Julah Hall

Professor Jackson Joseph

English 1302

13 February 2017

Rhetorical Analysis

Former President, Barack Obama, in his transcript for "Remarks by the President in State

of the Union Address" acknowledges the growth and achievements that were made during both

of his terms in office and other plans that he had to aid the United States of America while he

was still in office. Obama's purpose is to inform America that it is possible to "remake America"

and give America a "brighter future" (paragraph 10). He adopts a compassionate, authoritative

and an assertive tone in order to optimize what steps he feels that are necessary to make for

America to be a better country. In the "Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address"

that was released on January 20, 2015, President Obama uses ethos, logos, and pathos to

persuade his audience that his vision for America can be made into reality.

Obama concedes his audience to follow his prespective of improving America by taking

his perspective to an emotional level to relate to his audience. He appeals to hopeful emotion of

his audience by signifying that, "We are [fifteen] years into this new century. Fifteen years that

dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long

and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world" (paragraph

1). In the beginning of his address, Obama uses pathos to start off his address to implicate that in
the past America has had a history of going to war, resulting in many people losing their lives.

Obama refers it as " a hard time for many" and that we must push on to strive for greatness.

Another factor that President Obama uses for pathos in his address is using the story of

Rebekah and Ben Erler of Minneapolis to relate to his audience. Obama describes the hardships

that Rebekah and Ben fought through to provide for themselves and for their family during what

occurred in the housing and construction market. Using Rebekah and Ben's story to relate with

his audience is logical because there are families in America who are struggling to make ends

meet and had "sacrificed for each other" for the ending product that the hard work "paid off "

(paragraph 11). The use of pathos has illustrated to his audience that "Rebekah and Ben's story is

our story" because "they represent the millions who have worked hard and scrimped, and

sacrificed and retooled (paragraph 13).

In other parts of his address, Obama utilizes ethos to enhance that his credentials for

improving the vision of America are reliable. As president, President Obama's job "as

Commander-in-chief [was] to defend the United States of America" (paragraph 53). By serving

as the president, Obama enforced the laws, appointed federal officials, and developed federal

policies. Obama clarifies that "When we make rash decisions, reacting to the headlines instead of

using our heads; when the first response to a challenge is to send our militarythen we risk

getting drawn into unnecessary conflicts, and neglect the broader strategy we need for a safer,

more prosperous world" to define his strategies for ameliorating the standard living for

Americans (paragraph 53).

Obama continues his thoughts remarks for making America safer starting off with "

stand[ing] united with people around the world who have been targeted by terrorists -- from a

school in Pakistan to the streets of Paris" then "continu[ing] to hunt down terrorists and
dismantle their networks, and we reserve the right to act unilaterally, as we have done

relentlessly since I took office to take out terrorists who pose a direct threat to us and our allies"

(paragraph 55). Starting off his list of what he want accomplished gives Obama an authoritative

tone formulating that he is determined to stand by America's side as Commander-in-chief.

Obama's determination is projected to his audience as a sense of control and taking initiative to

get the job done because "if we dont act, we'll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If

we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for

people around the globe" (paragraph 67).

Furthermore, Obama's uses logos with statistics and facts for his audience to distinguish

the growth that America had during his terms in office. Obama first used logos in the beginning

of his remarks declaring that " Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the

financial crisis [;] of our kids are graduating than ever before [;] of our people are insured than

ever before [;] we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as weve been in almost 30 years"

(paragraph 2). When it comes to giving improvements that America made, Obama gave facts to

support his claim. His factual use of logos was direct so it can be achievable to comprehend by

his audience.

Additionally, the use of statistics avails with logos. Statistics took place when the

economic growth was predicted to not have a good outcome but " Instead, weve seen the fastest

economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has

doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in [fifty] years" (paragraph 18). Obama's

purpose of statistics is to prove that he has knowledge about economic growth. His use of

statistics implies that his audience would entrust his remarks.

 President Obama attracted his audience in his 'Remarks by the President in State of the

Union Address" from his use of ethos, pathos, and logos. Obama's use of rhetoric brought the

audience to connect with his strategy. His determination displays that he is hopeful that

America's living standard will soon get better.

 Works Cited

Griffith, Gerrill. "Government And Industry See Different Pathways For Fostering

Manufacturing Job Growth." Research Technology Management 58.5 (2015): 2-3.

Business Source Complete. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Obama, Barack. "State of the Union 2015: Full Transcript." CNN. Cable News Network, 20 Jan.

2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

"Tonight, We Turn The Page." Vital Speeches Of The Day 81.3 (2015): 62. MAS Ultra - School

Edition. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.