The essay inspects the rhetoric used by American President Barack Hussein Obama and focuses on President Obama’s 2013 inaugural speech delivered on January 21st, 2013, which addressed the most controversial issues including rights of gays ', women equal rights sharing underlying principles for his new administration and his socio-political ideologies. His delivery of speech shows how he uses his oratory skills as a powerful, persuasive tool to share his vision of America and to present the goals for the nation. Ethos helps a speaker to gain credibility and establish his character. One4 can see how throughout his speech, Obama uses ethos to appeal to the audience, addressing them with formality and without digressing from the main agenda. He avoids giving any faulty reasoning or evidence but tries to establish his character by showing his knowledge and understanding of the American history. For example, in the inaugural ceremony on Martin Luther King Day he referred to Martin Luther King in the speech as who struggled for equality, liberty and freedom. Obama reinforces his argument on how the journey would continue until every citizen enjoyed the equal rights, whether gays, immigrants or women. A speaker makes use of Pathos to persuade the audience emotionally. Obama quotes from the American Declaration of Independence: “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” (Iqbal 27). Here he manages to evoke the emotional sense of nationalism among his audience. Obama refers to God several times, for example: “freedom is a gift from God” and “we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God” (Iqbal 21). The purpose here is to evoke the emotions of the believers of the God to make them feel connected to his words. Throughout his speech, Obama uses the element of logos to convince the audience with logical reasoning. For example, he uses the basis of the American national unity and validates his statements by citing the expressions from the Declaration of independence to make his argument logical and suitable. Obama urges the audience to give attention to sustainable energy and be careful about the climatic changes in his speech. An Example from his speech: “The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it” (Iqbal 28).
Works Cited
Iqbal, Naeem. The Rhetoric of Obama ,2013. Web. (Palermo 2000)
