Rhetorical Analysis Of Nelson Mandela's Speech

The Master Orator
On May 14, 1994 Nelson Mandela stood before an audience of international dignitaries having endured decades of fighting against apartheid and 22 years in prison. His country itself had suffered for more than 150 years under the strictures of apartheid. His speeches in the past had influenced the hearts of millions of fellow South Africans, but today his speech would signify a new era and a new page in the history of South Africa. Every word and sentence were carefully chosen in order to serve a specific purpose and address different audiences both within South Africa and the rest of the world. The purpose of his speech was not simply to address the nation as its new president and offer gratitude to those who put him there;
It is evident throughout and emphasized even more by the format Mandela chose to speak in. He began by acknowledging that the victory was the nation’s as well as his own (ethos), and rejoiced with his fellow South Africans, giving them a sense of assurance, pride, and hope. He then referred to the nation’s troublesome past to remind all of the “extraordinary human disaster” (Mandela) they had endured. Hearing these words, everyone knew that they applied as much to his time in prison as they did to their suffering under apartheid. He then went on to say that out of this experience there “must be born a society of which all humanity will be proud.” (Mandela) The birth would be painful, yet the child would be extraordinary. The entire world would now look upon this event as a triumph of the human spirit. Mandela used a more emphatic tone for the next portion of the speech to inform South Africans of things to come and the challenges they would face. The evocative word choice helped arouse the passion of the people, “the pain we all carried as we saw our country tear itself apart in a terrible conflict… spurned, outlawed and isolated by the peoples of the world.” (Mandela) All who had lived through the period of apartheid would immediately identify with this intense feeling of agony and isolation. Further, the fact that it was then a thing of the past would generate an enormous feeling of relief, a burden lifted from the nation’s