Rhetorical Analysis (Term Paper Sample)

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Critical Rhetorical Analysis: Adolf Hitler’s Speech at Reichstag, Berlin (May 4, 1939)
Introduction
Hitler, perceived as the master rhetorician, could utilize his persuasive abilities to convince crowds to adapt to his ways of thinking. In this particularly emotionally-charged speech, Hitler uses various techniques to put his points across. Just four days after a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler made an 88-minute speech that he had written himself before a massive crowd in Reichstag, Berlin (Adolf Hitler Speech 1). This paper seeks to answer the question, "what techniques does Hitler use to build ethos when making the speech?”
Summary
In the speech, he declared war against America, terming it an act of support for Japan. Hitler detailed the rising belligerent actions by Roosevelt’s Administration, and also explained his reasons for striking against the Soviet Union earlier that year (June, 2014). He also recounted the reasons for the 1939 war (Second World War), offering his personal justifications. Hitler also gave a review of the course of this particular war and attempted to offer an insight into how Roosevelt’s policies were hostile.
Analysis
Unit of Analysis
The unit of analysis selected for this assignment is ethos. Ethos represents a speaker’s moral authority as viewed from the audience’s perspective. Ethos provides a measure of the level of trust the audience has in the speaker on the basis of his perceived trustworthiness. Given that Hitler was a powerful and assertive leader who could make decisions that affected an entire nation, this unit of analysis is most suitable.
Close Reading
One example of Hitler’s dexterous speech is the following:
…I considered that I owed it to our German people and countless men and women in the opposite camps, who as individuals were as decent as they were innocent of blame, to make yet another appeal to the common sense and the conscience of these statesmen… I therefore once more publicly stated that Germany had neither demanded nor intended to demand anything from Britain or from France, that it was madness to continue the war and, above all, that the scourge of modern weapons of warfare, once they were brought into action, would inevitably ravage vast territories  (Adolf Hitler Speech 3).
Insight into Rhetoric
While Hitler’s use of ethos is constant throughout the speech, it stands out in this particular paragraph because he elevates his perceived "concern" for the people as the motivation for his actions. Hitler purports to have great concern for the happiness and life of everyone, while simultaneously shifting blame for the destruction witnessed during the war to his enemies. In addition, Hitler’s assertion that he "appeals to the conscience and common sense of statesmen" is a cunning technique to make the audience believe in his steadfastness for decorum. In reality, he intends to use this statement to become gain credibility in the eyes of the audience, which in turn earns their trust.
Reflection
One factual implication of the text was intensification of the Second World War, which in turn changed the path of history. Hitler’s adroitness in the use ...