The twenty-second episode of the ninth season of Simpsons titled Trash of the Titans tells about Homer’s electoral campaign, as he is eager to become a new mayor. The episode contains several scenes of his speeches given in public that can be interesting to analyze from the point of view of the rhetoric. The present analysis focuses on the comparison of the two speeches by Homer Simpson that were presented in the episode Trash of the Titans. The main target of Homer’s speeches is to encourage the citizens to vote for him. He uses several techniques to achieve it.
Since the main objective of every talk given in public is to shape people’s way of thinking or help them make a significant decision, orators use different persuasive techniques. As a rule, a good text manages to influence people and their opinions implicitly, and the speaker expresses all the ideas in a subtle way (Nabulya, 2018). However, Homer Simpson did not use this approach during his first concert speech, which is why it did not produce the desired effect on the audience (Groening, 1998). After some analysis, it was established that during the second speech, Homer relies mainly on fostering the citizens’ laziness and offering them better solutions for solving their everyday problems.
This strategy of public speaking is based on the pains and needs of the audience, and its successful implementation enables the speaker to transmit his ideas by showing people that it helps solve their problems. Homer uses this strategy, mentioning that he will create a team of professionals who will do all unpleasant jobs, such as sorting litter or cleaning the cats’ litter boxes (Groening, 1998). At the same time, he does not explicitly say that people should choose him as a future mayor. He appeals to people’s pains and needs, and they unconsciously choose him, relying on feelings but not on rationale.
It is worth mentioning here that the persona of the speaker or ethos, in that case, is the main persuasive technique Homer uses to achieve his goal. It is expressed through different actions of his, such as associating himself with ordinary citizens by showing that their problems are familiar to him (Nabulya, 2018). Apart from that, Homer appeals to the emotions of the audience, stressing that they have to deal with a lot of unpleasant deeds on a daily basis. What is more, while giving his speech, he mostly addresses the unconscious needs of the audience that resonates not with people’s minds but with their hearts, in particular. Thus, people become more attentive to what he says and start to believe his words.
Considering all mentioned above, it is possible to conclude that the major persuasive technique the character of the Simpsons uses during his speeches in the twenty-second episode of the ninth season based on his personality. Homer Simpson appeals to the pains and needs of the citizens and, at the same time, shows that he faces them himself and knows an efficient way of solving them. The feeling of unity with the speaker makes the citizens believe him and vote for him because his promises address their unconscious needs for better life without everyday problems such as sorting litter. Effective communication between the speaker and the audience is successful because people not only share the speaker’s ideas but also associate themselves with him due to rightly putting accents in his speech.
References
Groening, M. (1998). Trash of the Titans (Season 9, Episode 22) [TV series episode]. The Simpsons. Fox Broadcasting Company.
Nabulya, E. (2018). When ecocriticism and rhetoric meet: Environmental persuasion in Terrorists of the Aberdare. Journal of Literary Studies, 34(1), 61-78. Web.