The Consequences of Boston Bombings - Essay Example

Boston Bombings It has been said since time immemorial that the pen is mightier than the sword. This in a way speaksmore of the power of the written word. However, the spoken language also has an aspect of authority that comes with it. How language is used determines its effectiveness. As a result, there has been a focus on the elements that make the spoken word more effective with regards to connecting with the audience. The master of rhetorical analysis is widely accepted to be Aristotle. He gave us several benchmarks by which to judge writing or speech. I shall use those devices to analyze the recent speech by President Obama after the Boston terror attacks. Terrorism is a problem of huge magnitude globally. With the killing of Osama bin Laden, the President had earlier on reassured the nation that terrorism will be a thing of the past. However, an attack of the most elementary kind happened and several people lost their lives. Therefore, it is important to see how the president, who is well known for his good oratory skills, used this attribute to reassure the nation again. Apart from analyzing the elements of oratory that the President employed, there shall also be a focus on the effectiveness of the speech. One of the most important parts of rhetoric that should never be ignored is the setting. Usually in rhetorical analysis, there is a focus on the text, choice of words and even delivery, however; minimal attention is given to the setting. The setting was very important in this case because of two main reasons. One of the reasons is that the President chose to deliver his speech on the attacks in the town where the attacks took place. This is important because he gets to connect emotionally with the people who are affected by the killings. He could have chosen to deliver the speech from the White House, an equally important place, but far removed from the tragedy at hand (“Boston Marathon Bombing: Mystery Remains over Motive”). Another notable aspect about the President’s chosen setting is that it was a church. This was a time when the nation’s faith in the ability of government to fully protect them against any harm had been shaken. That faith needed to be strengthened and the best place to do that was at the church. The atmosphere was also better attuned to the humility that Americans had been subjected to by this event. We all know Americans as people who have an overly optimistic sense of their own abilities. The ability to stop criminal attacks was wounded by this attacks and humility was necessary to try and better come to terms with the fact that terrorism is advancing, just as government’s military capabilities improve (Crocker 34). There are three kinds of appeals that we have come to associate with rhetoric. These appeals are to the pathos, the logos and to ethos (Pass 56). All these are certainly detectable in the President’s speech and they shall form the basis of my analysis of this speech. The appeal to the pathetic is the appeal to the emotions. The appeal to the logic and ethics are as straightforward as they sound (Genung 45). The most outstanding device that the President uses in this speech is metaphor. This is a device that runs throughout the President’s speech. The President begins by invoking scripture readings. This was a church service after all, so in a way it was expected. However, he takes it a little further than normal. He says that scripture tells us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” This is a statement that connects with the tragedy at hand in more ways than one. First of all it is important to remember that the attacks that necessitated this speech were targeted at runners in one of the most famous races, the Boston Marathon. This is an annual race that attracts participants from across the world. Likening the marathon to our ‘race in life’ is a strong way of trying to assure the people that life must go on after this gruesome event. The President extends that metaphor on and on throughout his speech. He goes on to refer to one of the people killed in the blast. This is another very poignant moment. He states that ‘we may momentarily be knocked off our feet, but we will pick ourselves up. We will keep going. We will finish the race’ (“President Obama’s Address At Boston Memorial Service”). This is indeed a very relevant metaphor top use in a tragedy of this kind. Usually, for those who lose their loved ones, it might seem like the end of the road. However, the President seeks to give them hope by portraying their tragedy as a mere bump along the road. The President mentions them all by name and even states their characteristics and their passions and how they led their lives. This proves to the audience that the President connects with the private grief of the people who lost their loved ones. This is an appeal to their pathos. This appeal is very effective as used by the president. The only way to judge the effectiveness of this method is to look at the mood of the audience at the time these words were mentioned. There is silence. This is in line with what someone could expect at an event of this kind. Another important technique that the President uses is repetition. Repetition is known to be very effective in events of either a happy or sad nature (Genung 53). The trick lies in repeating the issues that are most important so that the audience can get to think about them more that they would stand out in the audiences’ memory. The President makes his first repetition close to the start of the speech when he says ‘Run with immense endurance the race that is set before us’ (“President Obama’s Address At Boston Memorial Service”). This sort of repetition at the start of the speech helps set the tone for what is to be discussed in the rest of the speech. Indeed, true to this biblical edict, the President throughout the speech reassures the audience that endurance shall be necessary if the war against terror is to be won. Repetition is also used in other areas in the speech. This sort of repetition is also very effective. The President uses these phrases ‘it is our town too’ and ‘Boston you are my home’. Here, the President seeks to reassure his audience that the tragedy is not only for the people of Boston to bear. It is a mutual burden. He goes on to qualify his statement that Boston is his home too by reminding the crowd that he and his wife went to school within the state. If he had not done this, the personal connection he tries to claim to the state would have seemed as mere empty rhetoric. However, after mentioning it, his message seems more genuine. The use of repetition in the president’s speech is also beneficial in the sense that it makes the audience stay with the president throughout the speech. By repeating some important phrases, the audience remains alert as they think deeply on why the president is making such repetitions. The President also uses humor. This is a proven method of getting people to listen to your speech. People are drawn to laughter (Pass 23). However, in an occasion of this kind, humor can easily be a slippery slope. This is after all, is a solemn occasion. Too much humor might make the audience feel that one does not take the event with the weight it deserves. The president limits his humor to a few jokes. The nature of the jokes he uses are also very instructive. He chooses self-abasement as the best sort of humor for this occasion. He states that he arrived in the town and nobody could pronounce his name. Of course it is a common American joke that accompanied the President’s name when he first declared himself a candidate for the top job. This joke has not died down though and the president knows it. That is why he chooses to use it so as to reduce the tension that might be present in such an event. The most enduring device in this speech, however; is the one that has been referred to above and will be discussed again in brief as this essay comes to a close. The use of metaphor litters the speech as a whole. For instance, likening the gruesome event to a race in life is extremely metaphorical. He uses a lot of metaphor when he praises the people of Boston over their response to the tragedy. There is lots of applause in this part of the speech. He uses phrases such as; ‘we will only grow stronger’, ‘even when it hurts,’ ‘even when our heart aches,’ ‘someone will always be there to applaud us on and pick us up if we fall,’ among others. All these have an athletic undertone in them, just like the athletics event that fell victim to the attacks. The metaphor in his speech is a source of strength to the families who have lost their loved ones. It is a fact that the athletes who had been involved in the blast had fell, and so are the families who had lost their loved ones or have their loved ones injured. Therefore, by telling them that they will soldier on and grow strong even if the loss or pain hurts, the president is comforting everyone who is affected by the tragedy. Finally, there is the most important element in as far as a speech of this kind is concerned. This is the tone. There has been a lot that has been said about tone in the past. In an occasion of this kind, it is very important to vary ones tone to achieve the desired effect (Genung 37). This is evident when he starts the speech. His tone sounds reflective and slow, perhaps trying to stay in synchrony with the mood of the audience at the time. It is a fact that at this point in time, the American nation as a whole are in a somber mood; thus, a tone that shows their melancholy goes in tandem with the occasion. It would be quite ironical and out of order for the president to begin his speech in a mood that symbolizes happiness. However, towards the end of the speech, the president’s tone changes from its slow nature to show some aspects of firmness. This is attributed to the fact that he was trying to reassure the Americans that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice. The firmness and commanding nature of his tone is extremely important for the mourning nation. This is because it helps them have faith whatever he is saying. He sounds like a man with a conviction. In conclusion, there is great success in as far as the use of rhetorical devices is concerned in this speech. In such a case, words are supposed to be used to lift the mood of the people. This is exactly what happens. The most recognizable of those devices is the use of metaphor. The president continually likens the journey through life to a race, similar to the one that had been disrupted. The president effectively used repetition, tone and humor with great success. Even for a President who is used to getting high ratings for his speeches, this is a new high. Works Cited “Boston Marathon Bombing: Mystery Remains over Motive.” BBC News. 2013. Web. 8 May 2013. Crocker, Lionel. Rhetorical analysis of speeches. London: Allyn and Bacon, 1967. Print. Genung, J. Handbook of Rhetorical Analysis: Studies in Style and Invention. New York: Bibliobazaar, 2009. Print. Pass, David. Burkean rhetorical analysis. Bloomington: Indiana University, 1998. Print. “President Obama’s Address At Boston Memorial Service.” Huffington Post. 2013. Web. 8 May 2013. Read More