An Analysis of Mrs. Sirleaf's Speech - Essay Example

Pathos influences the addresses to through eliciting emotions. The speakers and audiences do this through a careful use of language. The speakers or the authors use their personal stories to paint a good picture of their speech. This illuminates the truth and legitimacy of the conversation in hand. Logos involves use of reasoning to back up one’s ideas or claims. The speaker or the author gives sufficient reasons that explain a subject matter. Logos incorporates both inductive and deductive reasoning.

Inductive reasoning examines a specific representative of facts and then the speaker draws general conclusions from them. However, in deductive reasoning, the speaker starts with general implications of a fact then narrows down to specifics (Metcalfe 3). The well use of the three rhetorical appeals describes the effectiveness of a speaker or an author. This paper will analyze Mrs. Sir Leaf’s Speech which she delivered in the graduation ceremony in Harvard University in June 17th 2011. The dialogue had some political connotations because this is the period when there was an imminent election in Liberia.

The paper will endeavor to seek whether the speech uses the Ethos, Pathos, and Logos sufficiently to persuade the audience. The paper is organized into three sections. The first paragraphs will examine the use of Ethos in the speech. The middle section looks at the application of pathos in the conversation in hand. The last section will describe the employment of logos in Mrs. Sirleaf’s speech. Ethos in speech ensures that audience is attentive, listening, and ready to speaker’s coaxing ideas.

Ethos is about the audience perception of the speaker. This entails trustworthiness, reputation, association, and authority of the presenter. In Sirleaf’s speech, the speaker presents herself as a likeable character in several parts. Ellen opening remarks of the speech draw the attention of the audience that she is an honorable person. This creates an impression of respected person in the minds of the listeners. The audience is set to capture the conversation and they can associate with her.

Therefore, it means that the addressee will have a keen interest of the ideas that Mrs. Sirleaf puts across. Ellen gives the precedence of the events that culminated to her current position. Her interest to lead Liberia stems from the conference she attended as a subordinate employee in the Liberian Department of Treasury. National Planning Council and advisors from Harvard sponsored the conference. The core agenda of the symposium was to forge development projects in Liberia. In this meeting, the politician expresses displeasure about the unlovable status of things in her country.

She points out that direct attack on the Liberian authority plunged her into a political mess (Yifeng). This paints a picture of a bold and patriotic lady who has the interest of her country at heart. In this way, the speaker persuades the audience to keep a firm grip of the speech as it unfolds. Audience is enthusiastic to get the flow of events that culminates in her political achievements. The speech acknowledges the leadership program at Harvard University that shaped her. The poise she got from this university makes her make another attempt to challenge the Liberian authority ever the long and expanding gap between the poor and the rich.

The result of her activities was an expulsion from her country.