Berkes Áron

11/IB

Persuasive techniques and figurative language in Barack Obama`s Victory

Speech of 2012
Prescribed question: “How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two
different readers?”
Title of the text for analysis: President Barack Obama Victory Speech 2012: Election
Remark from Chicago Illinois
Part of the course to which the task refers: Part 2 – Language and Mass
Communication. Speeches, persuasive devices
My critical response will:
 list the main differences between Democrats and Republicans
 look at some devices and techniques Obama uses
 look at some of Obama’s statements and promises to the people, and how the
two parties’ supporters could interpret and think about these statements and
promises

President Barack Obama is renowned not only for being the first black president
in the history of the United States of America, but for being an outstanding speaker
and orator as well, and with good reason. Hundreds of analyses have been published
about his speeches throughout the years of his administration, most of which admire
his directness, sociability, and his ability to amaze and convince people. However, as a
president, he naturally has opponents, and people opposing him and his ideas. Since
we are talking about the election system of the United States, we could probably
simply call these people Republicans, who have always been rather conservative
concerning the philosophies and innovative ideas. It is worth taking a look at how and
what devices and techniques does Obama use in his speech, and how could the
statements and promises towards all people of the United States be interpreted
differently by the rather liberal Democrats and the mostly conservative Republicans?
Before we start analyzing Obama’s Victory Speech, it is necessary to have a
main understanding of the differences between Democrats and Republicans. The
Democrats are mostly labeled simply liberal with ideas like progressive taxation,
meaning that people with higher income should pay more taxes, too, or the support of
gay marriage, legal abortion, universal healthcare, and the so-called Obamacare, which
is closely related to this subject, as well as to the analysis as a whole. As opposed to
this, Republicans tend to favor a “flat tax” with the same tax rate for everyone
regardless of income. Also, they oppose gay marriage and abortion (with some
exceptions, e.g. in case of rape and incest), and believe in the efficiency of private
companies providing healthcare. Of course, there are a lot more differences that could
be mentioned, but these are probably the ones that concern the most divisive issues. So
after identifying some differences between the two parties, let us see how the
supporters of these parties could interpret the promises, declarations, and statements of
Obama in different ways.
Right at the beginning of his speech, Obama uses one technique embedded into
another, making it even more effective than they would be when used separately. He
not only uses repetition, or rather anaphora, by saying that America, and the task of
perfecting the union of America “moves forward”, but also emphasizes the fact that
him becoming a president and being able to try and make the United States better for
the people is the achievement of the people themselves. He also forms his sentences in
a way that it creates the illusion of the United States not being made up of millions of
separate families, but rather being one gigantic family, in which faith and trust in each
other is the most important. These statements sound incredibly touching, and
regardless of political beliefs, Democrats as well as Republicans could think that
feeling important and as if one mattered truly is a great feeling which no-one should be
deprived from. So in this case we can probably say that the interpretations of this part
of the speech as a Democrat or a Republican do not really differ.
What can divide the two parties, however, is the following part of Obama’s
speech: “We want to pass on a country that's safe and respected and admired around
the world, a nation that is defended by the strongest military on Earth and the best
troops this world has ever known […]”. Another huge difference between Democrats
and Republicans concerns military spending. Democrats tend to support decreased
spending and less focus on military, while Republicans are the total opposite. Stating
that the United States has the strongest military force on Earth suggests that there is, in
fact, an incredibly large amount of money spent on it, and thus this sentence could
sound strange coming from a Democrat president. Democrats might be a bit confused
hearing Obama say this about the military, since due to their basic beliefs they would
probably expect the president to state something about decreased spending, and using
that money for improving other areas. The Republicans, however, might feel surprised
or even relieved hearing this, since despite Obama being a Democrat, it seems that
Republicans, too, will be satisfied with at least some of Obama`s policies and
decisions.
To sum up, even though there are tons of devices and techniques not yet
mentioned and their effects not analyzed, through this analysis one can get a brief
insight into why Obama was a greatly beloved president not only in the United States,
but throughout the world. What`s more, one can understand why he truly is a
successful and convincing orator. He not just simply uses loads of persuasive and
literary devices, but knows exactly how to use them in order to address each and every
person whom his speech reaches. And to end with, at the same time he has the
incredible ability to stay very human, friendly, and sociable.
Works cited
Text of Obama`s Victory Speech: //www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/07/barack-
obama-speech-full-text
Speech techniques Obama frequently uses: http://www.benjaminloh.sg/2012/11/07/8-
powerful-speech-techniques-that-president-barack-obama-used-to-wow-the-world-in-
his-presidential-victory-speech-2012/
Differences between Democrats and Republicans:
https://www.diffen.com/difference/Democrat_vs_Republican