Famous Speeches

Lesson 1
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ELA

Unit 4

12th Grade

Lesson 1 of 16

Objective


Identify the rhetorical situation and explain its significance.

Identify the appeals present within the text and the devices/strategies used to generate that appeal.  

Readings and Materials


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Target Task


Writing Prompt

Draft an introduction that provides the rhetorical situation for Judge Sweat’s "The Whiskey Speech".

Draft a brief outline identifying least three rhetorical devices/strategies used by Judge Sweat to achieve his purpose. 

Key Questions


Rhetorical Situation:

  • Who is the speaker?
  • What’s the occasion? When/where?
  • Who is the audience? Stated vs. implied. Values?
  • What is the subject?
  • What is the purpose?

Speech Paragraph 1:

  • What words does he use to begin his speech?
  • What can we learn about the speaker?
  • What is his tone?

Paragraphs 2 & 3:

  • Organization: What is the main idea of each paragraph?
  • How does Sweat’s diction help us to understand about his position?
  • How does Sweat’s syntax help?

Paragraph 4 - End:

  • What is ironic about the 4th paragraph?
  • What is Sweat’s Main Idea?
  • What appeals does he use?
  • What devices does he use to achieve those appeals?

Notes


Background Information

  •  
  • Judge Noah Sweat was a Mississippi Legislator, and in April 1952, he gave this speech after the House had been debating whether to legalize whiskey.
  • His purpose was to highlight strong opinions and valid reasons on both sides. Possibly his aim was to show that sometimes taking a stand involves seeing that an issue is really divisive and that compromise is best.
  • Below is a list of the rhetorical devices and appeals employed by Sweat.
    • Tone: Ethos
      • Straightforward, bold, forceful, brave, service-oriented
    • Diction: Pathos
      • Breaks down society: devil, poison, monster, pit, pinnacle, misery, poverty
      • Build up society: conversation, fellows, song, laughter, cheer, stimulating, magnifying, joy, happiness
    • Syntax: Ethos, understands both sides of the issue
      • Short, emphatic sentences to state his stand 
      • Long sentences linking clauses to fully explain each side
    • Organization: compare and contrast

Instructional Notes

  • It is important that students grasp that the rhetorical situation is essential to understand before they begin analyzing the text. In order to analyze how an author achieves his or her purpose, one first needs to understand the author’s situation and purpose. 
  • Save today’s target tasks for use as examples/non-examples of analysis in Lesson 3.
  • A mini lesson on rhetorical analysis is recommended for today. The teacher should emphasize that authors use devices in order to create an appeal to the audience. Simply saying ethos/pathos/logos is not enough—we must identify the author’s position/appeal as well.
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Lesson 2

Lesson Map

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