English Essay "We Are Virginia Tech"
“We Are Virginia Tech”
Speaking is form of art that can either be a natural gift or a practiced talent. Much like there are several different ways a person can draw: cartooning, free hand, or realistic, there are many ways in which a person can speak. Nikki Giovanni’s speech “We Are Virginia Tech” makes people cry, rejoice, and move on. A speech is one form of art that can evoke these types of emotions from people. In Nikki Giovanni’s poem “We Are Virginia Tech,” which was spoken at a memorial ceremony for Virginia Tech shooting victims, she uses her tone and a repetition of words to make her speech very powerful. The tone of her voice is very distinct, she speaks with poise and confidence, while remaining remorseful but positive about Virginia Tech’s future. At the beginning of her speech Giovanni says, “We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly; we are brave enough to bend to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech” (We Are Virginia Tech speech). Giovanni is trying to show the audience that they can move on while still mourning the loss of their fellow Hokies. Her word choice and type of voice she uses will dictate how the audience responds to her speech. Guenna Mckee said, “there is the art of delivery and the art of persuasiveness.” Giovanni delivers this speech with such confidence and passion that the audience is left with no choice but to connect with her. This connection does not come because of Giovanni’s word choice, it comes from being able to connect empathetically with her because of the form in which she presents her speech Nikki Giovanni’s passion for the Hokie nation was most seen in her repetition of the words “We Are Virginia Tech.” This forces them to focus on how they are Virginia Tech, and because of that they can overcome this tragedy. Sergey Suschi said how he thought that, “her words came and went very quickly and you were not left with time to interpret them, she tells you
Speaking is form of art that can either be a natural gift or a practiced talent. Much like there are several different ways a person can draw: cartooning, free hand, or realistic, there are many ways in which a person can speak. Nikki Giovanni’s speech “We Are Virginia Tech” makes people cry, rejoice, and move on. A speech is one form of art that can evoke these types of emotions from people. In Nikki Giovanni’s poem “We Are Virginia Tech,” which was spoken at a memorial ceremony for Virginia Tech shooting victims, she uses her tone and a repetition of words to make her speech very powerful. The tone of her voice is very distinct, she speaks with poise and confidence, while remaining remorseful but positive about Virginia Tech’s future. At the beginning of her speech Giovanni says, “We are Virginia Tech. We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly; we are brave enough to bend to cry and sad enough to know we must laugh again. We are Virginia Tech” (We Are Virginia Tech speech). Giovanni is trying to show the audience that they can move on while still mourning the loss of their fellow Hokies. Her word choice and type of voice she uses will dictate how the audience responds to her speech. Guenna Mckee said, “there is the art of delivery and the art of persuasiveness.” Giovanni delivers this speech with such confidence and passion that the audience is left with no choice but to connect with her. This connection does not come because of Giovanni’s word choice, it comes from being able to connect empathetically with her because of the form in which she presents her speech Nikki Giovanni’s passion for the Hokie nation was most seen in her repetition of the words “We Are Virginia Tech.” This forces them to focus on how they are Virginia Tech, and because of that they can overcome this tragedy. Sergey Suschi said how he thought that, “her words came and went very quickly and you were not left with time to interpret them, she tells you
Cited: Page Giovanni, Nikki . "Nikki Giovanni." American Rhetoric Online Speech Bank. 2001. . Gardner, Howard. Multiple Intelligences. unknown, 1993. Sontag, Susan. Against Interpretation. unknown, 1996. 6