9/11 Address to the Nation - George W. Bush

9/11 Address to the Nation
by George W. Bush

Historical Importance
Defining moment in the Bush presidency
Changes in American foreign policy
Military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq
Why is it considered one of the most important American speeches?
reaction to one of the biggest events in world history
Background Information
Analysis of Speech
Very brief - only about 4 minutes
Outlined his intended response to attacks
Many audiences
Used many rhetorical devices
Terrorist attack committed by al-Qaeda
Four US passenger airplanes were highjacked and flown into the Twin Towers, Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania
Twin Towers After 9/11
Several countries featured this event as a headline in newspapers and magazines
pivotal point in American foreign policy
to unite a nation that has been attacked
Rhetorical Devices I
Metaphor: "These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

Personification: "Today our Nation saw evil, the very worst of human nature."

Anaphora: "Tonight I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened."
Setting
Speech was given by George W. Bush
In the Oval Office
At 8:30 pm
Body language
Rhetorical Devices II
Logos: "These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat."

Allusion: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for you are with me."
presentation by: Paul Radakovics
Syntax and Diction
Syntax

short, declarative sentences
a lot of commas, pauses
cumulative sentences
Diction

formal
every word is understood
clear, concise
Examples
Our country is strong.
And no one will keep that light from shining.
Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts.
The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors.