The Price of Shame - Essay Example

Analysis of a speech “The Price of Shame” using its “ethos, pathos and logos” components This is aspeech that is made by Monica Lewinsky who is currently a social advocate who is fighting for a social environment that is safer and more compassionate about the mistakes that others make. She does this by drawing on her personal experiences by stating and highlighting what she went through about 17 years back in the hands of technology and the media. She was the centre of a huge scandal that took place in the White House in 1998. In this case, she dwells on the topic of public shaming due to a number of actions that are considered to be unethical and scandalous in the public eye. She mainly discusses the effects of the shame that comes with cyber bullying and online harassment in this speech. She comes out as a process speaker who is articulated and extremely focused on driving her point home and thus influencing her audience to understand the problem and reality in shifts in order to help in eliminating the practice. This is achieved through various components that include her emotions on the matter, her ability to provide cases that turned out worse and the fact that she is able to reveal the statistics on the increasing trend in the form of ethos, pathos and logos within the speech. Nonetheless, she emphasizes more on the use of to draw the attention of her audience to the extent that they relate to her situation and make the commitment to eliminate the problem to avoid any further detriment. The main thing that Monica Lewinsky wants to attain from the audience is to help other victims from suffering public shame and from going through what she underwent. However, it is not possible to attain this without revealing to the audience why. As such, she starts the note from her own experience to connect with the emotions of the audience. One of the major forms was by placing the audience in her own shoes. This helped her to attain their identity and appeal and help them relate to the situation when she asks “Can I see a show of hands of anyone here who didnt make a mistake or do something they regretted at 22?” to show to the audience that just like everyone, she was eligible to make mistakes at the age (1:58) only that it was not expected to be blown out of proportion like hers was. She expresses her sorrow in by stating humiliation and torment that such a character can go through is close to the worst feeling on earth. She recounts in “I was Patient Zero of losing a personal reputation on a global scale almost instantaneously” (2: 03) to show that none of the media personalities considered her point of view as a human being and hence to treat her case with a little bit of caution or consideration. It is also when she is overwhelmed by emotions to the point that she cries which moves her crowd. Monica Lewinsky uses pathos in the way that she uses the aspect of appeal to seek sympathy from the audience. Through the use of her own example and that of other victims, she is able to pass her message in a better way. She makes her audience to feel exactly the way she, her family and other victims of those who have been cyber bullied and publicly harassed before and those other victims felt. She expresses the intensity of the feeling in “Not a day goes by that Im not reminded of my mistake, and I regret that mistake deeply” (2: 35) to show the serious extent with which the problem can be felt. It helps her to illustrate that the problem does not last fort a short time but can extend so much to affect the life of the individual. Family involvement in a serious manner as shown in “reliving a time when she sat by my bed every night” (10:06) is also her strong device to show that it is not an issue that is only faced by one person. It involves various individuals who include family and friends and therefore each one should take responsibility to stop it. The other way with which she uses pathos is by exposing the dangers of the same problem. It makes the audience to realize the intensity of the problem being discussed. In essence, she tries to show that each member in the community can take action and bring a stop to the problem. This she does by stressing to them the fact that they can and the importance of unity in “even in small numbers, when theres consistency over time, change can happen” (10: 08). It gives them the power to listen to her more as they realize that they form an essential part of the solution to the problem. It is a great tool as it relates to the ability of the speaker to appease the crowd not only to accept what she is saying to them but also act upon it as is required. With this, she makes the will and intention of the audience stronger to take part in her main point of discussion. Conclusion Monica Lewinsky is particularly articulate on the issue that she wants dealt with 17 years after her horrible experience: cyber bullying and public humiliation. She is able to move her audience and at certain times drives them to tears with her words. It made her speech very efficient and effective. In addition, the way that she was able to connect with the audience by making her case open really contributed to the success of her speech. Giving real examples and humorous moments assists in loosening the tension and helping the audience to concentrate on the main message of the speech. One of the things that I learnt most in the speech is the need to start from the known to the unknown. The most significant element is to start the speech by making all of them aware of the root or main part of the speech before starting on what needs to change. Although some of these cannot be said directly, there is a possibility of a slow introduction until the audience can understand the entire concept. However, besides the real examples of individuals and families who have been devastated she was expected to express her deep anger towards the media to provoke the audience to feel the role that they play in harming the lives of others. Read More