Albert Nguyen 1015 words

Question: To what extent has your personal response to your prescribed text been shaped by the
enduring power of the ideas of the composer?

The enduring power of the ideas of the composer is a vital factor in the success of any speech.
However, the composer must be able to express these ideas through synthesis of clear purpose,
rhetorical techniques and universal values, in order to have a timeless appeal. Without both, a
speech cannot appeal to any audience. The speeches have three intents: to persuade their intended
audience to change their attitude as with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s Statement to the
Knesset, reinforce their mindset and beliefs, as in Prime Minister Paul Keating’s Funeral service of the
Unknown Australian Soldier which tried to synthesize feelings of unity and reinforce national identity,
or to do both, consolidating the beliefs of the audience while challenging them to think new things.
Such is the case with Aung San Suu Kyi’s Keynote address to the Beijing Conference on Women.

Sadat’s historic address to an antipathetic Israeli Knesset in 1977 focuses on the need for a
permanent peace based on justice in the Middle East, by employing powerful rhetoric to persuade
them of values of tolerance, peace and duty. Sadat’s stance against war is revealed early in “so
complexed by its sanguinary conflicts” where he alludes to the 30 years of conflict between Israel
and Arab states. He synthesizes a feeling of unity through “we all, Muslims, Christians and Jews,
worship God and no one but God.” using inclusive pronouns, a technique which is repeated
throughout the speech, as Sadat makes direct appeals to the audience to join him in his dream of
peace. The obstacles in the way of Sadat’s road to peace are also acknowledged. A clear example can
be seen in the asyndetic anaphora of “barrier of suspicion, barrier of fear, a barrier of distorted
interpretation” used to batter the conscience of the Knesset, making the audience more responsive
to his claim appealing for the vital necessity of “peace that builds and does not destroy”. The speech
was a major short-term success, as it was well-received by the Israeli Knesset, and a standing ovation
in the West. However, many Arabs were disappointed by the speech because they felt that Sadat had
put Egyptian interests ahead of Arab unity. Nonetheless, the notion of trust established through
repetition of “Let us be frank” as well his powers of persuasion using rhetoric was an important
reason the speech was able to make the political and personal impact it had.

Like Sadat, Keating uses great rhetorical flourish, but in his case to create an atmosphere of
solemnity and patriotism at the funeral service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, which in turn
implores the Australian audience to consolidate their belief in the values of peace, mateship and
unity. Throughout the course of the speech Keating aims to commemorate the dead and to venerate
the power and worth of ordinary people. The opening line “We do not know this Australian’s name
and we never will,” uses assonance and repetition to establish the euphony expected of an eulogy.
The anaphoric emphasis of “We do not know” serves to augment the anonymity of the Unknown
Australian Soldier, a symbol of the Anzac legacy, a cornerstone characteristic of the Australian
identity. An inclusive tone is used throughout the speech, as in “he is all of them, and he is one of us”
as well as inclusive pronouns such as “we” and “us”. To this Keating adds the emotive power of the
implications of abstract nouns such as “courage” and “sacrifice” to confirm the audience’s “deeper
understanding of what it means to be an Australian.” As such, Keating’s speech was well-received
because of his call to patriotism and the ideals of national pride expressed, thus consolidating beliefs
and generating unity among Australians. The enduring power of Keating’s beliefs, such as in unity
and patriotism, along with rhetorical skill, has allowed it to remain relevant to Australians today.

Aung San Suu Kyi was speaking to a sympathetic audience of mainly feminists at the Beijing
Conference on Women, employing personal experience and rhetorical manipulation to spur her
captivated audience on to contribute to the emancipation of women throughout the world.
Rhetorical devices, such as cumulative listing and allusion, are manipulated to support “those
matters which occupy all my waking thoughts these days: peace, security, human rights and
democracy.”, as well as to exalt the nature of women, as seen in “For millennia women have
dedicated themselves almost exclusively to the task of nurturing”. The “outmoded Burmese Proverb
‘the dawn rises when the rooster crows’” is emphatically juxtaposed to the representation of women
as models of selflessness and compassion, “with their capacity for compassion and self-sacrifice,
their courage and perseverance”. The symbolism of “common hopes” acknowledges the collaborative
entity of the “greatest concourse of women”. Universal values such as that of tolerance and security
are added by Suu Kyi to give her speech a broader spectrum. Although this speech was met with
outrage and fear by the Burmese junta, the international community acknowledged her speech as an
advocating of human rights, gender equality, democracy and peace. We can see that the speech still
resonates with modern audiences due to the enduring ideas of the composer, the continued
relevance of these ideas as well as her power to express this through language techniques.

The force of rhetoric combined with uplifting moral value is also a keystone in the making of a
speech. Both of these combine to resonate with an audience despite divergent contexts. This can be
seen clearly in the cases of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s Statement to the Knesset, Prime
Minister Paul Keating’s Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian soldier, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s
Keynote to the Beijing Conference on Women. Therefore, the composer’s enduring beliefs must also
be reinforced by the power of rhetoric.