Obama's Victory Speech

Alright, this speech was a lot shorter than the previous one, and ... I'm glad it was.

Obama's Acceptance and Victory speeches were very similar in terms of delivery and contained many of the same ideas and concepts. While it was shorter, the Victory speech included just as many different rhetorical devices as the Acceptance speech did. As I read/watched the speech, I noticed the fact that he mentioned Senator McCain's sacrifice for the country in both of his speeches. They both talk about how Obama was not the most ideal candidate for the White House, and both the speeches discuss the fact that changes have to be made and that the road to those changes is hard. By listening to the speech, I can tell that there are similarities in the style of writing. The sentences in the Victory speech are just as long as the sentences in the Acceptance speech.

Some of the common rhetorical devices found include rhetorical questions, reader inclusion, a hint of humor (although I'm not particularly sure), and most importantly, repetition. The Victory and Acceptance speeches include heavy emphasis on repetition. It seems to me that Obama wanted to make sure he drove his point home by repeating the key words. Coupled with repetition, the speeches also use reader's inclusion very effectively. I feel that by using reader's inclusion, the writer has ensured that the speech becomes a little more personal, and that it sounds not so much as a speech than a discussion between Obama and the audience. It's just that the role of the audience is to listen and applaud when Obama pauses.

I also found a couple of (obvious maybe?) alliterations in the speech. Examples include "block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand" or "beacon still burns as bright". Lastly, I am not sure about it, but I felt like there was also a reader's climax in the speech. The example I found was "It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve."

In my opinion, both of the speeches were delivered brilliantly.


Sahil