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Anna Behrman

Mrs. Tatum

AP Lang

10 January 2020

Anna’s Rhetorical Analysis of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

“December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy” (Roosevelt 1; par. 1). This

phrase has been ingrained into millions of peoples’ heads. Roosevelt was trying to procure the

votes from Congress that would declare war on Japan and at the same time, urge American

citizens to rally against the Japanese. He wanted everyone to stand tall and fight back after the

horrific bombing of Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt’s speech was unforgettable due to his use of

rhetoric skills such as: pathos, tone, and his call to action.

Roosevelt’s use of pathos was supposed to give the American citizens a feeling of amity

and camaraderie towards each other. This would help achieve victory against the Japanese.

Roosevelt wanted to protect “the safety of our nation” and does this by making the citizens feel

as though it was their nation as a whole, not just a single person’s home (Roosevelt 3; par. 10).

He wanted to change the audience’s opinion on the matter and get them to want to fight back. If

this was achieved, then not only would he have a united nation, but it would also help convince

the Congress to declare war.

Roosevelt creates a very serious and motivational tone. This tone makes the audience

understand the gravity of the situation. In the first half of the speech, FDR explained what had

happened at Pearl Harbor. This serious event engages the audience because they wanted to know

what had happened and what the president was going to do about it. He gave the speech a more

serious tone through his voice and choice of words. He described how the Japanese “deliberately
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sought to deceive the United States” and goes on to explain how the citizens reacted to it

(Roosevelt 2; par. 5). His tone makes the audience want to keep listening in order to hear his

solution. His solution was to first engage the audience. He did this by using his tone, explaining

the situation, and then bringing the citizens’ opinions into the matter.

Roosevelt calls for action. After engaging the audience, he asks the citizens to fight back.

This made a huge impact. This speech is known for its famous quote, and its persuasion. He

wanted to persuade the Congress to declare war and that is what happened. He subtly calls for

action towards the end of the speech. He talks about “[defending] ourselves”, “the unbounding

determination of our people”, and then the “confidence in our armed forces” (Roosevelt 4; par.

15). The order of his words reaches the audience with a message of victory and passion. He

wanted everyone to fight back, declare war, and avenge all the innocent lives killed at Pearl

Harbor.

The message of this speech was received, and the purpose was understood. Congress

declared war a couple hours after the speech was given and the American people rallied.

Roosevelt achieved this through his use and knowledge of rhetoric. Pathos, tone, and a call to

action was all it took. Franklin D. Roosevelt left a mark on U.S. history.
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Works Cited Page

Lehrman, R. (2016, December 6). Rhetoric Revisited: FDR's 'Infamy? Speech | American

Experience | PBS. Retrieved from

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rhetoric-revisited-fdrs-infamy-

speech/

National Archives. (2017, December 13). FDR's 'Day of Infamy? Speech. Retrieved from

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2001/winter/crafting-day-of-infamy-

speech.html

Roosevelt, F. D. (1941, December 8). American Rhetoric: Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Pearl

Harbor Address to the Nation (12-08-41). Retrieved from

https://americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrpearlharbor.htm
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Anna Behrman

Mrs. Tatum

AP Language

2 January 2020

Journal Entry A

Growth and fixed mindsets are two very different ways of thinking about how you learn.

One mindset allows you to grow and obtain an infinite amount of knowledge while the other

holds you back from your learning potential.

A growth mindset is what will lead a person to achieve “long-term success” (Dweck 1;

par 1). People with a growth mindset enjoy challenges, learn from their mistakes, take risks, and

are willing to try new things. All of these characteristics are what allow them to expand their

knowledge. A fixed mindset believes that they have a limited amount of knowledge they can

learn. People with this type of mindset are scared of failure, believe that everything they learn

should come naturally, do not put in any effort to learn, and are afraid to take risks. Many

become “discouraged or defensive” if they have to put in any effort (Dweck 2; par 5). This is

because they do not like their intelligence being called into question. They value their

intelligence above anything else and become uneasy if their intelligence looks faulty.

In school, these two mindsets are looked at differently. According to Dweck’s research, the “two

mindsets lead to different school behaviors” (Dweck 2; par 3). Teachers try to encourage a

growth mindset knowing it is much more beneficial to students. A growth mindset is looked at as

good while a fixed mindset is looked down upon. Many schools teach a growth mindset. This is

done by creating a “growth mindset culture in the classroom” (Dweck 2; par 7). They design

challenges, provide praise and encouragement during the right time, teach about the different
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mindsets, and encourage students to help one another. They give praise when students have

shown they put in effort or shown improvement in accomplishing goals. They also give

examples of when a growth mindset has been beneficial. Dweck wrote about how Albert

Einstein was slow to learn but as we already know, he was a genius at work. Examples like this

show that just because a student understood something fast does not mean they understood it at a

deep level. Fast is not always best.

The two mindsets are also taught differently. The fixed mindset is taught differently

because it is not taught. The growth mindset is taught using many different methods. One is

through challenges. No student should have it easy. Every single student is challenged. If a

student does coast through the class, it can create a fixed mindset. Teachers do this by finding the

students who need a harder challenge and make in-class exercises for these students. Sometimes

this leads students to create their own challenges. This is a characteristic of a growth mindset.

Dweck has found that the strategy of “[portraying] challenges as fun and exciting while

portraying easy tasks as boring and less useful to the brain” is a good way to teach students how

to use different learning strategies (Dweck 3; par 17). Teachers help guide the students through

problems at first and eventually the students will be able to do it on their own. With guidance,

students can talk their way through the problem and allow the teachers to figure out where they

need help. With practice, this becomes easier. Another strategy is giving the “students a clear

sense of progress” (Dweck 3; par 20). When teachers show their students where they have made

progress in their learning it helps to motivate them. Pre-tests are used for this reason. They

compare what they knew before the lessons to their post-test. Homework is another way to build

a growth mindset. Although, repetitive or mindless homework exercises are not beneficial and
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help form a fixed mindset if the homework has challenges and requires the students to extend

their learning it can be very useful.

A fixed mindset does not promote learning. This is different from a growth mindset

because this mindset achieves a love for learning and a person who can work their way through

obstacles in life and the workplace. A growth mindset leads to long-term achievement and

lifelong success. (678 words)

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Anna Behrman

Mrs. Tatum

AP Language

3 January 2020

Journal Entry B

Josh Waitzkin was a master chess player, then mastered martial arts, next tai chi chuan,

and after that Jiu-jitsu. He won the chess and martial arts world championships. He mastered

many things and did all of this through hard work and his growth mindset.

Waitzkin once said, “The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained

level of ability, we will be brittle in the face of adversity” (00:01:48-00:01:58). This saying is

explained through the understanding of fixed and growth mindsets. A fixed mindset is when a

person believes that they can only obtain a fixed amount of knowledge. A person with a growth

mindset, such as Josh Waitzkin, believes their mind can be developed and contain an infinite

amount of knowledge.

A fixed mindset is what prevents people from being able to overcome challenges or

adversity. These people are afraid to take risks, make mistakes, or show any lack of intelligence.

They do not challenge themselves and therefore making them unable to think the right way when

faced with harder tasks. Their “different perspective on intelligence” is what makes them unable

to face challenges and figure out how to approach them (00:02:48- 00:02:53). The mindset a

person has is critical to how they will react in the face of adversity. A growth mindset with face

adversity with excitement. If they figure out a solution, that is great. If they do not, then they will

learn from their mistakes and try again. This is what Waitzkin means when he says, “The
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moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability, we will be brittle

in the face of adversity” (00:01:48-00:01:58). It is all about the mindset. (282 words)
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Anna Behrman

Mrs. Tatum

AP Language

13 January 2020

Journal Entry C

Carol S. Dweck and Eduardo Briceno both want to explain to an audience that having a

growth mindset can hugely benefit students. Dweck develops this claim more successfully

because of her wide use of examples, evidence, and instruction.

Dweck uses many different examples of what growth and fixed mindsets are. These

examples and explanations are crucial because, without them, many people would not understand

her claim. Dweck explains that a student with a growth mindset “[remains] involved, [tries] new

strategies, and [uses] all the resources at their disposal for learning” (Dweck 1; par. 5). She uses

these examples of a growth mindset and compares them to characteristics of a fixed mindset.

Because of this, before she has even started talking about why having a growth mindset is

beneficial, it is easy to tell which mindset is better. Students with a growth mindset “value effort”

and want to learn more (Dweck 1; par. 4). She also gives examples of how a growth mindset

would work in a classroom. For instance, she gives scenarios of how a teacher and student could

run into a problem and find a solution.

Dweck explains her research on the topic later in the article. This is very beneficial in

supporting her claim because she has facts and evidence to back it up. She found that “praising

students for the process they have engaged in…yields more long-term benefits than telling them

they are ‘smart’” (Dweck 2; par. 7). Her research provides solid evidence backing up her claim

that a growth mindset will benefit students.

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An entire two pages of Dweck’s article is focused on how to teach a growth mindset. This

helps to make her claim because it makes her seem more credible. The fact that she knows

enough about it that she can and wants to help teachers allow their students the opportunity to

create and teach this mindset makes the audience believe and want to understand her claim even

more. In the instructions, she gives overall tips and more detailed examples. She says teachers

should grade for growth, give a sense of progress, and emphasize challenges (Dweck 3-4).

Now, Briceno also gives examples and evidence but it is not as detailed. He gives one

main example instead of many and his evidence was based on Dweck’s research. He talks about

her research but does not explain the mindsets as much as Dweck does or give any extra

instruction or examples to help back his claim.

Dweck’s considerable use of examples, evidence, and instruction gain the audience’s

attention and respect. This use of rhetorical skills has made Dweck’s claim more successful than

Briceno on how having a growth mindset is beneficial to students. (447 words)

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Anna Behrman

AP Language

Tatum

15 January 2020

Journal Entry D

A growth mindset can be changed through practice and hard work. Personally, I have a

little bit of both mindsets. I can get frustrated easily and am very obsessed with my grades. Of

course, I do believe that I and many other people of my generation have this kind of mindset

because of the society we have grown up in. A lot of it comes from colleges. Colleges do not

focus on hard work, effort, and improvement. They look at resume boosters and your GPA. They

look at your grade not how you got the grade.

Improving my growth mindset will take work. I will need to train my brain to look at a

challenge as fun. I already use my mistakes for the better and work hard at improving on skills I

do not have yet, but I do not always do it with a smile on my face. I need to learn that just

because I did not do well on something does not mean I am bad at it; it just means that I am not

good at it yet. I could also start taking notice of my own improvement even if it is small. This

will help me to see that my effort is making a difference. This goes for all aspects of my life. It

will work for school, diving, and my social life. To succeed in life, I will need to have more of a

growth mindset, and I plan on achieving that goal. (250 words)