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President George W. Bush delivered a speech to comfort and unite the American people following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, acknowledging the loss of lives and condemning the attackers. His address aimed to reassure the nation of its strength and resilience while promising justice for the victims. The speech's tone evolved from sorrowful to hopeful, ultimately instilling a sense of determination in the audience.

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13 views5 pages

Practice+The+Rhetorical+Situation

President George W. Bush delivered a speech to comfort and unite the American people following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, acknowledging the loss of lives and condemning the attackers. His address aimed to reassure the nation of its strength and resilience while promising justice for the victims. The speech's tone evolved from sorrowful to hopeful, ultimately instilling a sense of determination in the audience.

Uploaded by

moriahsanai01
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Speaker

The speaker is President George W. Bush, who utilizes his role as


president to comfort the American people during a time of sadness and
grief.

Purpose

The purpose of this speech is to reunite the American people by


acknowledging those who have died and revisiting Core American
values by denouncing those who have devoted their life to ruining
others. By acknowledging those who have died, President Bush offers
consolation to their loved ones. By condemning those who have
committed this act of terrorism, President Bush wants to re-establish to
the people their safety, but also their goodness as a testimony to this
nation's strength.

Audience

The Primary Audience is the American people and the Secondary


Audience are not only the 9/11 terrorists but possibly future terrorists as
well. Bush while empathizing with his country's loss, essentially warns
any future terrorists that he is watching and that this is a strong nation
that won't be broken no matter what may take place.

Context

Voiced several hours following the terroristic calamity, the 9/11, this
speech was presented after 19 Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four
commercial passenger planes in the United States. Two of the planes
were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.
One of the two other planes was flown into the Pentagon just outside of
Washington DC. In an act of bravery the fourth plane was stopped from
crashing into what was supposed to be the White House by the
passengers and the crew on board. Sadly the plane still crashed
somewhere in rural Pennsylvania. This attack left 2,996 people dead and
injured thousands more.
Exigence

Bush decided to give the speech at this time because there was a lot of
chaos happening. Bush wanted to ensure that people knew that he had
everything under control but also that he was present with sympathy.

Choices

● Addressing: Bush begins his speech by addressing everything


that has taken place. He starts with honoring the people that they
have lost and recounting what has happened. He even
acknowledges who they were as people (mothers and fathers, etc)
to address how hideous and evil of an act the attack was. This
choice of his conveys that he wanted to get to the point because
enough time had been wasted and enough people had been killed
and injured, while still spending time to honor their dead.
● Reaffirming: In the central part of the speech, Bush makes it a
point to reaffirm how strong the nation and people are. In the face
of evil that welcomed the citizens the American people opened
their arms and presented goodness. Bush equates that goodness
to them upholding the values that made them a target, showing
how even in the face of adversity Americans are still kind.
● Assuring: In the last part of the speech, Bush assures the
American people that everything will be okay. He makes sure to
state the plan for what will be happening next and their current
priorities. He states that everything will still be open and will
continue to stay strong. He then directs his speech to tell the
American people that the culprits will be found and brought to
justice. He affirms that to the terrorists, now or in the future that
they will not go easy on them. This choice of his shows to the
American people that he is serious about what he is saying and
that he is in control of everything that will happen from now on.

Appeals

● Ethos: Bush's Ethos is very present as he is the president of the


nation that was attacked and that lost thousands of people. While
addressing America he was very serious.
● Pathos: The loss of people in this attack made tensions very high.
Bush when addressing this expressed his empathy and anger by
honoring all those who were lost and by promising justice.
● Logos: His appeal to Logos happens towards the end of the
speech as he gives a run down of their priorities and plan which is
to save the hurt and injured from the rubble.

Tone

The tone shifts from being sorrowful to hopeful to being firm and
unwavering. This progression of emotion throughout the speech leaves
the people feeling determined in their responsibility of overcoming this
fight and bringing peace back to America.

Speaker

The speaker is President George W. Bush, who as President helps his


nation recover from a horrific attack.

Purpose

The purpose of this speech was to show those that died and their loved
ones that America cares for the people that lost their lives and that they
will be getting justice soon.

Audience

The primary audience are those that are there with Bush, helping dig
through rubble but this speech also reaches the public as it applies to all
Americans.

Context
3 Days after the attacks on the world trade centers, and the pentagon
which resulted in the deaths of thousands known as 9/11. President
Bush gives this speech at Ground Zero memorial park as they dig
through the rubble looking for survivors. Emotions were at an all time
high at this time.

Exigence

President Bush chose to give this speech at this time because it signified
development which was what America really needed at the time.
Development showed that everything was gonna be okay and would
possibly resume to what it was or very close to what it was before 9/11
occurred.

Choices

● Provides: Bush provides comfort for the public but also for those
who have lost family by explaining that they aren't alone and that
all of America is with them and behind them for support. This
choice further reaffirms that this nation is strong and resilient when
facing attacks.
● Amplifies: Bush amplifies his previous statements by admitting
that they are close to finding the terrorists that committed the
attacks and that they will be bringing them to justice soon. This
choice allows the American people to see that Bush cares and is
working hard to bring everything to a close.
● Demonstrates: This speech demonstrates American Values
through all of the chanting and kind interruptions throughout. Those
who are working hard to find survivors are all being thanked by
Bush while showing high morale for the future.

Appeals

● Ethos: Bush conveys his credibility because he is the President


but also the fact that he is there at the site of one of the attacks
helping.
● Pathos: The first thing that Bush addresses in his speech is that
his heart goes out to those who have lost their loved ones and that
he and America will pray for them.
● Logos: Bush appeals to Logos by going to Ground Zero and
acknowledging those who are helping. The Firefighters and
everyone else who probably laid down their life before are all being
thanked for their future service in helping rebuild America.

Tone

The tone doesn't change too much but it starts off as a tenderhearted
moment and moves on to a confident and nationalistic tone. It leaves the
audience feeling kinda happy about the justice being served soon and
the rebuilding of the country's confidence and unity.

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