Retorisk analyse af Bushs 9/11 og Roosevelts Pearl Harbor taler

Comparative Rhetorical analysis of “President George W. Bush’s Address to the nation” and “Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation.

Many things have happened in America since the country was founded, both good and bad. Events like the bombing of Pearl Harbor and 9/11 left a great scar on the country. This scar even affected the whole world and revealed that the US as a superpower is vulnerable just like any other country. People in high positions at the time of these two specific incidents had a special way to appeal to the people as an aftermath of the events. Every single American citizen was anxiously waiting for a response from them and hence they responded with speeches. The focus of this comparative rhetorical analysis would be on the rhetorical situation, relevant rhetorical features, and forms of appeal used in the speeches and ultimately compare the two speeches with each other.

The circumstance in President Roosevelt’s speech is the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbor that happened on the 7/12/1941 on the Island of Hawaii. The bombing was caused by Imperial Japan’s Navy Air Forces and was a surprise attack. A day after the attack, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who serves as the writer of this speech, delivered a seven-minute-long oration. FDR’s audience is both primary and secondary, which can be seen at the very beginning of the speech. 1“ Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives". The various people he acknowledges here are his primary audience and every single person listening to him from outside is secondary. President Roosevelt then begins to describe the incident. Throughout the speech, his language is very appropriate and professional. He uses both negative and positive connotations as seen in these parts. 2" Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.” and 3“ With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.” In this speech, Roosevelt also makes usage of a rhetorical feature. He uses anaphoras to antagonize Japan even more. He keeps repeating the phrase 4“Last night, Japanese forces attacked…” listing the atrocities made by the empire of Japan, making them look worse than they already were and engraving Japan’s evil antics in the minds of his listeners. The intention of the speech is made very clear at the end of it, FDR is urging the Congress to declare war on Japan. 5“I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.”