Allusion And Rhetorical Devices In Obama's Inaugural Speech

On January 20, 2005, President George W. Bush was sworn into office for the second time on Capitol Hill, Washington D.C. exactly four years later, on the same date and in the same location, President Barack Obama was sworn into office. Both men gave an inaugural address to the American Nation on the day of each man’s inauguration. Bush and Obama both used a great deal of allusion and rhetoric in the inaugural speeches. While Bush was speaking to a country continuing on in a war, Obama spoke to that same country only years later trying to rebuild from the war. Both men had different purposes and effectively carried them out. In giving the addresses, George W. Bush and Barack Obama made clear each man’s purpose according to the different audiences,
Obama, like most presidents giving an inaugural address, appealed to the emotion of his audience. Although he used the same approach as Bush did, Obama did not necessarily appeal to the same emotion. In Obama’s speech, he spoke to the nation about change, giving them a sense of hope. Obama was speaking to a country in need of repair, and this man offered to lead the country through a series of changes in order to repair America’s economy, security, and overall well-being. In Obama’s address, he gave the citizens a temporary feeling that all was going to change, and all would be
Bush’s main purpose was to inspire a sense of patriotism in the lives of the everyday Americans, and in using words such as “dignity,” “dedication,” and “perspective,” he was able to accomplish just that. Words like these are powerful and can transform the thinking of any listener. George Bush’s patriotic diction did nothing but help win the hearts of his fellow Americans. Barack Obama, although also intentional with his word choice, used a different kind of diction in his inaugural address. Obama’s separate purpose from Bush made his diction separate from Bush’s also. Obama, appealing more to the day to day common American, spoke with words like “responsibility,” “generation,” and “restoration.” These types of words fully depict Obama’s purpose; become a responsible nation and restore the parts of the country that have been corrupted, such as economy and security. Obama spoke to the people of the day, he spoke of making changes now, in this generation, with these