https://padlet.com/spencerpaik1/kkncopdyeufkos5b My analysis of two speeches read in English class in term 1: Ann Romney and Richard NIxon en-us 2020-10-18 00:54:03 UTC 2020-10-18 18:57:51 UTC hello@padlet.com spencerpaik1 https://padlet.com/spencerpaik1/kkncopdyeufkos5b/wish/838109388 Richard Nixon's Checkers Speech was a really impactful moment for Nixon's political career. He had to change the mind of many Americans and to do this he needed to be as persuasive as possible. He needed to a) defend himself against the charge of misusing campaign contributions, b) market himself as a relatable person, and c) use this opportunity to campaign for Eisenhower and his ticket and throw shade on the Stevenson campaign.  A lot of the speech rested on ethos, pathos, and logos appeals. In the beginning, he used logos as he went through his expenditures, home equity, and income. He used concrete numbers in order to show the truth and explain his case. He outlined his salary, inheritance, etc. and explained in detail his expenditures as a Senator i.e. travel, office expense. He also made a point of saying that his wife was not on the government payroll, an important logos contrast with other politicians. Along with that, he  would also intermingle pathos appeals. He would reference a sympathetic angle, like his dog checkers and talk about how that was the one gift he had taken personal benefit from because his kids loved the dog so much. Along with that, he would also explain his meager upbringing and his standard of living. He tried to lend himself credibility to be able to relate to the average american and to do so, had to outline how he was living and how he grew up. He also used rhetorical questions to guide his argument, trying to frame, as best he could, his actions as the only logical steps in his position. Lastly, he used a lot of emotionally charged issues to turn the table from defensive to offensive. He used pathos and logos to support how he and Eisenhower would be tougher on Communism and explained how the Stevenson ticket would not be able to match up. Along with that, another emotional appeal was having his wife in the video since she was very popular. Typically having your partner by your side during a scandal projects strength. One final appeal I felt was really powerful, was his body language. Near the end of his speech, Nixon gets from his desk and starts speaking with more force. This transition is important because it separates his attitudes of contrition in the first act, to political posturing in the second. He projects passion in his words and stance and in many ways this could symbolize him getting up after being knocked down by a media catastrophe.]]> 2020-10-18 00:55:37 UTC https://padlet.com/spencerpaik1/kkncopdyeufkos5b/wish/838109388 spencerpaik1 https://padlet.com/spencerpaik1/kkncopdyeufkos5b/wish/839121896 Ann Romney's RNC speech was really important for the Romney campaign. As a potential first lady, her speech had to humanize the figurehead that wanted to be president. Only she could tell the story of him as a person, not a stuffy, tax-dodging millionaire. In order to present this image of Romney as the “Average” american, Ann had to craft her speech on a lot of pathos appeals, deliberate language, and reminders of her motherhood and upbringing in order to lend herself credibility. To start, one of the important aspects Ann needed to highlight was that she was a mother. This is something many Americans can relate to or value, and one of the few things she can honestly say puts her on level ground with middle class americans. Most of her comments on love, and unity were prefaced or accompanied in some form by “as a mother” or “only a mother”. Along with this, she goes a step further by using collective pronouns, such as “we’re the mothers. We’re the wives.” to imply that she is just like any other American woman living a normal lifestyle and that she is in the same boat as the rest of Americans wives and moms in their contributions to this country and how they may bear the brunt of its problems. Along with that, she told a very carefully worded story about her humble start out with Mitt. She describes how Romney made his success and had the gall to compare this success story to the American dream on par with the rest of Americans' journey. To highlight how Mitt was just a regular guy, she used really visual diction in order to create an image of Mitt that is more relatable. For example, “we ate a lot of pasta and Tuna fish… door propper up on saw horses, our dining room table was a fold down ironing board.” THis is supposed to convey how they were struggling just like may Americans have, except this is very misleading since it was Mitt’s dad who bought him this apartment right out of college. Overall, the themes of love and collective energy were really compelling devices utilized by Ann Romney. Unfortunately Mitt still lost the election. ]]> 2020-10-18 18:57:32 UTC https://padlet.com/spencerpaik1/kkncopdyeufkos5b/wish/839121896