Final Paper

Jessica Vazquez

Prof. Wexler

English 436

August 10, 2010

***side note: My works cited page contains some of our readings which I had to find on the internet because I returned my book to the bookstore on Thursday and later needed to use certain sources. I just wanted to point that out so you knew I was aware that they were in our textbook, such as Saussure and Gorgias.***

Applying Feminist Theory to The Little Rascals

“Recently a male student wrote . . . ‘Every woman student who goes into medicine or law robs us of a job’” (De Beauvoir 14). Statements like these have been uttered throughout history, allowing for women to become the inferior sex and for prejudices about women to be passed on for generations. Many women believe they have been cursed from the beginning of time, as the first Bible story depicts Adam as being tempted into a life of damnation by Eve. But why is there such an attack on women? It seems gender has confined women to the inequalities they face in society. Due to the media and passed-down beliefs, negative stereotypes about women continue to exist. A prime example of such stereotypes is portrayed in the 1994 film rendition of The Little Rascals. Although it is a seemingly innocent and light-hearted comedy, the film is littered with examples of the unequal treatment and stereotypes women have faced throughout history. Even though these stereotypes still take place today, women are taking small steps in the direction of equality.

One universal stereotype about women is that they are the cause of despair, specifically to men. According to Simone de Beauvoir, “Man represents both the positive and the neutral . . . whereas woman represents only the negative” (4). Women are often blamed for events which are not their fault. For example, in The Little Rascals, Buckwheat complains about his sister leaving the toilet seat down, claiming that “women make men miserable.” Later, the He-Man Woman Haters Club, a club specifically designed around hating women, blames Darla for the burning down of their meeting place when the fault lies on their own member, Alfalfa. The boys refuse to blame Alfalfa for the fire simply because he is male and, instead, the blame is placed on Darla because she is a woman. Spanky, the leader of the He-Man Woman Haters Club, advises Alfalfa that he’ll “feel like a new man” if he dumps Darla. Alfalfa is so persuaded by the club that he proclaims, “I never knew that liking a girl could lead to all this. I let my pals down, I let the club down, and I let my best friend down.” But is the problem in these situations really the woman or is there more to every story? This concept of pointing the finger at women is not new to Western culture by any means.

Many people blame Helen of Troy for being unfaithful to her husband, Menelaus, when she is abducted by Paris, ultimately causing the battles of the Trojan War. However, there have been arguments that she is not the one at fault. Gorgias defends Helen in his speech entitled Encomium of Helen. In his speech, Gorgias claims there could have been other factors which contributed to Helen’s abduction, such as force, predetermination, and seductive use of persuasion through speech. Gorgias emphasizes that people don’t put into account the fact that most people would succumb to such a decision when under extreme pressure or ignorance. He places the blame on her captor because he claims Paris has presented Helen with a false argument in which “the force of persuasion prevails” and “the persuader, like a constrainer, does the wrong and the persuaded, like the constrained, in speech is wrongly charged” (Gorgias 2).

Even though society is slowly moving away from the idea that women are the cause of despair, we still maintain negative stereotypes about women. In general, women are expected to be frail creatures who are “frivolous, infantile, irresponsible . . . [and] submissive” (De Beauvoir 13). In The Little Rascals, Spanky complains about women when he asks, “Why do [women] have to be so different? Boys stand up for themselves. Boys take what’s theirs.” Spanky is exhibiting the behavior he has been programmed to believe about women not being as strong physically and emotionally as men. But where do we get these criteria? According to Dr. Georgia Witkin, “It may be because women’s muscles are smaller than men’s, which means less physical strength” (124).

There are biological factors which could contribute to some biases about women. For example, women are often referred to as being the “emotional sex.” According to the Ramsey Clinic Dry Eye and Tear Research Center in St. Paul, women cry four times as frequently as men. Tears produced from emotional reactions (as opposed to tears from an eye irritation) contain the hormone called prolactin, which is the hormone responsible for promoting breast-feeding. By the time women turn eighteen, they have 60 percent more prolactin in their bloodstreams than men (Witkin 71). Although this is interesting research, we must ask: What makes crying a negative aspect when it comes to the different sexes and how do we create the negative associations about women based on the act of crying?

One answer to this question is: language. Diction plays a major role in the way we perceive men and women. For example, if we want to make fun of a man for being weak or emotional, we call him feminine. However, if we want to praise a woman for being strong and courageous, we call her manly. Although women are thought of as having positive characteristics, such as gentleness and virtue, these characteristics are seen as negative when applying them to a man’s behavior (De la Barre 13). Some might call a man a “sissy” or some other name, implying that he is acting “womanly.” According to Ferdinand de Saussure, the choice of connection between the signified and signifying creates an arbitrary value (5). When we call a man a “sissy,” it is society which determines the negative connotations of the word. The word itself is arbitrary as its meaning cannot be determined in advance (Saussure 6).

With language, there is a binary relationship amongst words. Word opposites, such as “black” and “white,” produce the master/slave relationship as well. When we pair such words, we create the Self and the Other. Some cases include cat/dog, Christian/Jew, rich/poor, straight/gay, and, of course, man/woman. In all of these relationships, status is defined by society even though the words themselves are arbitrary.

Although our actions may perceive women negatively in many ways, society today seems to be more open to the idea of the “strong” woman. Many women are entering the work force while at the same time maintaining their households and raising children. We have shifted away from the idea that women are limited in the things they can do simply because they bear children. According to society in the past, women were expected to be on the sidelines, cheering on men. In The Little Rascals, Darla breaks away from this stereotype when she helps Alfalfa and Spanky win a soap box derby. Since Spanky is unable to tell that Darla is a girl under her helmet, he assumes she must be a male since she is participating in the race. Spanky extends an invitation to Darla to join the He-Man Woman Haters Club, but faints when Alfalfa informs him that the driver is a woman. Spanky is also taken by surprise when he finds out his favorite race car driver, A.J. Ferguson, is, in fact, a woman. Spanky’s perception of women is reflective of the way society expects women to be the docile sex, incapable of “masculine” tasks, such as racing cars. This pattern of thinking leads to the way we label characteristics of the sexes and whether they are perceived positively or negatively.

Women are also thought to be less intellectually inferior to men. At one point in The Little Rascals, Darla is being driven around in a go-cart by her boyfriend, Walter, and she indicates that they must make a turn where a sign is pointing them in the opposite direction. Rather than taking Darla’s advice or simply telling her he doesn’t agree, Walter responds with, “Girls have no sense of direction.” Walter has given in to the stereotype that women never have any idea where they are going and, therefore, are not as intelligent as men. Of course, this stereotype is not true of all women, but Walter’s short line speaks volumes about society’s negative views of women. Ironically, Darla is correct in her assumption of where to turn, proving that women are capable of making observations about location and that not only can women be correct about their sense of direction, but that not all men are skilled in this way either.

Even though women have begun to break down the barriers which restrict them to certain stereotypes, one must wonder why it is that women have tolerated this oppression for so long. “Woman has always been man’s dependent, if not his slave; the two sexes have never shared the world in equality. And even today, woman is heavily handicapped, though her situation is beginning to change” (De Beauvoir 9-10). This phenomenon can be explained by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s idea of the master/slave relationship which occurs when one self-conscious exists for another. According to Hegel:

Self-consciousness is faced by another self-conscious, it has come out of
itself. This has a twofold significance: first, it has lost itself, for it finds
itself as an other being; secondly, in doing so it has superseded the other,
for it does not see the other as an essential being, but in the other sees its
own self” (Hegel 541).

So, therefore, Woman is defined by that which is Man in relation to Man and not in relation to Herself (De Beauvoir 4). Woman is viewed as the Other and Man is defined as the Self. As the Other, a woman is expected to cater to man and define who she is by his standards. It is often believed that a woman must measure herself based on the accomplishments of her husband and that her lifelong job is to attain and uphold this status. Women lose out when it comes to being defined as an individual and are regarded negatively as the Other as Hegel states, “What is ‘other’ for it is an unessential, negatively characterized Object” (542).

Referring again to the Bible, “some say that, having been created after Adam, [Woman] is evidently a secondary being . . .” (De Beauvoir 17). Since it is determined that Man is the superior sex, women become the oppressed. It is probable that women have continued to live such an existence simply because it is easier than to stand up as an individual in order to make a difference for the whole. For example, many women today find it much harder on the family unit to leave a marriage than to go through the divorce process. As sublime as the idea might be for a woman to stand up for herself, for many, doing what is easier seems more practical. Unfortunately for women, everything works in favor of the oppressor (De Beauvoir 9). The only way to change the master/slave relationship is if both sides come together to take action (Hegel 542).

Fortunately, not all hope is lost when it comes to the idea of striving to gain the equality of the sexes. A tribe called the Mundugamor in Africa views women and men as similar and expect both sexes to behave aggressively. This behavior seems odd to Western culture, but this example proves that it is possible for barriers to be broken. Women in the Mundugamor tribe behave quite the opposite of how our society projects women should behave in that their women detest pregnancy and reject their “maternal instinct” while focusing their energy towards work and war (Ojeda 30).

The Little Rascals ends, too, on the positive notion that women will one day prevail against the negative stereotypes which mark them inferior to men. The members of the He-Man Woman Haters Club come to no longer hate women and join both sexes to create a new club of equality. Spanky questions the club about their change when he says, “Have we betrayed our forefathers? Have we trampled on the generations of honest woman haters that came before us?” The club states a unanimous “no.”

Looking back on the pattern of social change throughout history, there is hope that one day we can break down the idea that women are only on this earth to cater to men. There are signs of change towards equality as men are recognizing all human beings as equals (De Beauvoir 15). However, it will take both sexes to come together to change society’s expectations of women. As Simone de Beauvoir beautifully states, “If we are to gain understanding, we must get out of these ruts; we must discard the vague notions of superiority, inferiority, equality which have hitherto corrupted every discussion of the subject and start afresh” (17).









Works Cited

De Beauvoir, Simone. "The Second Sex: Woman as Other." Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 04 Aug. 2010. Web.

De la Barre, Francois. "On the Equality of the Two Sexes." 1673. The Essential Feminist Reader. New York: Modern Library, 2007. Print.

De Saussure, Ferdinand. "Third Course of Lectures on General Linguistics." Web. 13

Aug. 2010. Web.

Freedman, Estelle B., ed. The Essential Feminist Reader. New York: Modern Library, 2007. Print.

Gorgias. "Encomium of Helen." Gorgias' Encomium of Helen. Web. 13 Aug. 2010. Web.

Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich. "Phenomenology of Spirit." 1807. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.

Leitch, Vincent B., ed. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.

Little Rascals, The. Dir. Penelope Spheeris. By Penelope Spheeris. Perf. Bug Hall, Brittany Ashton Holmes, and Travis Tedford. Universal, 1994. DVD.

Ojeda, Auriana, ed. Male/Female Roles. Opposing Viewpoints Series. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Print.

Witkin, Georgia. The Truth About Women: Fighting the 14 Devastating Myths That Hold Women Back. New York: Viking, 1995. Print.

Critical Analysis 7

“Everyday Use” and Langston Hughes

“Everyday Use” is a short story by Alice Walker about an African-American mother (Mrs. Johnson) and her two daughters, Maggie and Dee. Maggie is an adult and moves out of her mother’s house because she despises their culture and heritage. She moves on to live a “white” life in the suburbs, only returning home when she needs something from her mother. Dee, on the other hand, is much younger than her sister and sees the beauty in her mother as a strong black woman and loves her heritage. The conflict ensues when Dee returns home to take a quilt which was passed down through their family for generations because she thinks the quilt makes a good decoration, whereas Maggie is the rightful heir and sees the quilt for all its history, beauty, and memories.

In Langston Hughes’ The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, he emphasizes that some African-Americans move away from their heritage and culture towards the white, American way of life. He claims “The whisper of ‘I want to be white’ runs silently through [African-Americans’] minds” (Hughes 1193). Similarly, Dee wishes the same idea and conforms to dress and behave like white women in her society. Dee is so engulfed in the idea of being white that she is embarrassed to visit her own mother and sister who have not conformed to her preferred lifestyle. Dee shows up to Mrs. Johnson’s home in a brand new car, straight hair (mimicking the hairstyle of white women), and a tight, colorful dress. Unlike Dee, Maggie is able to see the beauty in being African-American. Hughes emphasizes the point that “[An African-American] is never taught to see that beauty. He is taught rather not to see it, or if he does, to be ashamed of it when it is not according to Caucasian patterns” (1193).

The story concludes with the idea that African-American culture is a beautiful thing and that it is wrong for any other culture to imply otherwise. Unfortunately, there are still many people who are unable to see this about their own culture. Langston Hughes, being Caucasian himself, beautifully emphasizes this point when he says “Let the blare of Negro jazz bands and the bellowing voice of Bessie Smith singing Blue penetrate the closed ears of the colored near-intellectuals until they listen and perhaps understand” (1196).

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." 1926. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.
Leitch, Vincent B., ed. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.
Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Ed. Laurie G.
Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. 7th ed. Boston: Wordsworth. Print.

Critical Analysis 6

A Feminist Perspective of Mulan II

Mulan II portrays the story of three Chinese princesses who must marry to expand China’s reign for their father, the emperor. The women at first go along with the plan even though inside none of them are content with marrying men they have never met before. The princesses question themselves as how they fit into their world, illustrating Simone de Beauvoir’s idea where “one wonders . . . what place [women] occupy in this world, what their place should be.” On their long trip to their awaiting marriages, the women seriously consider whether they are “where they belong” rather than standing up for themselves and their rights.

De Beauvoir emphasizes Dorothy Parker’s position on humanity when she quotes “‘My idea is that all of us, men as well as women, should be regarded as human beings.’” The princesses struggle with finding the realization that they deserve the right to be able to choose who they want to marry rather than being cast off as objects. Mulan is able to see through this unfairness and stresses the importance of women making their own life-changing decisions (and specifically in this case, marriage). The reason the princesses are unable to see the world as Mulan sees it is due to the fact that they have accepted their “roles” in the master/slave relationship to men. De Beauvoir explains that “woman may fail to lay claim to the status of subject because she lacks definite resources, because she feels the necessary bond that ties her to man regardless of reciprocity, and because she is often well pleased with her role as the Other.” They have simply accepted the fact that they are dependent on men in order to determine who they are as individuals.

Luckily, the film allows for the princesses to overcome their labels as the “Other” and to choose who they want to be as defined by themselves and not by Man. Although the film ends happily ever after, we’re left wondering: Will there ever be an end to the master/slave relationship between men and women?


Works Cited
Beauvoir, Simone De. "The Second Sex: Woman as Other." Marxists Internet Archive. Web. 04 Aug. 2010. .
Mulan II. Dir. Darrell Rooney. Disney, 2004. DVD.

Group Evaluation

GROUP EVALUATION

In our group evaluation I contributed time into creating the actual PowerPoint Jeopardy game. Each member in our group (Cherie, Ericka, and Mary) as well as myself created the questions to be asked in class. We kept in contact through email and text and everyone stayed in touch and got along. The whole project went pretty smoothly and the group cooperated well together. The actual presentation went well and I think the class really enjoyed it.

Summary of Marxist Lecture and Movie Scene

Summary of Marxist Lecture and Movie Scene

In Glengarry Glen Ross, Alec Baldwin and the office workers have a master/slave relationship in which Baldwin’s character is nothing without the workers and the workers do not realize this. It is the office workers who make Baldwin rich, although he portrays himself as doing all the hard work.

In the room, there are more “non-rich” (office workers) individuals than “rich” (Baldwin and his associate, which Karl Marx claims takes place within capitalist societies. Baldwin’s expensive watch is a symbol of power and he is driven by his assets such as his $80,000 car and large salary. Baldwin even emphasizes that he is who he is because of his assets when he claims “I am the watch. I am the car. You are nothing.”

Baldwin portrays his authority over the workers when he doesn’t call them by their first names and talks to them as though he’s their drill sergeant. One would think that the office workers would leave their jobs because of the way Baldwin treats them, but just like in real life, decisions like these are not so easy. For example, the office workers may have a hard time finding another job quickly and which pays well if they even find one at all. Also, at least one of them has children at home who depend on his salary in order to survive. The men feel threatened most likely because they are aware that they can be easily replaced and that they themselves basically serve as commodities to the company. It seems the best choice given the circumstances is to succumb to Baldwin’s power and to stay within the company even thought they are not being treated fairly.

Unfortunately for these men, they lose a sense of importance in the job world when they are placed in this situation where someone like Baldwin benefits from their work. They lose a sense of who they are as individuals, which is illustrated by Marx when he states “One’s identity is wrapped up in labor.”

The Interpretation of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams”

The Interpretation of Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams”

CLICK HERE FOR MUSIC VIDEO

Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” music video illustrates Freud’s ideas of the interpretation of dreams. According to Freud, “dreams take into account in a general way the connection which undeniably exists between all the portions of the dream-thoughts by combining the whole material into a single situation or event” (822). Many different “materials” are combined in Beyonce’s dream which come together to express a single thought – the fact that she wants her partner sexually.

Because of the symbols represented in Beyonce’s dream, condensation is able to take place. According to www.cla.purdue.edu:

“Condensation is one of the methods by which the repressed returns in hidden ways. For example, in dreams multiple dream-thoughts are often combined and amalgamated into a single element of the manifest dream (e.g. symbols). According to Freud, every situation in a dream seems to be put together out of two or more impressions or experiences. One need only think about how people and places tend to meld into composite figures in our dreams.”

Both location and symbols in Beyonce’s dream make up its meaning. Some symbols which appear in the dream are a white dove, white horse, rainbow, and multiple dancers and “Beyonces.” The dove can be representative of many meanings, including the idea that it is Beyonce herself being set “free” in her dream. The horse (also white) may be Beyonce again roaming through her dream. Both animals might be seen as displacements, or “one of the methods by which the repressed returns in hidden ways” (Felluga “Displacement”). Perhaps Beyonce longs to be free to express her unconscious or repressed feelings.

Beyonce’s sexual dance moves along with the lyrics and her small clothing can be interpreted as her longing for her significant other. Freud states “The restoration of the connections which the dream-work has destroyed is a task which has to be performed by the interpretative process” (821). It is the superego which drives her sexual and violent nature in this dream. Her unconscious is responsible for her desires and drives. At one point in the video, Beyonce violently thrusts her hips while singing the lyrics “My guilty pleasure,” referring to the person she is lusting (“Beyonce”).

The lyrics themselves demonstrate Freud’s opinion on language within dreams. He states that “all spoken sentences which occur in dreams are specifically described as such are unmodified or slightly modified reproductions of speeches which are also to be found among the dream-thoughts” (822). The lyrical language is very close to the way we speak in conversation. To illustrate, here are several lines:

“I mention you when I say my prayers

I wrap you around all of my thoughts

Boy you’re my temporary high

I wish that when I wake up you’re there

To wrap your arms around me for real

And tell me you’ll stay by my side”

Freud goes on to say “the meaning of the dream may be a totally different one” (822). For the most part, Beyonce is directly talking about her desires, but the play on words as her lover being a “beautiful nightmare” may suggest just the opposite.

A particular part of the video I find interesting is at about 2 minutes and 20 seconds in. Beyonce is looking in the mirror at herself with multiple images of her reflection. The mirror scene stems back to Freud’s ideas about the self in the way that we realize we are an individual when we see our own reflection. This usually takes place in early childhood. The mirror breaking symbolizes Beyonce feeling as though she is not whole without her lover. In this scene, she is dressed what we would call “normally,” but when the shrouds of glass float into another scene, Beyonce is dressed in robotic clothes, appealing more to a dreamlike state. During this part of the video, Beyonce questions “What kind of dream is this?” emphasizing that she is, in fact, dreaming.

Although it may just appear to be a music video about a dream, there are many underlying aspects which have previously been explored by Freud. Freud’s take on dreams is that “[they] carry this method of reproduction down to the details. Whenever they show us two elements close together, this guarantees that there is some specially intimate connection between what correspond to them among the dream-thoughts” (822).

Works Cited

"Beyonce – ‘Sweet Dreams.’” YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 28 July 2010. .

Felluga, Dino. "Definition: Condensation." College of Liberal Arts : Purdue University. 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 28 July 2010. .

Felluga, Dino. "Definition: Displacement." College of Liberal Arts : Purdue University. 28 Nov. 2003. Web. 28 July 2010. .

Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2010. Print.

Analysis 2

Story

This guitar is played by a young girl in her teens. She spends the summers with her family in their Spanish-style home and enjoys playing the guitar on nice sunny days. She actually prefers to play more than going out sightseeing because she expresses her homesickness through music. At the moment, she has gone to the kitchen to enjoy a small lunch, but will return shortly and pick up the guitar where she left off. Her guitar was a gift to her from her grandfather who also played guitar in his lifetime and serves as an additional reason as to why she loves the guitar so much.

Structuralism

From the structuralist point of view, “literature might be seen as a displaced version of religion.” For the girl in the story, playing music is her “literature” because it keeps her sane and in order while she is missing her friends while she’s away on vacation. Rather than arguing with her parents every day about how much she wishes to return home, she looks to her music and explores and expresses herself this way.


Formalism

The guitar in the painting is defamiliarized because it is the center of the piece, whereas usually this object would merely be passed by most people. According to Viktor Shklovsky, “after we see an object several times, we begin to recognize it – hence we cannot say anything significant about it,” and, therefore, the object loses its importance to most people (1). Since the focus is on the guitar itself, people evoke meanings and emotions about the guitar since it is alone, displayed without its owner. Many people would not take the time to think about the implications which could come with a guitar “as we apprehend objects only as shapes with imprecise extensions,” says Shklovsky (1). When we view an object which is part of our daily routine within a context, such as in a house or setting, it loses its awe and becomes bland. For example, Shklovsky personifies a horse and in doing so accomplishes to raise emotions and awareness in the fact that the horse has lost his significance simply because he is viewed as an everyday part of life. The same idea can be applied to the guitar painting in that like the horse, we, too, can imagine the view of the guitar and stop to think about the guitar as more than just an object and as an instrument which produces beautiful music.


http://ritchiegonzales.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/guitar-painting.jpg

Aristotle and Barack Obama

“A More Perfect Union” Analysis Based on Aristotle

According to Aristotle, one of the most authoritative forms of persuasion relies on the speaker’s character (Leitch 115). As the viewer, reader, or listener of rhetoric, we not only base our judgments on the speaker’s character, but also on the argument itself (Leitch 117). These aspects of rhetoric are demonstrated by President Barack Obama in his speech entitled “A More Perfect Union.”

A very important factor contributing to persuading an audience is word usage. When the speaker uses appropriate language, the audience is better guided towards what the speaker is trying to convey. An audience does not take well to rhetoric when the language being used by the character or the speaker does not make sense. For example, and audience might be put off by a work involving a slave who uses very “fine” language or a young person who uses big vocabulary words which are much too challenging for their age (Leitch 118). In Obama’s speech, he does not stray from using language most can understand which allows for the audience to be persuaded because they are able to keep up with what he is saying and not feel lost or as though the speaker is too “smart” for them. Aristotle also claims authors should speak naturally which goes hand in hand with the idea that the audience can better connect and be persuaded by the author (Leitch 118).

As an audience, we trust wisdom (Leitch 117). President Obama begins his speech by providing a brief historical background about the declaration of independence in the United States. As listeners, we trust the speaker to be knowledgeable and therefore allow ourselves to be persuaded by what he may have to say because he has provided us with facts about our country. For example, we would be much less likely to listen to a person attempting to address issues in our country if they didn’t have knowledge about the history of the United States. President Obama also ends his speech by reminding the audience of his knowledge of history, once again persuading us to support him.

President Obama also uses emotion to appeal to his listeners. Aristotle claims “[There is persuasion] through the hearers when they are led to feel emotions [pathos] by the speech” (Leitch 115). Throughout his speech, Obama uses imagery to appeal to the listener when he talks about real situations people have been through in our history. Some situations include: segregated schools (Brown vs. Board of Education), legalized discrimination, a lack of services to the black community (such as parks and garage pick-up), long lines for blacks and Hispanics in the emergency room, and images of war. All of these images bring up emotions in most people, even if they are not of the same race who endured these inequalities. The listener connects with the speaker and is persuaded to believe and follow what he says because he appeals to their emotions and to what matters to them. President Obama saves his last story appealing to emotion for the very end of the speech. He talks about a young woman whose mother has cancer and how people like her influence another man to help in Obama’s campaign. The audience sympathizes with the young girl and her situation and admires the man for his sincerity.

The aspects of President Obama’s knowledge of history, word usage, tone, and use of emotional imagery further persuade the audience to support President Obama.




Works Cited

Leitch, Vincent B. The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Second ed. New York: W. W. Norton &, 2010. Print.

"YouTube - Barack Obama: 'A More Perfect Union' (Full Speech)." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 11 July 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrp-v2tHaDo.