Rhetorical Analysis: Nelson Mandela’s Inagural Speech Essay

On may 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected South Africas setoff nasty President, in that countrys first truly democratic election. out front his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist and as a direct result ended up spending twenty-seven years in prison. He became a attribute of freedom and equality, while the apartheid government condemned him. After his release in February, 1990, he helped lead the transition into a multi-racial democracy for South Africa. The purpose of this communion is to look at Mandelas effectivity in his inaugural speech, which occurred May 10th, 1994 in Pretoria, with both the written speech as advantageously as his yieldation of that speech .Mandela uses primarily the channels of ethos (character) and pathos (emotion). by c atomic number 18ful examination of both Mandelas written work (his speech) and his occurrenceual presentation of that speech, I believe that Mandelas written speech is a really effective piece of communication and thus line of work. On the new(prenominal) hand, the way that Mandela presents and argues it, although effective, has its flaws.Mandelas written speech is eloquently written, in current sentences with dramatic and convincing language. His writing is uses many analogies. These are effective because it brings set aboutly a third dimension to his speech. For example, each one of us is as intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country as are the famous jacaranda trees of Pretoria and the mimosa trees of the bushveld. Here he uses non only an analogy, but also relates it intimately towards the populate of South Africa. non only here, but through his writing he relates well to the people of South Africa (his audience) well. He speaks directly to them in fact, identifying himself as one of them.This john be seen through Mandela referring to himself as I and to his audience non however in the informal, you, to break down a barrier, but in the very personal, we, thus including himself, and making himself a part of. This draws him closer to his audience through making hisaudience feel closer to him. Everything is an Argument talks to the highest degree this, in Chapter 3, Arguments Based on Character, Speaking to readers directly, using I or you, for instance, also enables you to come closer to them when that strategy is appropriate. Through the use of analogies and his semblance to the audience Mandela does two things one establishes his credibility with his audience by suitable one with them, and two inspires them by touching their heart.Anformer(a) rhetorical fraud that Mandela uses which makes his writing effective is anaphora. Defined by americanrhetoric.com, this eddy is, repetition that occurs when the first word or set of words in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of concomitant sentences, clauses, or phrases repetition of the initial word(s) over successive phrases or clauses. One exampl e of this device being used in by Mandela in this speech is, Let there be justness for all. Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all. Let each know that for each the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to fulfill themselves. Here is another(prenominal) example of this device being used, Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful lend will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. In both examples this is effective because on top of the strong ideas and sentiment being proposed, due to the repetition, it is being just about branded into the audiences head.I have watched Mandela present this speech several quantify , watching for what I believe are his strengths and weaknesses in making this a more effective argument. When Mandela speaks, there is hardly any inflection in his voice. However, simultaneously the tone of his voice does command respect from his audience. While Mandela speaks, he also uses no hand gesture, or gesture of any other form at all, nor makes any sustained eye contact at all. He holds his speech notes in his hand, and that is all, referring from notes and looking briefly at his audience, pausing and then looking back at his notes. One might say that this detracts from the effectiveness of his speech, in this reviewers opinion, I do not ineluctably know if that is truth. I am not sure whether or not Mandelas performance adds much to the written work, I think it is the fact that the speech is written so well that makesthis speech such a top-notch argument and piece of communication however I do not think that anything that Mandela does or does not do takes away.While watching Mandela present his speech something that this reviewer also paid attention to was how his audience accredited Mandela which speaks loudly to the effectiveness. The audience seems excited to receive not only Mandelas speech, but also Man dela the man. This means that Mandelas argument has been persuasive he has sold himself Overall, I believe that Mandelas speech is an effective argument and has written and presented an effective piece of communication. He has done this through these methods using rhetorical devices, using pathos and ethos to get in touch with his audience, cognize his audience and thus knowing how to relate to and with them.Works CitedUniversity of Pennsylvania African Studies Center http//www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Inaugural_Speech_17984.html YouTube Nelson Mandelas Inaugural Speechhttp//www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5LcxkNpknsAmericanRhetoric rhetorical Devices in Sound http//www.americanrhetoric.com/rhetoricaldevicesinsound.htm Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. Nelson Mandela http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela Lunsford, Andrea and John J. Ruszkiewicz. Everythings An Argument. Boston Bedford, 2007.