Analytical essay of
”Remarks by the First Lady at Education Event with DC High School Sophomores”
The speech was held by the First Lady, Michelle Obama, at the DC High School as an educational event for the sophomores. The overriding subject of the speech is education which is an area Michelle Obama and her husband, Barack Obama, has spent a lot of time and resources on. After the introduction of the speech she speaks of a goal that her husband has set for America. She tells that it should be the goal of the entire country to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world in 2020. She explains that it is very important because America was number one in college graduates a generation ago and now they are 12th. After that she changes the point of view on the subject from what it means for USA as a country, to what it means for every single student as an individual and points out that they should do it for their own sake. She mentions that two-thirds of all jobs in the country will be requiring some sort of education or training beyond high school in the future. She uses her own story as an example and motivation for the students because she faced a lot of obstacles when she was at their age.
The sender of the speech is Michelle Obama who is the First Lady of the United States. The fact that she is the First Lady gives her a lot of ethos, which makes her points and opinions more reliable and convincing. Even if she got a lot of ethos as the First Lady her husband, the president, has even more ethos, and when she speaks on behalf of him and his opinions she sort of “borrows” that ethos. Apart from the ethos Michelle Obama also uses the two other appeal forms in her speech. She uses pathos when she mentions the audience and even the country as “we.” It appeals to their feelings for the community and even their patriotic feelings towards their country. It also shows the students that she is no different from them, when she says “we”