck and received the same excellent feedback. With the use of anecdotes, he explained how lucky he was to meet the wife of a big shot on Wall Street. He had no business knowledge. He had no experience in the business world, yet his whole career was sparked by the job he was arbitrarily

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