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Cassandra Batang

Professor Moore

ENGL 1302

17 February 2017

The Foundation of Our Country

The Democratic National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 28,

2016. As the elections for the next president were coming in and President Barack Obama was

on his way out of office, First Lady, Michelle Obama, presented one last speech to the

participants of the convention and the audiences around the world. As the nations first lady for

the past eight years, Michelle Obama was able to challenge child obesity, make accommodations

for low-income citizens, and inspire young people to take initiative in future education after high

school. Michelle Obama utilizes the rhetorical elements of ethos, pathos, and imagery in her

Democratic National Convention address to discuss the importance of the presidents role in the

foundation of the future of the nations children.

Michelle Obama utilizes ethos to ensure a solid and reliable foundation for the speech

itself in order to call attention to her audiences in regards to catering to the children of America.

Mrs. Obama notes how she came eight years ago to the Democratic National Convention to

discuss why her husband would be a reliable president, and she chose to note this right from the

beginning to establish a sense of time circling around; how in the beginning she practically

opened her journey right when she talked to the DNC eight years ago to now, where she is

finally closing it out with her last words. She continues to build this foundation of trust with her

audience by referring to times where she has talked about her family on how they were first
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adjusting to living in the White House. As a further device of ethos, she explains what happens

in second person as she refers to her audience as we throughout the whole speech. This device

creates a sense of credibility for she is able to justify her opinions as a general mindset of all and

create a sense of reliability between her and specifically parents. She states that, ...we know our

kids are watching us. We as parents are their most important role models (par 9),

simultaneously expanding that credibility by using included second person and introducing the

main message she is trying to deliver. She creates a sense of unity whilst building the credibility

once more as she states, when crisis hits, we dont turn against each other. No, we -- we listen

to each other; we lean on each other, because we are always stronger together (par 22), and also

leading to other means of rhetoric. Mrs. Obama was able to build her credibility with her

audience by referring to past occurrences and relatable events.

The First Lady is able to incorporate pathos to enhance the power in her words and

induce the audience into the effect of powerfulness and inspiration. Along with establishing

ethos, Obama is able to incorporate a transition of feelings from family-orientation to unity and

passion for this country, to inspiration and hope for the future. In the beginning, she discusses

her young daughters suddenly trying to adjust to the role of great responsibility of their father.

Eventually, that minor potentially problematic sense is resolved by creating a sense of coming of

age for her daughters. Feelings evolve from initial worry and slight pity to inspiration and pride.

As she talks about the growth of her daughters and the satisfaction of a parent in their

development, she calls other parents to action to look forward to their childrens development in

order to set forth a foundation for they are the future of the country. The tone of the speech

changes when she mentions the potential of the country. Obama was able to manipulate the
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audience's feelings by organizing the discussion into a morally inducing assemblage to ensure

the full effect of her message.

Imagery plays as a vital role to the message Mrs. Obama was trying to deliver because it

was able to paint a picture for the audience that made it easier to understand and relate.

Throughout the whole speech Obama was describing events that will lead up to a central moral

regarding it. For example, in the beginning as she was discussing her children she stated, I will

never forget that winter morning as I watched our girls, just 7 and 10 years old, pile into those

black SUV's with all those big men with guns.And I saw their little faces pressed up against the

window, and the only thing I could think was: What have we done? (par 5). Shortly after, she

aims towards the central theme of the speech, which is the growth of children. She continues to

add small splashes of imagery throughout her speech such as when she mentions Kids like the

little black boy who looked up at my husband, his eyes wide with hope, and he wondered, Is my

hair like yours?, or kids who take the long way to school to avoid the gangs (par 10). All of

these mentions of children in general may not always apply to all children; however, Obama uses

these devices of imagery to create a picture that is understandable to the audience. Towards the

end, she says when you have the nuclear codes at your fingertips and the military in your

command, you cant make snap decisions; you -- you cant have a thin skin or a tendency to lash

out. You need to be steady and measured and well-informed (par 18). She specifically describes

that scenario in second person in service to describe events that are similar and relatable to her

audience. The image of young children Obama was able to create in the beginning of the speech

transforms into an image of growth from children to working adults, which serves to imply what

the end goal was intended to be.

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First Lady Michelle Obama is able to use ethos, pathos, and imagery to serve as devices

to enhance the effect of inspiration for the future of the country in her Democratic National

Convention speech. Obama makes references to her speech eight years ago and maintains

relatable remarks that build her credibility throughout the whole speech. She also incorporates a

wide use of the pronoun we to include her audience into the discussion. Her message is also

enhanced through the use of pathos since she is able to change the tone of her speech and she

transitions the tone of the speech from worry to hope for the future in the future years of the

country. Along with ethos and pathos, Obama incorporates imagery to help the audience create

an image in their head to better understand her message about the foundation of the development

of children.
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Works Cited

Obama, Michelle. "Democratic National Convention Speech 2016." Michelle Obama DNC

Speech 2016. N.p., n.d. Accessed. 18 Feb. 2017.

<http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/convention2016/michelleobamadnc2016.ht

m>.