Rhetorical Analysis of Bush Speech

Rhetorical Analysis In President George W. Bush’s speech to the American public on September 20, 2001, Bush utilizes rhetorical devices to craft an effective speech. He uses an instructive and demanding tone, makes an appeal to Logos, and varied syntax. The strongest device of Bush’s speech is his decisive and instructive tone. Throughout the entire dialogue, Bush uses statements and facts to consolidate all of his various ideas and points into concise sentences that directly state what has happened and what needs to happen. He takes on a demanding voice that he directs towards bodies such as the Taliban and countries of the world. This demanding tone demonstrates assertiveness to the reader, and gives President Bush a strong manner of authority. His down-to-business attitude provides the listener with reason to be convinced that he really means what he is talking about. President Bush also makes an appeal to logos throughout the piece. When he discusses the Islamic faith, he provides fact and reasoning regarding the evils and malpractices of Muslim extremists, but then also provides fact and reason as to what the practices and traditions are of the traditional Muslim faith. The reasoning and logic he uses to explain the differences in these two cultures and what the proper response to each one should be provides rationality and wisdom to his ideas. Bush also uses varied sentence structure throughout his speech. Some of his sentences where he is explaining certain facts are long and elaborate on details. Many of his other sentences are short and to the point, which helps to add to the overall tone of Bush’s speech. The short sentences show the listener exactly what he means or wants one to feel. They keep the piece simple and direct, yet still effective and instructive.

Response to Bush Speech In this speech given on September 20, 2001, President Bush responds to the terrorist attacks on the world trade center on 9/11. He tells of how the United States