Rhetorical Analysis of President Bush's Address to Nation 9/11

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Powerpoint Templates
Rhetorical analysis of
George Bush’s Speech
Group 1
Nguyễn Phương Thảo
Nguyễn Thùy Ngân
Nguyễn Thị Minh
Nguyễn Phương Anh
Group 1
Nguyễn Phương Thảo
Nguyễn Thùy Ngân
Nguyễn Thị Minh
Nguyễn Phương Anh

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Table of Content
A. Theoretical background
B. Analysis of rhetorical skills
C. Conclusion

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A: Theoretical Background
- On 9/11/2001,
Terrorist attacked
World Trade Center
- Nearly 3000 killed,
over 6000 injured, 3
trillion USD cost.
1. The event

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- Graduated from Yale
University in 1968 and
Harvard Business School
in 1975
- The only US president
to earn a Master of
Business Administration.
- 43rd president of the
United States of
America (2001 – 2008)
2. The Speaker

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B: Rhetorical Analysis
1. Parallelism
Examples Effects
-Mom and Dad
- Friends and Allies
- Chaos and retreat
- With the daring of our rescue
workers, with the caring for
strangers and neighbors
- Strangers and neighbors
- Condolences and assistance
- Friends and neighbors
- Peace and security
- Justice and peace
- our fellow citizens, our way of life,
our very freedom
…
- To emphasize the idea
- To catch the listeners’ attention
- To give a complete list
- Comprehension of all examples

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Effect of Parallelism
 Sound effect
- Sounds natural and pleasant to our ears
thanks
 Content effect: 3 main effects
- To emphasize the idea
- To catch the listeners’ attention
-To give a complete list
Conclusion:
Parallelism plays an essential role in delivering
George W. Bush’s message to people in America
and all around the world in general.

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2. Antithesis
“Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our
biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation
of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot
dent the steel of American resolve.”
 “Today, our nation saw evil -- the very worst of human
nature - and we responded with the best of America.”
=> Using antithesis helps create a balance between
opposite qualities and lend a greater insight into the
subject, which is a war against terrorism that starts with
the 9/11. The picture is now more vivid and full of stark
contrasts.

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3. Polysemy
a. “ Foundation”
- “… the foundation of our biggest buildings…”: lowest
division of a building, wall, or the like.
-“… the foundation of America…”: the basis or
groundwork of anything.
b. “Steel”
- “These acts shatter steel…”: A generally hard, strong,
durable, malleable alloy of iron and carbon
- “… the steel of American resolve.”: A quality suggestive
of this alloy,especially a hard,unflinching character.
=> Both words have a concrete and an abstract meaning
that are related to each other.

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4. Repetition
America-related Terrorism-related
Citizens, freedom, nation, rescue,
emergency, strong, justice,
American, America, peace
Different words for different
topics
 Remind people of good values
in life
Terrorist attacks, terrorist acts,
evil, acts of terror, terrorism
Phrases made up of
terrorism-related words and
attacks/acts for one idea:
Terrorism is simply evil

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5. Anaphora
a. The repetition of the word “our”
 ...”our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very
freedom”...
 “Our military is powerful, and it's prepared. Our
emergency teams are working in New York City and
Washington D.C. to help with local rescue efforts. Our
first priority is to get help to those who have been
injured, and to take every precaution to protect our
citizens at home and around the world from further
attacks.”
- “Our” once again is repeated to stress that the White
House or the government will take immediate actions
to solve this incident.

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5. Anaphora
b. “With the…”
…“With the daring of our rescue workers, with the
caring for strangers and neighbors...”
The repetition of the phrase “with the” express the
extreme support and humanity of the American.
c. “For …”
“Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve,
for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for
all whose sense of safety and security has been
threatened.”
→ Using anaphora helps the speech more touching and
appealing because of the repetition of implied word and
expression.

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“Steel of American
resolve”
Another way to restate the strength of Americans
Beacon for freedom
and opportunity in the
world
Indicating => America - only place in the world -
people can find both freedom and opportunity
That light from shining The light: hope of freedom and richness => calm
people by giving the hope and pride of the
country to overcome the pain
The valley of the
shadow of death
Emphasizing that with the support and
accompany of the whole American citizens, we
sense no fear but just strength.
From every walk of life • The solidarity of Americans to defend
terrorism
• Call for peace and freedom for people
6. Metaphor

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Nation and country
Shatter and Dent and
Attack
Powerful and Strong
Friend and ally
The speech
appears to be
more flexible and
avoid of
repetition of
words, the typical
feature of formal
language
7. Synonym

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Justice Terrorism
Rescue Murder
Defend Attack
Victim Evil
Peace Terrorism
Friend Enemy
Differentiate
2 sides:
justice
(America)
and terrorism
8. Antonym

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“a Power greater than any of
us”
- originated from “a Power
greater than himself”
- Effectively changing the
focus away from himself
and puts it on God
“Even though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of
death, I fear no evil for you are
with me.”
comforting for many people
“God bless America” aiming that every Americans;
particularly those affected,
will be protected by God
9. Allusion

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“Evil - the very worst of human nature”
Show clearly what is evil:
“the very worst of human nature”.
10. Appositive

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“America” all
American people as a unity
the solidarity of
citizens of the USA.
Mentioning
Express
11. Metonymy

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C. Conclusion
 Reflecting a tragedy to America a defining
moment in Bush presidency.
 Numerous rhetorical devices + a reassuring
tone
deliver an encouraging speech:
+Giving comfort to the citizens
+Bringing the nation together during the time of
national distress

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