Select one of the two Clinton speeches we read in class (the Map Room Speech 8/17/1998 and the Prayer Breakfast speech 9/11/1998) and evaluate how successfully Clinton uses persuasive techniques to convey his message.
In the second speech at the prayer breakfast Bill uses persuasive techniques to appeal to pathos. He says things such as how he has sinned and how he needs gods help to become an unbroken spirit. It is basically his "feel sorry for me I know I messed up speech". He even talks about the little boy from FLorida who wanted to be Bill when he grew up and how that Bill wanted all parents to be able to say to be like the president. It is a very emotional speech that even made Mrs. Tomich cry so it definitely appeals to the pathos aspect of speeches and literary writings. His overall message is for forgiveness and I think he gets this message across well by making the speech very emotional and very heart felt by including god consistently and making it seem like he is just a man who is trying to fix his life.
In the prayer breakfast at the White House, Clintons speech was effective. Compared to the Map Room speech, he is more calm and broken in the prayer breakfast speech and less defiant. He uses rhetorical question and repetition of words like "forgiveness", "grateful", and "repentance." These words set the tone for the speech; a tone of sorrow. He is asking for the forgiveness of the people of America, his family, and God. The speech focuses more on pathos then ethos or logos. Clinton also uses sequence by saying "first", "second", and "third." He uses humor to lighten up the mood when he states, "and I may have to take out my glasses to read my own writing." In this speech, he gets right to the point he is trying to say. "I agree with those who have said that in my first statement after I testified I was not contrite enough. I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned." I believe this speech is a strong speech that appeals to the emotions of the audience.
Brandon Brule- In the Map Room speech Clinton uses persuasive techniques quite successfully. He tells that the incident between him and Monica Lewinsky is a private event. The successfulness comes when he demands that the public stay out of his private affairs that are his own business.
I think that in Clinton's Map Room use of persuasive techniques helps to convey his message well. His use of pathos in the first paragraph saying "question no American citizen would ever want to answer." pulls the readers/listeners in and really makes them feel sorry for Clinton, having his private life dissected for everyone to see. He repeats the word "private" many times to really emphasize the fact that he thinks it is his personal buissness and no one else should care. He uses parallelism by saying "real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real secutity matters to face." shows how Clinton doesn't think his affair is real, that it should not be payed attention to by the American people. ~Megan Bernth
I believe the Prayer Breakfast Speech was the most successful in using persuasive techniques to convey his message. He used several rhetorical questions, and he really focused on Pathos. With the rhetorical questions, he was able to have the people connect to what he was saying. "Now, what does all this mean for me and for us?" Obviously he is bringing everyone together and making them see what he was trying to get at. Also, seeing as he focused on Pathos, he knew how to move peoples emotions and was able to get them to open up to what he was trying to get across. He was sorry, he was asking for forgiveness, and he would repent for his sins. Anyone in that room would probably say that that speech was very moving and sensitive considering how powerful of a speaker he is. Like in the Map Room speech, he was defiant and strong and he wanted people to back off. There was a lot of tension then. Now its calm and you can hear it in his voice that he doesn't want to fight anymore.
I think that the Map Room Speech on 8/17/1998 was the most effective. Clinton shows defiance in this speech as he clearly states that this matter is nobody's business but his. He also uses persuasive language to try to suppress the importance of this matter. One example of this is that he says that the nation should focus on "real" matters of higher importance. This gives people the impression that his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky was not real. Also, Clinton tries to appeal to the common people by saying that he has had to answer questions recently that no American citizen would want to answer. He tries to seem humble as he asks for forgiveness, but never clearly states his sorrow. Lastly, during the speech Bill Clinton states that the two people he loves the most are his wife and his daughter. With this statement, he tries to appear as an innocent family man. -Nick Monaco
White House Prayer Breakfast Speech September 11, 1998
This speech is much more effective than Clinton's original address to America. In his first one he confessed to his wrongdoing but tried to change the subject to the invasion of privacy and the fact that their were real problems to solve. In the second speech Clinton admits to feeling sorrow and talks about how he looks to repair himself and his family life. He comes across as a typical American. He's a man who's made a mistake and looks to restore his life through the help of those close to him and the love of God. He can't help (probably out of pride) to make a few comments of others wrongdoings. "First, I will instruct my lawyers to mount a vigorous defense, using all available and appropriate arguments" "...the bounds of privacy have been excessively and unwisely invaded." For the most part he comes across as a broken man trying to heal past wounds and this overshadows those other comments. His reference to the boy in Florida and the passage from Yom Kippur appeal to people's sensitivity for children and religion respectively. He draws applause and ends on the simple note of "Thank you. God Bless you." It is genuine and all that is necessary.
In the Prayer Breakfast Speech Clinton starts of thanking everyone for coming. He says show much Hilary, the vice president, and himself look forward to this breakfast every year. In the previous speech he says his wife and his daughter as if he has possession over them which goes along with the true purpose of telling everyone to stay out of his business. In the Prayer Breakfast Speech he uses Hilary's name to make her out to be a real person that he cares about, the person that America knows and not just the title of his wife. In this speech there is also a lot of repetition starting from the second paragraph on. He uses the words unusual, grateful, beginning to turn, etc, over and over again to prove his point (parallel structure). At one point in this speech he says that he is sorry. He even admits to his wrongdoing.
In Clinton’s speech The White House Prayer Breakfast Speech, on September 11th, 1998, he uses many persuasive techniques to convey his message about how he wants to gain forgiveness. He wants to persuade the people not only at the Prayer Breakfast but the people of American on how truly he is sorry and wants the forgiveness from the people. Even though he is at a Prayer Breakfast he uses a lot of repetition of religious words such as “Blessings”, “Broken Spirits”, and “God”. He overuses these words because he is a religious man that has sinned and is truly asking for forgiveness, even though he doesn’t say the words “I am sorry”. He also sits down and says “ and I may have to take my glasses out to read my own writing” meaning that he is the person that wrote this speech and how he much it means for him to get forgiveness from the people.
I think Clintons use of persuasive techniques in the Prayer Breakfast speech 9/11/1998 was successful. In order to get sympathy from the religious leaders and people of America he asked for forgiveness. He uses repetition of the words like forgiveness, repentance, blessings, and god. During his speech Clinton repeats, “I am grateful” multiple times to show the strong support and hope he has for his people to move forward. He refers to a time when a young boy told him he wanted to grow up just like Clinton in order to get sympathy from the parents of America. Also, he quotes a passage from the Yom Kippur liturgy called “Gates of Repentance” to persuade the American people to forgive him. To end his speech, he blesses god in order to show respect. This speech had a big impact on the country because of this persuasion.
In his prayer breakfast speech, clinton tries to gain forgiveness from religious leaders, the American people, and god. I believe his speech was extremely persuasive. He appealed greatly to Pathos, saying "i have sinned" and referring to "that little boy in Florida" who said he wanted to grow up to be just like him. He portrays himself as a religious man who has committed sin, which is effective given the fact that his audience is a group of religious leaders. The weakest part of his argument is that there is little or no appeal to logos. Most of his speech is pathos, and any attempt at logos is negated by a connection to god, which contains no logic or reason.
Amanda Schwartz Map Room Speech, Televised August 17, 1998
Clinton wrote this speech that was televised to talk about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Throughout this speech he uses many words, phrases, and ways to persuade the reader to forgive him and to move on and leave him alone. Although you feel his anger and annoyance with his private life being opened up and evaluated you also feel a sense of Clinton making you feel bad for him and you feel like he is trying to make you look at the situation as it is not a bad situation. Clinton uses much repetition to persuade the reader and he repeats the word "private" all throughout the speech and this word, the more we hear it and see it, we begin to believe well yes this is his PRIVATE life, we all have private lives, why can't the president. A big persuasion technique he uses is Pathos. He begins to go on about how he is protecting his family, his wife and daughter and how thats all he cares about and saving them, and for us to hear about his daughter and wife we begin to feel sorry and want them to be all right, he tries to play on our heartstrings. Playing on a readers heartstrings is a big way to get the reader to feel for you and to be on your side, even when the situation you are in really is a big deal; Clinton knows that, he just doesn't want to show it.
In Clinton's Prayer Breakfast speech he uses many effective persuasive techniques to convey his message. He displays great appeals of pathos and logos. The repetition of words such as grateful, forgiveness, genuine, truth, and broken spirit makes the audience console with him and understand where he is coming from. He does this by asking for and eventually obtaining their forgiveness, displaying his thankfulness, and explaining how he plans to change and move on to new things. He commonly refers to religion and comes off as a genuine person and a religions man who has sinned.
In the prayer breakfast speech on 9/11/1998, Clinton has a very different vibe then in the map room speech on 8/17/1998. During the breakfast speech Clinton is much more calmer, his voice is much more relaxed then in the other speech. Also what he says in the prayer breakfast speech is drastically different, such as he seems very more religious, he even has a quote from a book called Gates of Repentance which the quote describes exactly what is going on with him. In the quote from the book there is a line that says "it means saying I am sorry." Even though this is the only time he says that he is sorry, he is apologizing during the whole speech. Also during this speech he is somewhat saying, "I give up" he is no longer trying to "cover his ass." Also in this speech he brings up a little boy that he had met in Florida, who tells Clinton that he wants to be president and just like him. This is telling all of the people at the conference that even though he wronged people are still looking up to him and probably always will.
In the Prayer speech, Clinton uses many persuasive techniques that aid his purpose in asking for forgiveness and that help understand his, as well as their, course of action that must be taken. Throughout the speech, Clinton uses pathos in order to make the listeners empathize and feel his position. "I have been on quite a journey these last few weeks to get to the end of this, to the rock bottom truth of where I am" is an example of Clinton expressing his suffering in order to appeal to the listeners emotion of pity. Clinton also uses a lot of repetition of specific diction such as gratefulness, repentance, and care. These words successfully help Clinton convey his message because they keep the listeners focused on these main ideas. Clinton also uses a successful rhetorical question ("Now, what does this all mean for me and for us") which not only helps him develop what they need to do, but also refers to Clinton and the people as a single group; this brings up the idea of unity. Clinton also uses a lot of parallelism to keep his ideas focused and uniform; this technique successfully conveys his ideas in an organize manner. "Pride and anger...Excuse and compare...Blame and Complain" is an example of parallelism. All of these persuasive techniques, along with many others such as ethos, logos and concessions are great benefits in conveying his message
In the speech at the Prayer Breakfast Clinton used many persuasion techniques to convey his message. The speech was about Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, and how he was trying to seek forgiveness. In his speech he used the rhetorical question, “ Now, what does all this mean for me and for us?” This question allowed him to break down what exactly he is trying to do in seeking forgiveness. Also the diction he use, “sorrow, forgiven, repentance, judgment, and broken spirit,” helps show how sorry he is about what he did. The tone of the speech is a tired and sad feeling. He is trying to convey how much the American people meant to him, and how he was very sorry for how his actions hurt the American people. His speech was very effective overall but when he said, “for that little boy in Florida who came up to me and said that he wanted to grow up and be President and to be just like me.” I think that took away from the speech. -Melissa Stangel
Clinton persuades people to forgive him. He is very calm and peaceful about it. He lists his points and uses a rhetorical question so he can answer that to get his point across. He repeats the word repentance which relates to pathos. He also repeats that he is grateful and cares so please forgive him. He just asks for forgiveness. Clinton uses persuasive techniques very well to get his point across. He states he is a genuine person who has sinned but asks for America's forgiveness and to overcome what he has done.
I think that, in his Prayer Breakfast speech, Clinton used a very persuasive tone to connect with his audience. He sounded exhausted and depressed, and even admitted that he wouldn't be "easy with his words." This achieved an overall effect of humanity; he really personified himself and revealed his sensitive side. Honestly, he was trying to make people think of him as a person, especially in the paragraph in which he said he was having problems with the speech. His words also appealed widely to pathos, but I think he may have gone a bit too far. He seemed to reach out to religion a lot, and it also felt like he was trying adamantly to get pity from others. He just wanted sympathy; the ultimate message was: "I'm broken over this, give me a break." However, he pulled it off with a sorrowful tone and convincing concession ("I will instruct my lawyers to mount a vigorous defense...but legal language should not obscure the fact that I have done wrong")
the first speech clinton gives (map room speech) is more effective in the sense that he is very serious and does not show he has given in to what the people want from him; an apology. He constantly sates that his affair with monica lewinsky is a private matter and that the country should not and does not need to know about it. his quote "it is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives and get on with our national life" shows how does not want america to know anything and it is none of their business.
Clinton's speech at the Annual White House Prayer Breakfast differed greatly from the Map Room speech; it was much more sympathetic and in a forgiving tone. Clinton addresses the highest religious officials during this speech and frequently refers to his sin and how he's asking God to be forgiven. Pathos remarks fill this article as Clinton tries to reach out to the listeners, almost begging for forgiveness. I think there are some logical fallacies in this speech. Towards the end of the article, Clinton jumps to an anecdote about the boy in Florida, which is completely non-sequitur and is only there to try and push more pathos aspects into his speech. He also uses rhetorical questioning when he said, "now, what does this all mean for me and for us?" I think this speech was a bit too appealing to pathos. When I was reading this I felt as though Clinton was simply pathetic begging for forgiveness. While this mood of a speech was sort of necessary after his abrupt and assertive Map Room Speech, I think Clinton took his pathos appeal too far in the speech.
In Clinton's Payer Breakfast Speech, Clinton uses persuasive techniques to convey his message through repetition and the appeal to pathos. In his speech, Clinton constantly repeats words such as forgiveness and the word important to convey to the people that he knows that he has done wrong and he just wants and needs the forgiveness of the people to move on. He also repeats the phrase "I ask" many times throughout his speech as well which I felt was like him almost begging for people to pity him and forgive him because he knows he has sinned and wants to get over it already. I think, from the recording, the sound of his voice is drained and spent which also appeals to the emotions of the listeners. It makes them want to pity him and it makes them so "Oh he must be going through so much right now". In that way his technique is very effective. I feel overall the point that he was trying to get across was effective due to his superior use of persuasive techniques but to me, I find it to be very fake and too "Please pity me because I'm the president"
Clinton's prayer breakfast speech was extremely successful in its use of persuasive techniques. He makes himself out to be extremely remorseful and humanizes his life in explaining his writing process. He also shows modesty in his use of simpler language in hopes of gaining understanding. He humbles himself many times and legitimizes his points with real life examples.
In both speeches, Bill Clinton uses persuasive techniques to convey his message. In the both speeches, he talks about the tough times he has had dealing with the scandal. He invites his listeners to feel pity for him due to all the emotional stress and outside pressure he and his family have had to deal with; this technique largely appeals to pathos. His diction in both speeches also helps his speech. In the Map Room speech, he never uses the word lie and articulates his words in a way that allows him to deflect blame away from himself. In the Prayer breakfast speech, his numerous religious references fit the situation perfectly. Also he uses words in the Prayer room speech that invite sympathy and feeling for his situation. Once again, appealing to Pathos.
The first speech (Map Room Speech) is effective in the way he made it more of his own business instead of the entire country's. He uses the word "private" eight or nine times throughout the speech as well as stating "Even presidents have private lives." This persuades the audience into thinking that it isn't their problem and that they shouldn't care about his social life. On the other hand, i didn't like the way he said what he did was wrong. I felt that he sort of weaseled around saying "I'm sorry" to his wife, family, and Miss Lewinsky herself. He mentioned them being involved in the matter and that he is completely responsible for what happened, but he never states that he is sorry. - Alex Aponte
I think that the [the map room speech] is more serious than the [prayer breakfast speech}. I think this because in the map room speech Clinton tells the people of america what they do and don't want to hear. Clinton lets america hear what they want when he says how america is headed for better and was distracted from the whole scandal. Clinton also tells america what they don't want to hear when he never states that he is really truly sorry fro what he did. Clinton knows how to say what he has to America so that they can't criticize his speech. Clinton's first speech was more important.
The Map Room Speech 8/17/1998 In his first speech Clinton uses very effective in his use of persuasive techniques. He is able to appeal to an average person's pathos with lines such as "questions no American citizen would ever want to answer" and "the two people I love most- my wife and our daughter." He uses a higher level of language to try and talk his way out. However devious this is, in a way it is effective. He also, for the most part, leaves religion out of the mix. This is wise because not all of America is catholic or as religious as Clinton is. This speech, overall, was very persuasive, not persuasive enough to sway a mob mentality, but persuasive.
I think President Clinton's Prayer Breakfast Speech is very persuading and effective. The first thing he does well is he appeals to pathos. He talks about how "the sorrow he feels is genuine" and that he is "a broken spirit". He even admits that he has sinned or done wrong multiple times. Clinton goes on to say he is still grateful for the support of his staff, family, and American citizens who still respect him. The other thing that the former President does well is that he makes the speech sound real and personal. He talks about how he was "up rather late last night thinking about and praying about what I ought to say today". He goes on to talk about his plans after today and how a "little boy in Florida who came up to [him] and said i want to grow up and be just like you". Overall Clinton does a great job in expressing his emotions to America.
In Clinton's Prayer Room Speech, I think he probably evaluated the reaction to his first speech and adjusted it to be more appealing to the public. His constant religious references probably appeased his audience more effectively; by saying, "I was up...praying about what I ought to say," it gives him the legitimacy of one who is backed by God himself in his rhetoric, and it also served to humanize him. He also used "where I am and where we all are" and "for me and for us" to make it seem as if he and the audience were on the same team in improving the U.S. By saying that his personal life had been "excessively and unwisely invaded," he is intimating that those interested in his personal life have been stupid and greedy in their morbid obsession. Clinton's use of rhetoric provided a convincing and and appealing argument in this context.
The second speech Clinton gives at the white house prayer breakfast is effective, unlike his first speech, in his use of persuasive techniques to convey his message. Clinton's speech is very appropriate and comes off as a lot more sincere and genuine. Clinton repeatedly references god and religion and connects it to his wrong doings. He establishes clearly that he is sinned and there is no other way to put it. He talks about how this whole situation has broken him and that he truly is searching for forgiveness. Specifically he says that to make right for his mistake it takes more then to just be sorrowful and he names how he will do this. He also gives a good example of a religious text he got from friend that sums up what has happened to him and what he needs to do to make amends.
In the Map Room Speech, Clinton successfully uses persuasive techniques to get his point across. Of course women would be against him no matter what he spoke said; I think he did a good job of apologizing to the American population. He is always saying that "no American citizen would ever want to answer [the questions that were asked to him]" and that he is sorry. Although he never says directly that he is sorry, it is always implied and stated in other ways. He also uses excuses for his lies like protection of his family and that it is between him and God. He states that they have "real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, [and] real security matters to face." He uses the word real to make it seem like this current matter is of no importance. Lastly, he appeals by saying that it has hurt to many people and has cost too much which makes him seem like he is trying to help people.
I feel like the White House Prayer Breakfast Speech is the most affective, because when Clinton is speaking his tone of voice was more sorrowful and heartbroken in my opinion. Also he spoke with more of a calm, and hopeful voice. He constantly says how he has sinned and that he is asking for forgiveness; which to some it may be signified as an apology and showed. During his speech he spoke very casually and gave off an impression that he was truly regretful of what he did, and gave people a sense of his emotions
Bill Clinton's Prayer Breakfast Speech was much more persuasive than the Map Room Speech for many reasons. In the second paragraph, he already starts off well by telling the audience his honesty in the difficulty he had thinking about what he had to say and actually writing down, which he didn't do often. In the third paragraph, his use of figurative language appeals greatly to the people ("…I have been on quite a journey these last few weeks to get to the end of this, to the rock bottom truth of where I am and where we all are.") He uses many concrete examples such as listing the three things he needs to be forgiven, he makes it clear who he is trying to apologize to, and he uses much repetition such as the phrase "I am grateful" in paragraph 10. His religious references such as the passage "Gates of Repentance" he uses at the end really make this speech stand out. He relates this passage to his current status with the American people, and makes his repetitive usage of religious terms even stronger to make his point across. Besides all of these aspects of the speech, his voice sounds very drained and tired in this speech, clearly showing to the people that he really is tired of the past few months, of what happened, and of his unhappiness. This makes people feel more sorrowful, somewhat pity him, and most importantly grant him the forgiveness he desired.
Prayer Breakfast Speech: I think that in the prayer breakfast speech President Clinton used many persuasive techniques to try to apologize and explain what has happened. The occasion in which he was speaking was very appropriate for the diction and details he had used. I think he is trying to convey the message that although he was the President he is also a human being and humans make mistakes. He uses apologetic language and many references to god to show the validity of his feelings about what he had done. The use of the repetition of themes: such as how he is on his journey to healing, how he recognizes the feelings of the people who may have been offended, references to god, etc help to thoroughly explain his thoughts that I think would be accepted by the audience. Unlike the map room speech he makes this speech more relatable to the average american (in terms of analogies, word choice, and his overall tone).
I believe that Clinton’s Prayer Breakfast speech 9/11/1998 was much more appealing and persuasive compared to the Map Room Speech. In the Prayer Breakfast speech there was more sorrow in Clinton’s word choice. He uses an anecdote of the boy in Florida to help relate to how disappointed he is in himself and doesn’t want the country to determine what kind of person he is by the one bad action that he committed. Referring to God and using a passage from a liturgy book, Clinton really relates to his audience using pathos from the Aristotelian Triangle. In his other speech he explains his action as an understatement, by discussing privacy, switching the subject, and not bothering to say sorry or even ask for forgiveness. In the Prayer Breakfast Speech explains what drastic measures he is willing to take to fix himself, his family, and his country. Listening to the Prayer Breakfast Speech, I could hear the sorrow in his voice, which made me want to give him another chance.
Clinton is very persuasive in this speech, whether or not he actually means what he says. The context is very straightforward: that the country needs to move on. He repeats the words “private” or “personal” several times during the speech, suggesting that this is his life and it is really none of anyone else’s business. It is harsh but gets his point across. The other word he repeats three times in a sentence towards the end of the speech is “real,” talking about “real” issues that need to be solved and focused on. Honestly, he is right, although I don’t necessarily agree with screw around with your 22-year-old intern. “Even presidents have personal lives.” That is a powerful statement Clinton makes: a statement that should make the country stop and think about what it is it is doing.
In President Clinton's second speech, the Prayer Breakfast Speech, he uses persuasive language more effectively. In his first speech he doesn't sound as upset and he sounds more professional. In his second speech he sounds more like a real person and sounds genuinely upset. Whether or not he is putting on an act in his second speech, Clinton sounds like a broken person. He even uses the diction "broken spirit" to describe himself. He uses more pathos in his second speech saying "something no American citizen would want to answer." He tries to connect more to the American people and make them feel bad.
Clinton's use of extremely persuasive language was very successful in the Prayer Breakfast Speech. In the first paragraph he uses pathos to receive the audience's sympathy by humanizing himself and saying how he was "up late at night trying to figure out what he was going to say" and how "he will try to read his own writing". He then follows with a very emotional and personal speech that expresses how saddened and troubled he is about the Monica Lewinsky incident. He uses very appropriate and religious language and recites a religious passage which is very persuasive since he is at a prayer breakfast. Clinton's use of diction and syntax also persuades the audience well. Words and phrases such as "broken spirit" , "a willingness to give the very forgiveness I seek" , "I have sinned", and "I ask for your prayers".
In Clinton's Prayer Breakfast Speech, his second after the scandal with Monica Lewinsky, Clinton expresses the utmost remorse for his wrongdoings. After attacking the people of the United States in his first speech (basically telling America that they intruded his privacy and they should just move on), he appeals to the people through the persuasive technique of pathos. Clinton goes on to express his regret, using words such as "sorrow", "repentance", "forgiveness", "grateful", "help", and "support". He asks for the the support of the people, not only for him, but for the entire country. He apologizes to all the people involved in the scandal and the rest of the country for the controversy. Clinton even wanted to target the children of America, essentially saying he wants the children to learn how important integrity and how wrong selfishness is. Towards the end of the speech, Clinton indicates that he's a man of God, appealing to all the religious people in America. Overall, Clinton makes up for his non-remorseful term in his first speech, and rightly apologizes to everyone involved, and to everyone in the United States.
I feel that, in the Prayer Breakfast speech, Bill Clinton successfully use persuasive techniques to convey his message. I think that his best technique was his use of simple language. He didn't use big words to either impress or confuse his audience, but instead he used simpler language and, in a sense, put himself at the mercy of the audience by belittling himself. He ethos is shown with the quote from the liturgy book called "Gates of Repentance" and when he says "I was up...praying about what I ought to say today." Both of these things show that he is speaking the words of God, which can be a very large ethos to most people. His pathos is shown throughout the speech, but is really shown with "broken spirit", and when he says that he is unlike himself and that he tired which gets you to sympathize with him.
Clinton uses persuasive techniques in his Prayer Breakfast speech on September 11, 1998. He appeals to logos and pathos the most. He repeats words such as grateful, repentance, and forgiveness to make everyone see his point of view. He asks the audience for forgiveness, and shows his thankfulness. He asks the rhetorical question, “ Now, what does all this mean for me and for us?” to ask for forgiveness. He is trying to bring everyone together. He sounds like a broken man, trying to fix his sins. He also states how he plans to change and move on to new things. He is more relaxed and calm, but also happier in this speech, rather than the Map Room speech.
Clinton, in his Map Room Speech on August 17th, 1998, used various types of persuasion techniques to get his message across. A very effective technique used is the overall simple diction of his speech. The simple and easy-to-understand speech makes it easier for the general public to understand and comprehend the message. Also, phrases like "real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real security matters to face" combine the uses of repetition and parallel sentence structure to effectively display his message. I believe that his message of basically telling everyone his life is his own business is clearly represented through this Map Room Speech.
Clintons use of persuasive writing was excellent in that it was very believable. Rather than the first speech where he was more or less not apologizing but sending the message of how people should stay out of his business and more on the lines that he did nothing wrong, in this Prayer Breakfast Speech on September 11th, he appealed to pathos. He now asks for forgiveness and uses words such as 'broken spirit' to describe himself. In the first speech he wasn't exactly lowering the bar on his reputation but in this speech he was owning up to his mistakes. He even refers to God and uses a passage from a liturgy book. In his other speech he doesnt even bother to apologize or ask for forgiveness whereas in the Prayer Breakfast speech its the exact opposite. When he talked in the Prayer Breakfast speech he seemed saddened by his actions, but wanted to fix what he did, which made me sympathize with him.
In Clinton's second speech he uses techniques that appeal to pathos. He uses words like forgiveness, and repentance a lot of portray that he is sorry for what he did, and he would like for us to forgive him. He also uses words like personal, and private to say that it is none of our business in a much more civil and less blunt of a way.
In his map room speech, Clinton was very persuasive. His use of diction helps to convey this message in a couple of ways. One way is how, at one point, he uses repetition of the word "real" (Real opportunities, real problems.) This helps give a sense of how what he did really didn't change how he is as a president and that the country needs to move on. His use of diction as a whole also is easy to comprehend and the general public could understand what he is trying to express.
In the second speech at the prayer breakfast Bill uses persuasive techniques to appeal to pathos. He says things such as how he has sinned and how he needs gods help to become an unbroken spirit. It is basically his "feel sorry for me I know I messed up speech". He even talks about the little boy from FLorida who wanted to be Bill when he grew up and how that Bill wanted all parents to be able to say to be like the president. It is a very emotional speech that even made Mrs. Tomich cry so it definitely appeals to the pathos aspect of speeches and literary writings. His overall message is for forgiveness and I think he gets this message across well by making the speech very emotional and very heart felt by including god consistently and making it seem like he is just a man who is trying to fix his life.
ReplyDeleteIn the prayer breakfast at the White House, Clintons speech was effective. Compared to the Map Room speech, he is more calm and broken in the prayer breakfast speech and less defiant. He uses rhetorical question and repetition of words like "forgiveness", "grateful", and "repentance." These words set the tone for the speech; a tone of sorrow. He is asking for the forgiveness of the people of America, his family, and God. The speech focuses more on pathos then ethos or logos. Clinton also uses sequence by saying "first", "second", and "third." He uses humor to lighten up the mood when he states, "and I may have to take out my glasses to read my own writing." In this speech, he gets right to the point he is trying to say. "I agree with those who have said that in my first statement after I testified I was not contrite enough. I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned." I believe this speech is a strong speech that appeals to the emotions of the audience.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Brule-
ReplyDeleteIn the Map Room speech Clinton uses persuasive techniques quite successfully. He tells that the incident between him and Monica Lewinsky is a private event. The successfulness comes when he demands that the public stay out of his private affairs that are his own business.
I think that in Clinton's Map Room use of persuasive techniques helps to convey his message well. His use of pathos in the first paragraph saying "question no American citizen would ever want to answer." pulls the readers/listeners in and really makes them feel sorry for Clinton, having his private life dissected for everyone to see. He repeats the word "private" many times to really emphasize the fact that he thinks it is his personal buissness and no one else should care. He uses parallelism by saying "real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real secutity matters to face." shows how Clinton doesn't think his affair is real, that it should not be payed attention to by the American people.
ReplyDelete~Megan Bernth
I believe the Prayer Breakfast Speech was the most successful in using persuasive techniques to convey his message. He used several rhetorical questions, and he really focused on Pathos. With the rhetorical questions, he was able to have the people connect to what he was saying. "Now, what does all this mean for me and for us?" Obviously he is bringing everyone together and making them see what he was trying to get at. Also, seeing as he focused on Pathos, he knew how to move peoples emotions and was able to get them to open up to what he was trying to get across. He was sorry, he was asking for forgiveness, and he would repent for his sins. Anyone in that room would probably say that that speech was very moving and sensitive considering how powerful of a speaker he is. Like in the Map Room speech, he was defiant and strong and he wanted people to back off. There was a lot of tension then. Now its calm and you can hear it in his voice that he doesn't want to fight anymore.
ReplyDelete-Berrios period 4
I think that the Map Room Speech on 8/17/1998 was the most effective. Clinton shows defiance in this speech as he clearly states that this matter is nobody's business but his. He also uses persuasive language to try to suppress the importance of this matter. One example of this is that he says that the nation should focus on "real" matters of higher importance. This gives people the impression that his inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky was not real. Also, Clinton tries to appeal to the common people by saying that he has had to answer questions recently that no American citizen would want to answer. He tries to seem humble as he asks for forgiveness, but never clearly states his sorrow. Lastly, during the speech Bill Clinton states that the two people he loves the most are his wife and his daughter. With this statement, he tries to appear as an innocent family man.
ReplyDelete-Nick Monaco
White House Prayer Breakfast Speech September 11, 1998
ReplyDeleteThis speech is much more effective than Clinton's original address to America. In his first one he confessed to his wrongdoing but tried to change the subject to the invasion of privacy and the fact that their were real problems to solve. In the second speech Clinton admits to feeling sorrow and talks about how he looks to repair himself and his family life. He comes across as a typical American. He's a man who's made a mistake and looks to restore his life through the help of those close to him and the love of God. He can't help (probably out of pride) to make a few comments of others wrongdoings. "First, I will instruct my lawyers to mount a vigorous defense, using all available and appropriate arguments" "...the bounds of privacy have been excessively and unwisely invaded." For the most part he comes across as a broken man trying to heal past wounds and this overshadows those other comments. His reference to the boy in Florida and the passage from Yom Kippur appeal to people's sensitivity for children and religion respectively. He draws applause and ends on the simple note of "Thank you. God Bless you." It is genuine and all that is necessary.
Prayer Breakfast Speech - 9/11/98
ReplyDeleteIn the Prayer Breakfast Speech Clinton starts of thanking everyone for coming. He says show much Hilary, the vice president, and himself look forward to this breakfast every year. In the previous speech he says his wife and his daughter as if he has possession over them which goes along with the true purpose of telling everyone to stay out of his business. In the Prayer Breakfast Speech he uses Hilary's name to make her out to be a real person that he cares about, the person that America knows and not just the title of his wife. In this speech there is also a lot of repetition starting from the second paragraph on. He uses the words unusual, grateful, beginning to turn, etc, over and over again to prove his point (parallel structure). At one point in this speech he says that he is sorry. He even admits to his wrongdoing.
Casey Hickey
ReplyDeleteIn Clinton’s speech The White House Prayer Breakfast Speech, on September 11th, 1998, he uses many persuasive techniques to convey his message about how he wants to gain forgiveness. He wants to persuade the people not only at the Prayer Breakfast but the people of American on how truly he is sorry and wants the forgiveness from the people. Even though he is at a Prayer Breakfast he uses a lot of repetition of religious words such as “Blessings”, “Broken Spirits”, and “God”. He overuses these words because he is a religious man that has sinned and is truly asking for forgiveness, even though he doesn’t say the words “I am sorry”. He also sits down and says “ and I may have to take my glasses out to read my own writing” meaning that he is the person that wrote this speech and how he much it means for him to get forgiveness from the people.
I think Clintons use of persuasive techniques in the Prayer Breakfast speech 9/11/1998 was successful. In order to get sympathy from the religious leaders and people of America he asked for forgiveness. He uses repetition of the words like forgiveness, repentance, blessings, and god. During his speech Clinton repeats, “I am grateful” multiple times to show the strong support and hope he has for his people to move forward. He refers to a time when a young boy told him he wanted to grow up just like Clinton in order to get sympathy from the parents of America. Also, he quotes a passage from the Yom Kippur liturgy called “Gates of Repentance” to persuade the American people to forgive him. To end his speech, he blesses god in order to show respect. This speech had a big impact on the country because of this persuasion.
ReplyDeleteIn his prayer breakfast speech, clinton tries to gain forgiveness from religious leaders, the American people, and god. I believe his speech was extremely persuasive. He appealed greatly to Pathos, saying "i have sinned" and referring to "that little boy in Florida" who said he wanted to grow up to be just like him. He portrays himself as a religious man who has committed sin, which is effective given the fact that his audience is a group of religious leaders. The weakest part of his argument is that there is little or no appeal to logos. Most of his speech is pathos, and any attempt at logos is negated by a connection to god, which contains no logic or reason.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Schwartz
ReplyDeleteMap Room Speech, Televised August 17, 1998
Clinton wrote this speech that was televised to talk about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Throughout this speech he uses many words, phrases, and ways to persuade the reader to forgive him and to move on and leave him alone. Although you feel his anger and annoyance with his private life being opened up and evaluated you also feel a sense of Clinton making you feel bad for him and you feel like he is trying to make you look at the situation as it is not a bad situation. Clinton uses much repetition to persuade the reader and he repeats the word "private" all throughout the speech and this word, the more we hear it and see it, we begin to believe well yes this is his PRIVATE life, we all have private lives, why can't the president. A big persuasion technique he uses is Pathos. He begins to go on about how he is protecting his family, his wife and daughter and how thats all he cares about and saving them, and for us to hear about his daughter and wife we begin to feel sorry and want them to be all right, he tries to play on our heartstrings. Playing on a readers heartstrings is a big way to get the reader to feel for you and to be on your side, even when the situation you are in really is a big deal; Clinton knows that, he just doesn't want to show it.
In Clinton's Prayer Breakfast speech he uses many effective persuasive techniques to convey his message. He displays great appeals of pathos and logos. The repetition of words such as grateful, forgiveness, genuine, truth, and broken spirit makes the audience console with him and understand where he is coming from. He does this by asking for and eventually obtaining their forgiveness, displaying his thankfulness, and explaining how he plans to change and move on to new things. He commonly refers to religion and comes off as a genuine person and a religions man who has sinned.
ReplyDeleteIn the prayer breakfast speech on 9/11/1998, Clinton has a very different vibe then in the map room speech on 8/17/1998. During the breakfast speech Clinton is much more calmer, his voice is much more relaxed then in the other speech. Also what he says in the prayer breakfast speech is drastically different, such as he seems very more religious, he even has a quote from a book called Gates of Repentance which the quote describes exactly what is going on with him. In the quote from the book there is a line that says "it means saying I am sorry." Even though this is the only time he says that he is sorry, he is apologizing during the whole speech. Also during this speech he is somewhat saying, "I give up" he is no longer trying to "cover his ass." Also in this speech he brings up a little boy that he had met in Florida, who tells Clinton that he wants to be president and just like him. This is telling all of the people at the conference that even though he wronged people are still looking up to him and probably always will.
ReplyDeleteAlex Tanzman
ReplyDeletePrayer Breakfast Speech:
In the Prayer speech, Clinton uses many persuasive techniques that aid his purpose in asking for forgiveness and that help understand his, as well as their, course of action that must be taken. Throughout the speech, Clinton uses pathos in order to make the listeners empathize and feel his position. "I have been on quite a journey these last few weeks to get to the end of this, to the rock bottom truth of where I am" is an example of Clinton expressing his suffering in order to appeal to the listeners emotion of pity. Clinton also uses a lot of repetition of specific diction such as gratefulness, repentance, and care. These words successfully help Clinton convey his message because they keep the listeners focused on these main ideas. Clinton also uses a successful rhetorical question ("Now, what does this all mean for me and for us") which not only helps him develop what they need to do, but also refers to Clinton and the people as a single group; this brings up the idea of unity. Clinton also uses a lot of parallelism to keep his ideas focused and uniform; this technique successfully conveys his ideas in an organize manner. "Pride and anger...Excuse and compare...Blame and Complain" is an example of parallelism. All of these persuasive techniques, along with many others such as ethos, logos and concessions are great benefits in conveying his message
In the speech at the Prayer Breakfast Clinton used many persuasion techniques to convey his message. The speech was about Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, and how he was trying to seek forgiveness. In his speech he used the rhetorical question, “ Now, what does all this mean for me and for us?” This question allowed him to break down what exactly he is trying to do in seeking forgiveness. Also the diction he use, “sorrow, forgiven, repentance, judgment, and broken spirit,” helps show how sorry he is about what he did. The tone of the speech is a tired and sad feeling. He is trying to convey how much the American people meant to him, and how he was very sorry for how his actions hurt the American people. His speech was very effective overall but when he said, “for that little boy in Florida who came up to me and said that he wanted to grow up and be President and to be just like me.” I think that took away from the speech. -Melissa Stangel
ReplyDeleteThe Map Room Speech:
ReplyDeleteClinton persuades people to forgive him. He is very calm and peaceful about it. He lists his points and uses a rhetorical question so he can answer that to get his point across. He repeats the word repentance which relates to pathos. He also repeats that he is grateful and cares so please forgive him. He just asks for forgiveness. Clinton uses persuasive techniques very well to get his point across. He states he is a genuine person who has sinned but asks for America's forgiveness and to overcome what he has done.
I think that, in his Prayer Breakfast speech, Clinton used a very persuasive tone to connect with his audience. He sounded exhausted and depressed, and even admitted that he wouldn't be "easy with his words." This achieved an overall effect of humanity; he really personified himself and revealed his sensitive side. Honestly, he was trying to make people think of him as a person, especially in the paragraph in which he said he was having problems with the speech. His words also appealed widely to pathos, but I think he may have gone a bit too far. He seemed to reach out to religion a lot, and it also felt like he was trying adamantly to get pity from others. He just wanted sympathy; the ultimate message was: "I'm broken over this, give me a break." However, he pulled it off with a sorrowful tone and convincing concession ("I will instruct my lawyers to mount a vigorous defense...but legal language should not obscure the fact that I have done wrong")
ReplyDeletethe first speech clinton gives (map room speech) is more effective in the sense that he is very serious and does not show he has given in to what the people want from him; an apology. He constantly sates that his affair with monica lewinsky is a private matter and that the country should not and does not need to know about it. his quote "it is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives and get on with our national life" shows how does not want america to know anything and it is none of their business.
ReplyDeleteClinton's speech at the Annual White House Prayer Breakfast differed greatly from the Map Room speech; it was much more sympathetic and in a forgiving tone. Clinton addresses the highest religious officials during this speech and frequently refers to his sin and how he's asking God to be forgiven. Pathos remarks fill this article as Clinton tries to reach out to the listeners, almost begging for forgiveness. I think there are some logical fallacies in this speech. Towards the end of the article, Clinton jumps to an anecdote about the boy in Florida, which is completely non-sequitur and is only there to try and push more pathos aspects into his speech. He also uses rhetorical questioning when he said, "now, what does this all mean for me and for us?" I think this speech was a bit too appealing to pathos. When I was reading this I felt as though Clinton was simply pathetic begging for forgiveness. While this mood of a speech was sort of necessary after his abrupt and assertive Map Room Speech, I think Clinton took his pathos appeal too far in the speech.
ReplyDeleteIn Clinton's Payer Breakfast Speech, Clinton uses persuasive techniques to convey his message through repetition and the appeal to pathos. In his speech, Clinton constantly repeats words such as forgiveness and the word important to convey to the people that he knows that he has done wrong and he just wants and needs the forgiveness of the people to move on. He also repeats the phrase "I ask" many times throughout his speech as well which I felt was like him almost begging for people to pity him and forgive him because he knows he has sinned and wants to get over it already. I think, from the recording, the sound of his voice is drained and spent which also appeals to the emotions of the listeners. It makes them want to pity him and it makes them so "Oh he must be going through so much right now". In that way his technique is very effective. I feel overall the point that he was trying to get across was effective due to his superior use of persuasive techniques but to me, I find it to be very fake and too "Please pity me because I'm the president"
ReplyDeleteClinton's prayer breakfast speech was extremely successful in its use of persuasive techniques. He makes himself out to be extremely remorseful and humanizes his life in explaining his writing process. He also shows modesty in his use of simpler language in hopes of gaining understanding. He humbles himself many times and legitimizes his points with real life examples.
ReplyDeleteIn both speeches, Bill Clinton uses persuasive techniques to convey his message. In the both speeches, he talks about the tough times he has had dealing with the scandal. He invites his listeners to feel pity for him due to all the emotional stress and outside pressure he and his family have had to deal with; this technique largely appeals to pathos. His diction in both speeches also helps his speech. In the Map Room speech, he never uses the word lie and articulates his words in a way that allows him to deflect blame away from himself. In the Prayer breakfast speech, his numerous religious references fit the situation perfectly. Also he uses words in the Prayer room speech that invite sympathy and feeling for his situation. Once again, appealing to Pathos.
ReplyDeleteThe first speech (Map Room Speech) is effective in the way he made it more of his own business instead of the entire country's. He uses the word "private" eight or nine times throughout the speech as well as stating "Even presidents have private lives." This persuades the audience into thinking that it isn't their problem and that they shouldn't care about his social life.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, i didn't like the way he said what he did was wrong. I felt that he sort of weaseled around saying "I'm sorry" to his wife, family, and Miss Lewinsky herself. He mentioned them being involved in the matter and that he is completely responsible for what happened, but he never states that he is sorry. - Alex Aponte
I think that the [the map room speech] is more serious than the [prayer breakfast speech}. I think this because in the map room speech Clinton tells the people of america what they do and don't want to hear. Clinton lets america hear what they want when he says how america is headed for better and was distracted from the whole scandal. Clinton also tells america what they don't want to hear when he never states that he is really truly sorry fro what he did. Clinton knows how to say what he has to America so that they can't criticize his speech. Clinton's first speech was more important.
ReplyDeleteThe Map Room Speech 8/17/1998
ReplyDeleteIn his first speech Clinton uses very effective in his use of persuasive techniques. He is able to appeal to an average person's pathos with lines such as "questions no American citizen would ever want to answer" and "the two people I love most- my wife and our daughter." He uses a higher level of language to try and talk his way out. However devious this is, in a way it is effective. He also, for the most part, leaves religion out of the mix. This is wise because not all of America is catholic or as religious as Clinton is. This speech, overall, was very persuasive, not persuasive enough to sway a mob mentality, but persuasive.
I think President Clinton's Prayer Breakfast Speech is very persuading and effective. The first thing he does well is he appeals to pathos. He talks about how "the sorrow he feels is genuine" and that he is "a broken spirit". He even admits that he has sinned or done wrong multiple times. Clinton goes on to say he is still grateful for the support of his staff, family, and American citizens who still respect him. The other thing that the former President does well is that he makes the speech sound real and personal. He talks about how he was "up rather late last night thinking about and praying about what I ought to say today". He goes on to talk about his plans after today and how a "little boy in Florida who came up to [him] and said i want to grow up and be just like you". Overall Clinton does a great job in expressing his emotions to America.
ReplyDeleteIn Clinton's Prayer Room Speech, I think he probably evaluated the reaction to his first speech and adjusted it to be more appealing to the public. His constant religious references probably appeased his audience more effectively; by saying, "I was up...praying about what I ought to say," it gives him the legitimacy of one who is backed by God himself in his rhetoric, and it also served to humanize him. He also used "where I am and where we all are" and "for me and for us" to make it seem as if he and the audience were on the same team in improving the U.S. By saying that his personal life had been "excessively and unwisely invaded," he is intimating that those interested in his personal life have been stupid and greedy in their morbid obsession. Clinton's use of rhetoric provided a convincing and and appealing argument in this context.
ReplyDeleteThe second speech Clinton gives at the white house prayer breakfast is effective, unlike his first speech, in his use of persuasive techniques to convey his message. Clinton's speech is very appropriate and comes off as a lot more sincere and genuine. Clinton repeatedly references god and religion and connects it to his wrong doings. He establishes clearly that he is sinned and there is no other way to put it. He talks about how this whole situation has broken him and that he truly is searching for forgiveness. Specifically he says that to make right for his mistake it takes more then to just be sorrowful and he names how he will do this. He also gives a good example of a religious text he got from friend that sums up what has happened to him and what he needs to do to make amends.
ReplyDeleteIn the Map Room Speech, Clinton successfully uses persuasive techniques to get his point across. Of course women would be against him no matter what he spoke said; I think he did a good job of apologizing to the American population. He is always saying that "no American citizen would ever want to answer [the questions that were asked to him]" and that he is sorry. Although he never says directly that he is sorry, it is always implied and stated in other ways. He also uses excuses for his lies like protection of his family and that it is between him and God. He states that they have "real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, [and] real security matters to face." He uses the word real to make it seem like this current matter is of no importance. Lastly, he appeals by saying that it has hurt to many people and has cost too much which makes him seem like he is trying to help people.
ReplyDeleteJohn X
I feel like the White House Prayer Breakfast Speech is the most affective, because when Clinton is speaking his tone of voice was more sorrowful and heartbroken in my opinion. Also he spoke with more of a calm, and hopeful voice. He constantly says how he has sinned and that he is asking for forgiveness; which to some it may be signified as an apology and showed. During his speech he spoke very casually and gave off an impression that he was truly regretful of what he did, and gave people a sense of his emotions
ReplyDeleteArielle
Bill Clinton's Prayer Breakfast Speech was much more persuasive than the Map Room Speech for many reasons. In the second paragraph, he already starts off well by telling the audience his honesty in the difficulty he had thinking about what he had to say and actually writing down, which he didn't do often. In the third paragraph, his use of figurative language appeals greatly to the people ("…I have been on quite a journey these last few weeks to get to the end of this, to the rock bottom truth of where I am and where we all are.") He uses many concrete examples such as listing the three things he needs to be forgiven, he makes it clear who he is trying to apologize to, and he uses much repetition such as the phrase "I am grateful" in paragraph 10. His religious references such as the passage "Gates of Repentance" he uses at the end really make this speech stand out. He relates this passage to his current status with the American people, and makes his repetitive usage of religious terms even stronger to make his point across. Besides all of these aspects of the speech, his voice sounds very drained and tired in this speech, clearly showing to the people that he really is tired of the past few months, of what happened, and of his unhappiness. This makes people feel more sorrowful, somewhat pity him, and most importantly grant him the forgiveness he desired.
ReplyDeletePrayer Breakfast Speech: I think that in the prayer breakfast speech President Clinton used many persuasive techniques to try to apologize and explain what has happened. The occasion in which he was speaking was very appropriate for the diction and details he had used. I think he is trying to convey the message that although he was the President he is also a human being and humans make mistakes. He uses apologetic language and many references to god to show the validity of his feelings about what he had done. The use of the repetition of themes: such as how he is on his journey to healing, how he recognizes the feelings of the people who may have been offended, references to god, etc help to thoroughly explain his thoughts that I think would be accepted by the audience. Unlike the map room speech he makes this speech more relatable to the average american (in terms of analogies, word choice, and his overall tone).
ReplyDeleteI believe that Clinton’s Prayer Breakfast speech 9/11/1998 was much more appealing and persuasive compared to the Map Room Speech. In the Prayer Breakfast speech there was more sorrow in Clinton’s word choice. He uses an anecdote of the boy in Florida to help relate to how disappointed he is in himself and doesn’t want the country to determine what kind of person he is by the one bad action that he committed. Referring to God and using a passage from a liturgy book, Clinton really relates to his audience using pathos from the Aristotelian Triangle. In his other speech he explains his action as an understatement, by discussing privacy, switching the subject, and not bothering to say sorry or even ask for forgiveness. In the Prayer Breakfast Speech explains what drastic measures he is willing to take to fix himself, his family, and his country. Listening to the Prayer Breakfast Speech, I could hear the sorrow in his voice, which made me want to give him another chance.
ReplyDeleteMap Room Speech
ReplyDeleteClinton is very persuasive in this speech, whether or not he actually means what he says. The context is very straightforward: that the country needs to move on. He repeats the words “private” or “personal” several times during the speech, suggesting that this is his life and it is really none of anyone else’s business. It is harsh but gets his point across. The other word he repeats three times in a sentence towards the end of the speech is “real,” talking about “real” issues that need to be solved and focused on. Honestly, he is right, although I don’t necessarily agree with screw around with your 22-year-old intern. “Even presidents have personal lives.” That is a powerful statement Clinton makes: a statement that should make the country stop and think about what it is it is doing.
In President Clinton's second speech, the Prayer Breakfast Speech, he uses persuasive language more effectively. In his first speech he doesn't sound as upset and he sounds more professional. In his second speech he sounds more like a real person and sounds genuinely upset. Whether or not he is putting on an act in his second speech, Clinton sounds like a broken person. He even uses the diction "broken spirit" to describe himself. He uses more pathos in his second speech saying "something no American citizen would want to answer." He tries to connect more to the American people and make them feel bad.
ReplyDeleteClinton's use of extremely persuasive language was very successful in the Prayer Breakfast Speech. In the first paragraph he uses pathos to receive the audience's sympathy by humanizing himself and saying how he was "up late at night trying to figure out what he was going to say" and how "he will try to read his own writing". He then follows with a very emotional and personal speech that expresses how saddened and troubled he is about the Monica Lewinsky incident. He uses very appropriate and religious language and recites a religious passage which is very persuasive since he is at a prayer breakfast. Clinton's use of diction and syntax also persuades the audience well. Words and phrases such as "broken spirit" , "a willingness to give the very forgiveness I seek" , "I have sinned", and "I ask for your prayers".
ReplyDeleteIn Clinton's Prayer Breakfast Speech, his second after the scandal with Monica Lewinsky, Clinton expresses the utmost remorse for his wrongdoings. After attacking the people of the United States in his first speech (basically telling America that they intruded his privacy and they should just move on), he appeals to the people through the persuasive technique of pathos. Clinton goes on to express his regret, using words such as "sorrow", "repentance", "forgiveness", "grateful", "help", and "support". He asks for the the support of the people, not only for him, but for the entire country. He apologizes to all the people involved in the scandal and the rest of the country for the controversy. Clinton even wanted to target the children of America, essentially saying he wants the children to learn how important integrity and how wrong selfishness is. Towards the end of the speech, Clinton indicates that he's a man of God, appealing to all the religious people in America. Overall, Clinton makes up for his non-remorseful term in his first speech, and rightly apologizes to everyone involved, and to everyone in the United States.
ReplyDeleteI feel that, in the Prayer Breakfast speech, Bill Clinton successfully use persuasive techniques to convey his message. I think that his best technique was his use of simple language. He didn't use big words to either impress or confuse his audience, but instead he used simpler language and, in a sense, put himself at the mercy of the audience by belittling himself. He ethos is shown with the quote from the liturgy book called "Gates of Repentance" and when he says "I was up...praying about what I ought to say today." Both of these things show that he is speaking the words of God, which can be a very large ethos to most people. His pathos is shown throughout the speech, but is really shown with "broken spirit", and when he says that he is unlike himself and that he tired which gets you to sympathize with him.
ReplyDeleteClinton uses persuasive techniques in his Prayer Breakfast speech on September 11, 1998. He appeals to logos and pathos the most. He repeats words such as grateful, repentance, and forgiveness to make everyone see his point of view. He asks the audience for forgiveness, and shows his thankfulness. He asks the rhetorical question, “ Now, what does all this mean for me and for us?” to ask for forgiveness. He is trying to bring everyone together. He sounds like a broken man, trying to fix his sins. He also states how he plans to change and move on to new things. He is more relaxed and calm, but also happier in this speech, rather than the Map Room speech.
ReplyDeleteClinton, in his Map Room Speech on August 17th, 1998, used various types of persuasion techniques to get his message across. A very effective technique used is the overall simple diction of his speech. The simple and easy-to-understand speech makes it easier for the general public to understand and comprehend the message. Also, phrases like "real opportunities to seize, real problems to solve, real security matters to face" combine the uses of repetition and parallel sentence structure to effectively display his message. I believe that his message of basically telling everyone his life is his own business is clearly represented through this Map Room Speech.
ReplyDeleteClintons use of persuasive writing was excellent in that it was very believable. Rather than the first speech where he was more or less not apologizing but sending the message of how people should stay out of his business and more on the lines that he did nothing wrong, in this Prayer Breakfast Speech on September 11th, he appealed to pathos. He now asks for forgiveness and uses words such as 'broken spirit' to describe himself. In the first speech he wasn't exactly lowering the bar on his reputation but in this speech he was owning up to his mistakes. He even refers to God and uses a passage from a liturgy book. In his other speech he doesnt even bother to apologize or ask for forgiveness whereas in the Prayer Breakfast speech its the exact opposite. When he talked in the Prayer Breakfast speech he seemed saddened by his actions, but wanted to fix what he did, which made me sympathize with him.
ReplyDeleteIn Clinton's second speech he uses techniques that appeal to pathos. He uses words like forgiveness, and repentance a lot of portray that he is sorry for what he did, and he would like for us to forgive him. He also uses words like personal, and private to say that it is none of our business in a much more civil and less blunt of a way.
ReplyDeleteIn his map room speech, Clinton was very persuasive. His use of diction helps to convey this message in a couple of ways. One way is how, at one point, he uses repetition of the word "real" (Real opportunities, real problems.) This helps give a sense of how what he did really didn't change how he is as a president and that the country needs to move on. His use of diction as a whole also is easy to comprehend and the general public could understand what he is trying to express.
ReplyDelete