William Faulkner's Addressing The Graduating Class

In William Faulkner’s speech, “Addressing the Graduating Class”, he persuades the graduating class of 1951 that they are the generation of individuals that can and must make the choice to change the world for the better. He achieves this through the use of emotional appeals, connotative language, and varied syntax. Considering the time frame, after World War I, he begins by addressing that “What threatens us today us fear.” He later uses the same idea of “man’s fear [robbing] him of his individuality…” to argue that if one is not afraid then ...individuals… will change the earth…” through these statements, Faulkner achieves a sense of empowerment and courage. He has used these emotional appeals with the intent of creating a change in this