Analysis of Enders Schwarzenegger Republican National Convention Address 2004 There are many ways of writing and performing a speech. But no matter how it is chosen to be done, is it always about winning the respect of the ones who are listening. Now, that is not an easy Job, and it takes a lot practice to create the perfect speech. In this analysis I am going to focus on Arnold Schwarzenegger speech as governor of Californian, at the Republican National Convention. This year Arnold Schwarzenegger was speaking for George W. Bush to win.
He begins his speech with a Joke, concerning his actor career, where he compares tanning in front of a big cheering crowd to winning an Oscar. ” This is like winning an Oscar. As if I would know! ” Humor appeals to everyone, so it is a smart way of opening a speech, if you want to get people’s attention. Besides using humor as an opener he uses a simile, by saying ” This is like (… )” and then comparing it to something else. The fact that he opens his speech by Joking makes the receiver feel that he or she is on the same level as Schwarzenegger, because by Joking the formality level gets quite low.
You can also tell that by looking at the colloquial harass he often uses in his speech such as: muff know, (… )” and ” Anyway, (… )” This everyday-language keeps the formality down, which makes him seem equal with his audience. In the first part of the speech, he speaks about himself, about how he got to America, and about what America has done for him as an immigrant. He tells the audience about the generosity of America, and about how he achieved the American dream.
He creates a strong patriotic feeling, and there is no doubt that the dominating rhetorical appeal is pathos. ” l remember I arrived here with empty pockets, but full of dreams (… ” He clearly appeals to pathos; telling about him as a poor foreign boy, reaching out for the American dream. Also, in this part of the text, he builds up ethos for George W. Bush. This, he does by mentioning three of the biggest presidents America has ever had, and then in the end of the same sentence mentioning Bush. This creates a connection between the old presidents and Bush himself.
His main points in this part of the speech are, that America is for everyone, and so is the Party. Then he goes on speaking about the republican values, and thereby his own values, and about how you can tell that you are a republican. The most memorable in this part of the speech, might be the part where he lists up some of the main republican values while he, without really saying it, compares these values to the democrat’s values. Every sentence begins with ” If you believe that… ” This anaphora is what makes this part so memorable.
When he repeats the same phrase again and again it underlines his points. Here he uses the directive message function, because he speaks directly to the audience and tells them that; ” If you believe that (… ) then you are a republican. ” It is not a direct command, but guidelines hat can get the audience to think themselves, and get the audience to nod agree with Schwarzenegger. He activates the audience, that’s why it is a directive message function. One thing that in general is very important for almost every American is the American values.
Towards the end of his speech are the leitmotifs; the values of America and connecting these values with George W. Bush. The values that he points out are the facts that America keeps on fighting and that America is open to everyone. He refers to the fight against AIDS, Nelson Mandela, Peace Corps volunteers and the Berlin Wall. He makes America stand out as an extraordinary and proud, helpful and strong country. He makes an allusion to the 9/1 1 attack, and then in the end he thanks Bush that America came strongly back.
Again he brings out this patriotic feeling, also because he once again brings up the American dream; “(… ) I believe with all my heart that America remains ” the great idea” that inspires the world. ” And then he ends up his speech with the quote: ” Our President, George W. Bush, has worked hard to protect and preserve the American dream for all of us. ” There is again no doubt that he here appeals to pathos, and that the message unction is expressive. All in all this is an extremely expressive speech where the pathos appeal is very dominating.
This speech does not contain many personifications, which normally are used to give feelings and actions to dead things (such as a tree). All though, there is one personification that we see more than one time. America gets talked of as if America itself could do human things. An example could be: ” America brings out the best in people” (1. 25 s. 4). Arnold Schwarzenegger is in general not very metaphorically speaking, but there is one metaphor that you cannot pass. It is the metaphor at l. 27 p. 5: ” We are still the lamp lighting the world, especially for those who struggle.
No matter in what labor camp they slave, no matter in what injustice they’re trapped, they hear our call; they see our light; and they feel the pull of our freedom. ” He is speaking metaphorically while he is making an allusion to the time where millions of immigrants passed The Statue of Liberty, on their way to better days and on their way to the American dream. This is why he says ” We are still the lamp lightning (… )” because America still is open to every nation on earth. It is a standard metaphor, because liberty and The American Dream are very common subjects for a convention speech.
Besides this metaphor, is he not using a lot of imagery, instead he uses the inclusive we a lot. The general mood in his speech is loaded with patriotism, while the tone is relaxed because he speaks this everyday language, but at the same time is the tone of the speech strong and powerful. This tone is in good connection with the general genre of the speech, which is the persuasive speech, because it is in the middle of Bush’s campaign, so it is all about getting votes. The fact that it is a persuasive speech, also gives him a good reason to be this expressive.
Arnold Schwarzenegger is a proud American, which definitely shines through in this speech. He speaks on the behalf of Bush, but also on the behalf of himself. He is the image of the American dream coming true. He is powerful in his tone, and he is very clear in his message. The dominating message function is the expressive message function, and the dominating appeal is pathos. He speaks with his feelings to the audience’s feelings. The main leitmotif is The American Dream, that both opens the speech as well as it ends it.
