Yesbel Peralta English

903 Mr. Janosch

I read a speech called Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation by Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. This speech is effective because it is filled with rhetorical devices, and also because
Roosevelt is trying to get a point across to the nation about the horrific event that took place on
December 7, 1941. Franklin is trying to inform all of the audience which are the members of the
state senate about the harm that the Japanese has caused throughout the nation. Again, I feel this
speech is effective due to the fact of all the information Roosevelt gives to the senate about this
tragic event that took place as well as getting the point across to the nation that Japan has
overtaken part of the pacific area but with the help of God and the American People, they will
reach triumph and get through this terrible disaster.
Ethos was not an effective rhetorical device in this speech, it was the least used and did
not give off a great impact to the speech. Ethos is an ethical appeal which means to convince an
audience of the authors character or credibility. An example of Ethos found in the speech Pearl
Harbor Address to the Nation is With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding
determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God. Here
Roosevelt is convincing the audience that with all the support America has we will be able to
regain our power and triumph. This was used to gain credibility because Roosevelt is not just
saying we will get through what happened but he is actually telling us what will help us to gain
back all this triumph and success.
Pathos was an effective rhetorical device in this speech, it was one of the devices that was
mostly used and it did give off a great impact to this speech. Pathos is an emotional appeal, and
this means persuading an audience by appealing to their emotions. An example of Pathos found
in the speech Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation is I regret to tell you that very many
American lives have been lost, In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the
high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu. This was used to create an emotional response
from the audience by explaining that this tragic event has cost many lives of people and it should
not be taken in a lightly matter.
Logos was also an effective rhetorical device used in this speech, it was also one of the
devices that was mostly used and gave off a great impact to this speech. Logos is an appeal to
logic, which means convincing an audience by the use of logic or reasoning. An example of
Ethos in the speech Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation is It will be recorded that the distance
of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or
even weeks ago. This piece of the speech was used to convince the audience using logic
because it is explained that they have deeply delved into the distance between both places and
the way the attack performed logically shows that they had a reason in thinking that the attack
was planned.
Another rhetorical device that was used is repetition. Repetition a device that repeats the
same words or phrases a couple of times to make a certain idea clearer. An example of the
rhetorical device repetition that was used in the speech Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation is
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong. Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.Last night, the Japanese attacked
Wake Island.. This rhetorical device made the speech stronger because it is showing all the
places that were harmed by the Japanese and that not only lives were hurt and lost in one place
but in many more.
The speech Pearl Harbor Address to the Nation by Franklin Delano Roosevelt was filled
with rhetorical devices. Like I said before, and also Roosevelt is trying to get a point across to
the nation about the horrific event that took place on December 7, 1980. Roosevelt gave a great
amount of information and getting across the point that even though Japan overtook the Pacific
area but America can get through this event, this is why I believe this speech was so effective.