HSC English (Standard)

Module A: Experience Through Language

Elective 1: Distinctive Voices

Related Material Analysis

Barack Obama - Second Presidential Inauguration

Speech, 2013

Barack Obama and Jon Favreau

Text Type: Presidential Address

Publication details: 2013

Works best with:

Marele Day The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender

Joanne Burns Poetry

A.B. Paterson Poetry

George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion

BOS Selected Speeches

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Student Activities

Relationship of the Text to Distinctive Voices: Distinctive Voices are comprised of a number of elements. These elements combine to achieve a unique and engaging experience through the medium of expression that the 'voice' is presented in. In order to analyse the experience that the Distinctive Voice creates for the responder, you must first understand the components that comprise 'voice':

Purpose - what was the reason for the composer to create this text? What are the composer's motivations?

Argument - What perspective or point-of-view is the composer privileging? What is the text attempting to convince us of? What are we being encouraged to believe?

Persona - Who is the person speaking? Is the personality of the speaker/composer clearly defined or is it ambiguous? What do they tell us of their biography? What beliefs, values and attitudes are expressed in the text?

Audience - Who is the intended audience of the text?

Assumptions - Has the composer made assumptions about what the audience does and does not know? Has the composer assumed that the audience holds certain perspectives? What does the composer expect from the audience? What evidence is there of shared bias or prejudice in the composer's language?

Inferences - What inferences can be made about the composer's purpose and their rhetorical strategies? (NB: This inferences are dependent upon the perspective of the responder and the way in which they choose to interpret or view the text. For example: A person who despises their President or Prime Minister and opposes the ideology they espouse will interpret the language of the text and make different inferences, in comparison to a person who admires and supports the President/Prime Minister and their agenda.)

1. Briefly explain Obama and Favreau's purpose in composing this speech.

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2. Who is the intended audience of this speech? Identify and explain the hopes and fears they hold, which Obama is addressing in this speech.

3. What persona is Barack Obama adopting for the purpose of this speech? Consider the context of the speech and the occasion at which he is speaking.

Try not to confuse who Barack Obama actually is and the persona he is assuming on this occasion.

[Hint: Obama’s persona is very different when he is playing basketball with college students to when he is addressing the nation and the world on the day of his Presidential Inauguration]

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4. What is the central argument made by Barack Obama in this speech? In other words, what is the core theme of his oration?

[Hint: Listen carefully to the beginning and end of the speech.]

5. What assumptions has the composer made about the knowledge base of the audience? Consider Obama’s references to the following:

US Declaration of Independence and the American War of Independence (1775-1783)

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address

Martin Luther King Jnr’s 1963 I Have a Dream address at the March on Washington Rally

The Civil Rights Movement (circa 1950-1980)

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6. What inferences can be drawn about the composer’s purpose and rhetorical strategies? Discuss conflicting or divergent interpretations of Obama’s speech with your peers.

In your response, consider also Obama’s use of:

Ethos – (Greek for 'character') refers to the trustworthiness or credibility of the speaker/composer. Ethos is often conveyed through tone and style of the message and through the way the speaker/composer refers to differing views. It can also be affected by the speaker’s/composer’s reputation as it exists independently from the message – his or her expertise in the field or his or her previous record or integrity.

Pathos – (Greek for 'suffering' or 'experience') is the 'appeal to the audience's sympathies and imagination.' An appeal to pathos causes an audience not just to respond emotionally but to identify with the speaker’s/composer’s point of view and to feel what the speaker/composer feels. The most common way of conveying a pathetic appeal is through narrative or story, which can turn the abstractions of logic into something palpable and present. The values, beliefs, and understandings of the speaker/composer are implicit in the story and conveyed imaginatively to the reader. Pathos therefore refers to both the emotional and the imaginative impact of the message on an audience, the power with which the writer's message moves the audience to decision or action.

Logos – (Greek for 'word') refers to the internal consistency of the message – the clarity of the claim, the logic of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its supporting evidence. The impact of logos on an audience is sometimes called the argument's logical appeal.

[Adapted from: Ramage, John D. and John C. Bean. Writing Arguments. 4th Edition. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1998, 81-82]

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Close Analysis of the Text:

1. What is the effect of Obama enumerating various dignitaries at the outset of his oration?

2. Identify THREE examples of inclusive language. For each example, explain the effect of the quote in relation to at least ONE of the six elements comprising a Distinctive Voice.

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3. Identify THREE examples of historical reference/allusion. For each example, explain

the effect of this textual reference in relation to at least ONE of the six elements

comprising a Distinctive Voice.

4. Analyse closely the language devices employed in the following extract:

“Today we continue a never ending journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. For history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident, they’ve never been self-executing. That while freedom is a gift from God, it must be secured by his people here on earth.”

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5. Identify and explain THREE language devices used to Obama to create pathos.

6. What is the effect of the anaphoric metaphor "Our journey"?

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7. What inferences can we make about Obama's political ideology based upon the policies he cites in his speech? (i.e. Is he liberal/conservative/libertarian/etc.?)