Introduction
When a person becomes elected as the President of the United States, their victory speeches are informative and valuable pieces of information. At this moment, the winner attempts to congratulate all involved persons, eternalize the moment, and explain the future course of action. Speeches are more successful and effective if they manage to reach and etch into the audience’s hearts.
Many people agree that this description refers to Barack Obama’s historical victory speech as the 44th president of the USA. When Obama became the first African American President, multiple individuals believed that America would significantly benefit from this fact, and his speech contributed to such expectations. The newly elected President managed to find the proper linguistic means to impress and inspire the nation. That is why the current essay attempts to answer the following research question: How did Obama captivate the American audience in his historical victory speech? Scientific evidence demonstrates that Obama’s address was effective because he skillfully combined metonymy and ethos, which positively affected people’s minds and hearts.
Defining the Concepts
To begin with, one should present exhaustive definitions of what the concepts under analysis mean. On the one hand, Dawdand Salish (2020) stipulates that metonymy “is considered to be a rhetorical device that is based on some kind of association connecting two concepts” (p. 50). These scholars additionally mention that this device occurs when a speaker uses a single word or feature of an object to specify this object without naming it (Dawd & Salish, 2020).
Suitable examples include using the crown instead of the king or the author’s name instead of their works, as in ‘children study Shakespeare.’ In other words, metonymy helps people make their language more figurative, expressive, and interesting. That is why many skillful and successful speakers actively incorporate the given rhetorical device into their speeches.
On the other hand, ethos is one of the three techniques of persuasion that speakers use to present their viewpoints to the public. According to Nurlatifasari et al. (2022), ethos is “when the focus of persuasion targets the personal character of the audiences” (p. 65). This statement indicates that a speaker employs this technique to establish their authority and credibility, thereby gaining the audience’s trust.
Since a person’s credibility is in focus, individuals can use different means to establish it. Dawdand Salish (2020) mentions that suitable interventions include appearing trustworthy, sharing personal credentials, referring to opponents, using appropriate language, and being confident. If a speaker utilizes all or some of these techniques, the audience begins to consider them more likable and plausible, which positively impacts how people perceive the presented information.
Analyzing Barack Obama’s Speech
Metonymy
For this essay, the content of the speech is not the central object of study. The main task is to analyze how Obama incorporated the specified phenomena in his speech, and it is reasonable to start with metonymy. The former President actively used this device, and here are some examples.
The very first sentence presents a vivid case when Obama says, “America is a place where all things are possible” (NPR, 2008, para. 2). By saying “America,” the politician did not only mean the country in its entirety. He used this word to imply every house, street, and company where people make decisions regarding their lives and future. Obama relied on this device to demonstrate that his speech resonates with every American. Ordinary citizens liked Obama’s speech, and metonymies significantly contributed to that outcome.
Another critical example manifests itself in the following opposition: “We cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers” (NPR, 2008, para. 18). Main Street is of interest here because the former President only used these two words to denote all ordinary citizens who had no connection to financial management. These individuals wanted to ensure that the new President heard them and was prepared to improve their lives. Obama relied on a metonymy to address and highlight these concerns, which explains why many people admired his speech. Thus, these two simple examples of the selected figure of speech explain how and why Obama captivated the American audience.
Ethos
Ethos is the second phenomenon under analysis in the given essay. According to Nurlatifasari et al. (2022), the former President employed the selected persuasion technique 18 times. The discussion above has demonstrated that ethos helps a speaker to establish credibility, and Obama tried to achieve this very goal.
First, the President’s speech was completely dynamic, relevant, and competent. The manner and content were likely to convince the audience to trust and like Obama’s words. There is no doubt that his speechwriters did a great job and perfectly met the people’s expectations.
Another example of ethos refers to Obama’s acknowledgment of his opponent. NPR (2008) shows that the President appraised his competitor, Senator John McCain, and stated the following: “I congratulate him and Gov. Palin for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them” (par. 7). This appeal was effective because it allowed the audience to see that Obama was professional and confident in his victory.
Finally, Obama’s ethos was evident in an anecdote that he presented to the audience. The President shared the story of 106-year-old Ann Nixon Cooper, who participated in the election and represented the nation’s struggle and progress over the past hundred years (NPR, 2008). This reference allowed the citizens to see that the new President drew attention to everyone, which made him trustworthy and credible. The audience understood these aspects and highly appraised Obama’s speech, which explained why his address was so successful and notable among ordinary Americans.
Answering the Research Question
The presented information is sufficient to answer the research question from the introduction. Obama managed to captivate the American audience in his historic victory speech because he skillfully incorporated metonymy and ethos in this address. The most significant aspect was that he perfectly combined the two devices.
On the one hand, the President introduced metonymies to demonstrate that he was aware of the difficulties and possibilities that ordinary Americans experienced. These figures of speech enabled him to convey that the government would strive to improve the lives of all people, rather than just specific groups of citizens. On the other hand, the use of ethos helped Obama appear credible and trustworthy. As a result, the American audience saw that the new President understood the problems and had the required expertise to solve them. That is why the entire address faced much positive appraisal from ordinary people and experts.
Conclusion
Barack Obama’s speech is a suitable example of how a high-quality address can help win the hearts of millions of people. The 44th President of the United States skillfully combined metonymies and ethos to make his victory speech figurative, expressive, and effective. The essay has presented a logical and sound argument to support the given statement. In addition to the definitions of the concepts, the paper included specific examples of how and when Obama used them in his address. Furthermore, the essay included a detailed justification of what effects the figurative devices had on the audience. That is why one can firmly conclude that the paper has answered the stipulated research question in its entirety.
References
Dawd, K. O., & Salih, S. M. (2020). Covert persuasion in English advertisements and political speeches. Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(1), 41-52.
NPR. (2008). Transcript of Barack Obama’s victory speech.
Nurlatifasari, R., Nababan, M. R., Santosa, R., & Wiratno, T. (2022). On methods and strategies of repertoire rhetoric in the presidential inauguration speech of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. E-Structural (English Studies on Translation, Culture, Literature, and Linguistics), 5(01), 64-74.