Policy is the leading power in the modern world. Having obtained the great importance, now it influences souls and minds of the people all over the world. Rhetoric, however, is the main weapon of the policy. The leading politicians cannot ignore such a powerful remedy in the war for the electorate. That is why nowadays, every self-respecting politician should have the deep knowledge of the rhetoric and all rhetorical devices in order to make his speeches sound convincing. Barak Obama is one of the politicians of that kind. Having the great power concentrated in his arms, he should accept the unabated attention to his person. His every world is analyzed by the thousands of people that is why he should be especially caring about what to say. The good example of his oratory can be found in his famous election speech in Chicago. Understanding the importance of the event, as “it is hard to imagine a more culturally significant event in the history of our country than the election of an African American president” (Auger para. 3), he had to do his best. The speech was delivered soon after the announcement of Obamas election as a president of the USA. Obama was giving a speech in front of the thousands of his electors, however, addressing not only them, but the whole American nation. The new elected president was not only saying thank you to all his supporters, he also described the common state of the USA, outlining the future policy and making some historical parallels. The main message of the speech was clearly understood – the president outlined his further steps in the development of the country, he would make. The place and the time were chosen excellently, because people, being in the state of euphoria after the victory of their candidate, were not scared by some troubling signs in Obamas speech, accepted the content at once. The speech was not the improvisation, of course, as the times of the spontaneously proclaimed speeches had already passed. That is why every paragraph was thoroughly thought through and conveyed a certain meaning. The great number of different rhetorical devices, used it the speech, helped to achieve the planned effect. One of the most frequently used is, of course, the repetition, including the famous phrase “Yes, We can.” However, it is not the only example. Almost all of the stylistic devices are used here. Barak Obamas winning speech, filled with a great number of contrasts, rhetorical questions, triples and with the usage of the eco effect, is a good example of the benefits of the rhetorical skills in policy.
The speech is very emotional, still it can be divided into two parts – the relatively calm beginning and very strained, patriotic ending, where the orator proclaims the great purpose and the great importance of the USA and American nation in the whole.
The speech is organized into several paragraphs, connected with each other only within the whole speech. They are quite independent and logically completed, one paragraph does not come out from another.
The language of the Obamas speech is rather emotionally evocative. He specially uses keen problems, actual themes or rhetorical questions in order to make people express their emotions, while following his words. Being the experienced orator, Obama knew exactly what words and phrases would trigger the great expression of feelings. From the beginning of his speech he starts evoking people, by espousing the idea of the American dream:
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.(“Full text: Obama’s victory speech” para.1)
In this starting paragraph we can also see the first rhetoric devices that later become widely used in the rest of the speech and which are peculiar for Barak Obamas rhetoric in the whole. First of all it is repetition. The use of the constant recurrence of the pronoun “who” serves for several purposes. First of all it helps to draw rather scattered peoples attention to his words. Constantly using this pronoun, Obama makes an impression of addressing everyone personally, making each person in the crowd subconsciously react to his appeal. The second rhetoric device, peculiar for this speech, and Obamas rhetoric in the whole, is the rhetorical question. The question that does not need any answer is a strong device and it has the great influence on the auditory. Asking the questions, that do not need answers, the speaker achieves the great effect. The audience believes in his words, as if he is saying total truth, which can never be doubted, and these questions just underline it. Obama, with the help of these three rhetorical questions, appeals to the patriotism of the citizens of the USA, making any other emotions insufficient.
One more rhetoric device, Obamas speech is overflowed with, is the triple. There are about 20 triples in this speech. The emotional range of this device is very wide. Using it in the speech he can outline 3 points or touch 3 problematic issues at the same time. From the other hand, all problems and issues, mentioned in these triples, lead to the only thought or conclusion. The illusion of the presence of the other possible versions or problems just conceals the idea, the speaker wants to be heard and remembered. The second paragraph contains the bright example of the usage of these devices – here we can observe the repetition of “It’s the answer…”(“Full text: Obama’s victory speech” para. 2), and not occasionally it is repeated for the three times – we can see another triple in action. However, in this very paragraph, we can see some new rhetoric device introduced – “It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled” (“Full text: Obama’s victory speech” para.3). In that lines Obama widely uses contrast, opposing one group to another, underlining the differences in their representatives, but stressing their common belonging to the USA. By the way, one more triplet can be found here (“Asian, Native American”). Playing on the contrast, Obama wants to underline the national-wide character of the election, and as a result, his national-wide victory.
Of course, we cannot but mention the most famous part of this speech – Obamas famed repetition of the phrase “Yes. We can.” (“Full text: Obama’s victory speech” para.1). This phrase can be described as Obamas motto at that time – “‘Yes We Can’ was a central trope in his bid for the presidency” (Kephart and Rafferty para. 33). Having become more than just a phrase from the speech, it even obtained the symbolic meaning. This repetition was saved for the last part of Obamas speech. Outlining the key points of the American history, the problems and challenges it had to face and achievements it had made, tracing them in the context of the life of 106 years old Ann Nixon Cooper, using analogies and extended anecdote to outline the changes, Obama ends every passage with the optimistic and confirming “Yes. We can”. This way the speech organized, resulted in joining of the auditory to his speech, repeating in chorus his famous words and echoing him. The effect of the thousands of people chanting Obamas words was overwhelming. At the end of the speech everyone staying in front of Obama was sure, that he really can.
Having analyzed Obamas famous speech we should accept the fact that it is a wonderful example of the modern rhetoric and that it has the great influence on the auditory – “That speech before millions of American television viewers generated a resounding outpouring of national support” (Simba para. 3). The usage of each rhetoric device was logically relevant and the effect, produced by the speech, is the good approval of this fact. Having used a lot of rhetorical questions, triples, contrasts, analogies and repetitions, Obama made a great effect on his audience, forcing them to believe, that they had made the right choice. The USA had entered the difficult period, but they would be able to overcome it with dignity, sticking together and forgetting about their differences. Having said not only pleasant things, Obama however, made the public feel totally satisfied and even happy, as they could do everything. Yes, they can.
Works Cited
Auger, Richard W. “Yes, We Can.” Professional School Counseling, 12, 4, (2009), n. pag. Web.
Full text: Obama’s victory speech. 2008. Web.
Kephart, John and Steven Rafferty.”‘Yes We Can’: Rhizomic Rhetorical Agency in Hyper-Modern Campaign Ecologies.” Argumentation and Advocacy 46, 1 (2009),n. pag. Web.
Simba, Malik. “The Obama Campaign 2008. A Historical Overview.” The Western Journal of Black Studies, 33, 3 (2009), n. pag. Web.