For the rhetorical analysis paper, I am currently considering Theodore Roosevelt’s speech, “The duties of American Citizenship”, as my text to analyze. In this speech, Roosevelt discussed the obligations that every citizens should carry with them once they become an U.S. citizen. I chose this particular speech as my target to analyze because this topic is closely related to me since I have recently became a U.S. citizen. However, the primary factor that I chose this speech is because of the importance of the message that Roosevelt is trying to deliver. In the speech, he criticized that most citizens are being irresponsible and do not contribute to this country, but still enjoy the benefits that were granted to them by the government. More importantly, this issue became a lot more serious in the modern world. Since the revolutionary war happened hundreds of years ago, people have slowly forgotten that the rights we have are not granted but earned. For instance, most citizens do not vote nor give out opinions to government, but this should be part of the obligations that every citizen should carry with them.
Other than the fact that the message Roosevelt is try to deliver to the public, the way that the speech was written is also worth to analyze rhetorically. A good speech must utilize all logos, ethos, and pathos to build up a strong argument. In the case of “The duties of American Citizenship”, Roosevelt wrote the speech in respect to all components of rhetoric. He showed the appeal to logic by logical statements to make audience agree on what he was saying. He showed the appeal to credibility by using quotes from quotes from the fighter in the civil war. He also showed the appeal to emotions by provoking emotions and giving out stories that would make audience to resonate with. Other than the part of using these three types of appeals, Roosevelt used analogies in the speech to make his speech easier to understand.
LINK TO THE SPEECH:
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/speeches/theodore_roosevelt_duties.html
Hi Zhi,
Thanks for your post. This is a really interesting text to choose, especially considering contemporary issues about immigrants. I’m always really fascinated by Roosevelt and his attitudes about what it means to be “American,” so I think it’s neat that you’re analyzing a speech from the past. I’d encourage you to take the time period into consideration when you think about “purpose.” You’ll probably need to think about Roosevelt’s intentions/purposes based on his own rhetorical situation, but then also consider how Roosevelt’s speech, which certainly can still be read and cited today, might still have some kind of impact on a new set of societal circumstances. It will definitely make for an interesting analysis, and I like that it has meaning for you on a personal level. Good job so far. I look forward to reading what you come up with.