Tyler Green

Mrs. Sharf

ERWC Period 6

11 January 2022

Steve Jobs Rhetorical Analysis

Have you ever struggled to know what you want to do? Do the complications of your past

create a struggle in your pursuit of your passion? On June 12, 2005, Steve Jobs delivered a

speech to the graduating Stanford class where questions like these were brought up and his

unique answers to these questions were provided. Jobs pursued through all his shortcomings and

obstacles to become the CEO and co-founder of Apple. As a child his parents were not able to

support him so they made the decision to put him up for adoption with hopes that he could

belong to a family that will be able to help him achieve his dreams. Jobs' overall message is that

although you may not be in the best place in life or you feel as though your bad history is holding

you back you have to persevere over everything and put your heart into your passion. That is all

you can do to have the stars align in your favour.

Jobs effectively uses pathos to show the audience that even the life of a multi millionaire

has hardships and obstacles. The love for his craft and the idea of becoming one of the most

successful and influential people of the modern day pushed him to look past his struggles and

difficult past. Through his anecdotes he wanted the audience to feel encouraged, grateful and

hopeful. He tried to bring out these emotions as his goal was for the students to think “well if he

can succeed with this many struggles why can’t I”. When Jobs says that he walked seven miles

every Sunday that creates a feeling of remorse in the audience and makes them reflect on how

their current states in life are, making them feel hopeful and grateful. Knowing that Jobs was
able to become so successful makes the audience hopeful and optimistic especially if they are

already in a better position in life then he was. Being Stanford graduates for the most part they

know they are succeeding but Jobs’ speech might have provided comfort and brought them to the

hopeful conclusion that your past doesn’t define you and it can’t hold you back.

Jobs is already a well known multimillionaire known for his success in any field he steps

in although to refresh the crowd shows his credibility and qualifications by adding in his speech

how he went on to establish Pixar which “created the world’s first computer-animated feature

film” (2005 Stanford Graduation Speech). The audience for the most part already knows this but

integrating this during his speech builds a connection with the audience as he is telling them first

hand why he deserves and wants their attention. What Jobs has done is astounding and he is to

this day one of the most influential people in the world. Jobs intelligently uses ethos and pathos

to paint a story for the audience that he had similar stories to them and has had to learn a lot on

his own so he has all the qualifications to give a path to follow.

Jobs’ lack of logos is due to the use of credibility as he is already so credible that he

believes that what he is saying should already be taken as logic and facts. Jobs’ was a very

arrogant person and thought very highly of himself. His use of logos was skillfully used and

included him discussing success and hard work as he believes it is logical to know that following

your dreams and putting all your effort into them will lead you down the road of success.

The devastating loss of Steve Jobs in 2011 shook us all, he inspired us in so many ways

and showed us that you can still succeed and prosper in life despite a rough childhood and

various struggles. In his 2005 speech to the graduating Stanford class Jobs uses an intelligent

usage of all three literary devices to create a message not only to the class but as a timeless

message to everyone that is and will be listening and needs to listen. Jobs' message was that
although you may not be in the best place in life or have a bad history in your past you have to

persevere over everything and put your heart into your passion rather than believe that the stars

will align and life will work out. When Jobs uses pathos it makes the audience feel encouraged,

grateful and hopeful. He does this by causing them to feel sympathy for him and having them

reflect on how their own lifes are and how many more opportunities they already have compared

to Jobs. When Jobs uses ethos he wants the audience to understand why they should listen to him

and how he is qualified to be able to give advice like this. Jobs' speech along with his legacy will

never be forgotten, the morals he instills in his audience will stay with them for a lifetime and

this speech truly makes you feel like your hard work will pay off and success is just around the

corner.