February 4

Obama’s Speech on Immigration

Today in class we reviewed the three classical rhetorical appeals: pathos, ethos, and logos. Each is created by a speaker in order to influence his/her audience. Obama, skilled in the art of rhetoric, employs all three through specific strategies and moves he chooses to make when speaking.

1) Which one of the appeals stands out most to you as you listen to his speech? And how did he create that appeal? (think about didls and tone) Be specific. Include evidence from the speech to convince me (your audience that you’re correct).

2) Next consider his target audience. To whom was he directing his remarks? How do you know? Did he shift during the speech? Do you think his appeals worked differently on different audience members? How? Explain your thinking. Be specific.

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Posted February 4, 2013 by tashak38 in category Uncategorized

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71 thoughts on “Obama’s Speech on Immigration

  1. Jose Prado

    Jose Prado
    Ms. Keeble
    5th period
    2/4/13

    After listening to President Obama’s speech on immigration I think he used all the appeals very well, but he one that stood out was ethos. The reason why is because he usually referred to and showed sympathy towards immigrants through out his speech. Which allowed him to have a personal/emotional connection with the immigrants. One example is that he said that they did wrong by crossing the border and it was illegal but it was for a good reason and they arent doing any harm.

    His audience that he was targeting was immigrants, but mainly latino immigrants. The reason why I know is because he says that this country was made up of immigrants and its what makes us unique and united because we are all immigrants.

    Reply
  2. Abraham N.

    Abraham N.
    AP English 11
    Ms. Keeble
    Period 5
    4 February 2013

    1) President Barack Obama uses a lot of appeals during his speech like pathos, ethos, but the one appeal President Obama used most was logos, which means an appeal of logic by means of persuading people. To me, logos is the most important appeal because it’s main purpose is persuading the viewer with actual facts and statistics, and instead of views or opinions, and without facts backing up what President Obama says, I believe that the crowd and the viewers at home would not believe what he is saying.

    For example, President Obama brought up the eleven million immigrants in America who came here illegally, saying that since they are already here, America should fix the economy around them, instead of kicking them out since they’re in the United States. I believe Obama used this fact as a background to the examples of popular American businesses like Intel and Instagram that were started by immigrants. The compassionate tone of the speech helped President Obama get his point across better, mainly because his diction in the speech made it seem like he’s sympathetic towards the immigrants because they’re just trying to make their families lives better.

    2) President Obama’s remarks were mainly to the people of the United States, and immigrants that are already in America, or trying to come to America. This is evident because his whole speech was about immigration, but during the middle of the speech, President Obama did change over to the lower and middle class citizens, which is most of America, stating that, “if we’re truly committed to strengthening our middle class and providing more ladders of opportunity to those who are willing to work hard to make it into the middle class, we’ve got to fix the system.” I believed that his appeals worked differently on people, because some American citizens have never had to deal with being an immigrant, and some wealthy people attending the speech never had to deal with being poor. But in some way, the appeals Obama used all had an effect someway on the viewers because everybody there either lived in America.

    Reply
  3. Brenda C.

    Brenda Contreras
    AP English 11, per 5
    Ms.Keeble
    4 February 2013

    1) In Obama’s speech the appeal that stands out the most to me is pathos. The way he communicates with his audience, in which there’s many lations and immigrants in makes him sound like he understands what they are going/go through because they are immigrants and don’t have the same right as American citizens. Throughout his speech he shows emotion for example when he said “I love you” back to someone in his audience. He is trying to appeal to his audiences emotional side not only the person who it was directed to but to everyone in the audience. He also shows emotion when he talks about Alan and how he was brought to the United States when he was little for a better life, when Obama was talking about that kid I felt a certain way about it because its sad how immigrants don’t have the same rights as American citizens even though they are humans as well.

    2) Obama’s speech is being directed to immigrant families, teenagers, and well basically everyone. People who are against immigrants having the same rights as American citizens play a huge role in an immigrants life. All the hatred and things they restrict them from doing is a way of putting them down and making them feel less than what they are to keep them from moving on and growing into better people each and every day. Its also directed to many teenagers that are struggling because of immigration issues, so they never give up and to hope for the best.

    Reply
  4. Phuong-My N.

    Phuong-My N.
    Keeble
    AP English, Per. 2
    4 February 2013

    Obama’s Speech on Immigration

    In Obama’s speech on immigration reform, the appeal that stood out to me the most was logos (logical appeal, word, reason, etc). He created that appeal by stating examples such as, “Intel was created with the help of an immigrant who studied here…Instagram was started with the help of an immigrant…” (9:29). Obama also uses history to get his point across that sending immigrants that came to America somewhere else will not help America grow new industries. That is why Obama is urging the need for comprehensive immigration reform. He states, “…we strengthened security on the border…Today illegal crossing is down nearly 80% from their peak in 2000…today deportation of criminals is at its highest level ever…” (10:45). He wants Congress to act and let the immigrants who pursue education and follow basic rules stay in the country since the U.S. has improved so much over the years about immigration policies.

    I believe Obama was targeting his remarks to the immigrants and citizens of the United States. He wants to let the immigrants know that he supports them because he understands what they are going through. He wants the citizens of the U.S. to see immigration from an immigrant’s point-of-view and listen to the reasons why the deserve to stay in the country. I think his appeals worked differently on audience members because throughout his speech, he mentioned certain topics that people of different races, ethnicity, and background could relate to.

    Reply
  5. Johanna G.

    Johanna G.
    Keeble
    AP English, Per. 2
    4 February 2013

    1. From the three types of rhetoric appeals used throughout Obama’s speech on immigration reform, I found pathos to stand out the most. For example, in the beginning of his speech, he replies to a lady, “I love you back!” to make her as well as the audience feel like they have a close connection with him. He appeals to his audience again when says, “Now is the time to find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as the land of opportunity.” Obama is trying to help the people remember what their country is all about. He is trying to make them realize that America is a country built off of immigrants and that some of our most famous businesses like Instagram and Google had the help of immigrants. Without letting immigrants have a chance to stay in America, we rid them of their opportunities.
    2. I believe that President Obama is directing his remarks towards the citizens of the United States and also the immigrants who find their way here. In my opinion, he is trying to persuade the people of America to notice the potential that immigrants have. They aren’t any different from us and we need to give them a chance to pursue their dreams. He is also speaking to immigrants because they need to acknowledge the fact that we want them here, but they need to arrive here legally. They have helped us and contributed to our society in several ways so why not be a part of it?

    Reply
  6. Joelynn D.

    Joelynn D.

    Ms. Keeble

    AP English – 2nd period

    04 February 2013

    1) While listening to Obama’s speech on immigration reform, the appeal that most stood out to me was logos. Just a few minutes in to his speech, Obama mentions many of these immigrants have done for America and why their contributions are important. Later, he then continues by saying, “We’ve got to fix the system. We have to make sure that every business and every worker in America is playing by the same set of rules… That’s common sense. That’s why we need comprehensive immigration reform.” This made logos stand out the most to me because Obama was basically saying that since immigrants are such a large part of society and contribute so much, it is only fair and just that comprehensive immigration reform be put in place. Logically, there is no other way to enforce fairness and morality without immigration reform.

    2) I think that Obama’s speech was mainly directed at the general population and those who do not really believe in comprehensive immigration reforms. His use of “we” and “our” shows that he believes those listening to his speech are the ones with the true power to decide what happens with immigration. His speech is also directed to those who oppose immigration because throughout his speech, the evidence and appeals he uses try to persuade the listener that immigration reform is necessary and ethical. At one point he does shift his audience to immigrants because he goes off to say, We’ll consider offering you the chance to come out of the shadows so that you can live here and work here legally.”
    I definitely think that his appeals worked differently on different audience members. For immigrants or those who agree with immigration reform, I think that they would find this speech empowering and inspiring. To them, Obama is on their side and fighting for their cause. For people who are low informed and not as aware, I think that the ethical and logical appeals would really stand out for them and strengthen Obama’s argument as opposed to those who are anti-immigration because he is backing up his argument with concrete facts and details.

    Reply
  7. Oscar G.

    Oscar G.
    February 4, 2013
    Period 1
    1. Barrack Obama’s speech relies on all three of the appeals: ethos, pathos, and logos. Obama’s speech about immigration relies mostly under pathos because there are just so many feeling and emotion that comes into one when speaking about immigration. Obama says things like, “I love you back,” and “most of us forgot that we used to be them.” An audience member screams out an “I love you” to Obama, Obama replies with an, “I love you back.” He is giving the sense that he does care for his people (American people) and is willing to fight for the people for whom he cares for. It becomes a sense of mutual love that makes the audience member feel. With his next quote, “most of us forgot we used to be them,” Obama is trying to reach for those who are settled here in the USA. As if he is trying to make them think back and reflect about themselves and how they were really in the shoes of the immigrants in the past.

    2. Obama appears to have two intended audiences: Immigrants and the American people. He reaches both of his targets in different ways with the same words. Such as the mentioning of how one in every fourth business was created by an immigrant. With this he not only encouraged immigrants to think, ‘well maybe I can make my own business to and go big time.’ But he also hit American people by making them think, ‘well if we let them stay around in the USA we can benefit in many ways if they do make something big out of them.’

    Reply
  8. Jhoann B.

    Jhoann B.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11 Per 2
    4 February 2013

    1. In his speech on the controversial topic of immigration, President Barrack Obama addresses the imperativeness of improving the country’s immigration system by engaging his audience through the three rhetorical appeals of pathos, logos, and ethos. Although Obama incorporates all three manifestations of appeals into his speech, he dominantly employs logos via his prevalent use of facts to support his argument that the inefficient immigration system of the nation needs to be mended. He reminds his audience of the contributions immigrants have made to the United States’ economy, stating that the success of American companies like Google and Instagram were given impetus to by people who didn’t originate from the United States. Obama says, “One in four small businesses is built by immigrants,” as a reminder that the economy of the United States is significantly fueled by the efforts of immigrants. Essentially, Obama believes that immigrants are a valuable asset to the American economy and hopes to provide them with a better life in the United States.

    2. Obama’s target audience is the entire population of the United States. He talks to American citizens and points out the commonalities they share with undocumented immigrants, particularly the desire to earn a living and live a better life. Obama speaks to immigrants and those who plan on immigrating to the United States declaring that there will be an immigration reform in the United States. His audience also includes students, promising the youth the reception of a good education and life-improving opportunities. Furthermore, Obama reaches out to anti-immigrants by stating how immigrants have contributed to the success of major American companies, including Yahoo and Intel. Ultimately, President Barack Obama directs his speech on immigration to everyone.

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  9. Andrea O

    Andrea O
    AP English
    Per.2

    After listening to Obama’s speech on immigration and what he believes should be the fundamental concepts in a comprehensive immigration reform ,I believe that he used the pathos appeal the most. While he also used the other two forms of rhetorical appeals , the pathos appeal appeared the most frequently because he appealed to his audience through emotional diction , figurative language , and syntax. He used emotional diction when he described how most immigrants “live in the darkness” thus evoking a sad mood because most people will reason that it is not possible for someone who lives under those conditions to be completely happy and will thus sympathize with the person. When Obama mentions that immigrants are “Woven into the fabric of our lives”, he is also appealing to emotion because he is using a simile to show those who are unconscious about the importance of the presence of immigrants in their lives that they matter and like it or not immigrants are there. Another way in which Obama uses pathos is through syntax because he repeats the phrase “ Now is the time” to highlight that the time for action is the now and the today. It is very evident that Obama is using pathos to appeal to his audience because towards the end of his speech he tells the story of the Alan Aleman who was brought to the United States as a young child and faced many struggles growing up because he didn’t have papers. All in all, I believe Obama used pathos the most during his speech to appeal to his audience because throughout the speech he uses various phrases to get his audience to see that while there is a debate about immigration it is more than just numbers and policies.

    At the beginning of his speech Obama was targeting the country as a whole including congress because he begins to emphasize that is time for action and that there need to be change . His target audience did shift to those who might possibly be against a comprehensive immigration reform towards the end of his speech because he appeals to them saying that while the debate in this specific issue may get candid they shouldn’t turn it into “Us vs. Them” because before they were part of “Us” they were the “Them” . He proceeds to talk about how the Irish, German. Russians , and even Chinese people faced racism and ridicule but in the end continued to help build a nation . As his target audience switched so did the effect he had on his audience because it would make sense to believe that those who favor a comprehensive immigration reform would agree with him throughout the speech but those who don’t may have been upset until he appealed to them emotionally. There was an emotional appeal for almost everyone whether they were young , old , conservative , or liberal as he gave statistics , data , and examples of those who are affected by the faulty immigration policies. Overall however , he targeted those who were more conservative because he gave them multiple reasons why there is a need for action

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  10. Alexia G. (period 1)

    1) President Obama uses all three appeals in his immigration speech; one that stands out most is logos. Throughout the speech he states many statistics to defend his reform. Obama says 1 in 4 business owners were once immigrants, there are 11 million undocumented immigrants, and the illegal crossing rate dropped by 80%. These are all logistical facts that attract the audience and show that he has credible knowledge of the issue.

    2) Obama does not set a direct target audience. He speaks generally on all immigrant races, but refers to all that are against immigration, the Congress specifically. He claims “we need Congress to act” and to pass the reform. Obama makes a smooth shift between immigrants and the Congress. He explains how many immigrant study here but cannot pursue their business because they are not citizens. Then is when he refers to Congress.
    The appeals do affect different audiences in their own ways. Obama’s emotional appeal affects the undocumented population more dramatically because they know he is aware of the situation and is acting on it.

    Reply
  11. Jonathan v

    Jonathan V
    Ms.Keeble
    Period 1
    Ap Eng and Comp

    1. The rhetorical appeal that stands out to me the most is pathos because President Obama uses this through almost every line in his speech and it actually creates a feeling. He creates this effect in the minds of the listeners because of the word choice or better of his diction, he knows how to use it properly and when to use it. To me the words he uses make me feel like it is my responsibility to help out the community and lift these people out of the shadows. One line that he keeps on pointing out through the whole speech in “help me get these immigrants out of he shadows into society”. This makes me feel bad because usually the only things that live in the shadows are people that do bad things and unwanted creatures that nobody wants to see. Another line he used that made me feel like “Dam” is, “ We and them are different but we were once them”. this made me feel like I came from very archaic times, because I am young and them can be very elderly people, the age difference.
    2. President Obama was directing these remarks to the American people because after all, they are the ones that are the citizens here the immigrants are trying to get the approval to be here. He actually did shift during the speech because from the beginning he started to address the Amerian people and them he began to say that it is not just the Americans job to make this, it is everyone’s effort. I think that the appeals worked both ways because both sides felt the sense of responsibility to make this happen. To some that may have a different opinion of immigration might feel no remorse of what they think about this whole issue.

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  12. Sidney

    Sidney
    Ap English
    04 February 2013
      
    1) The appeal that was most evident in Obama’s speech was Pathos. During his speech Obama used many terms and examples describing the life of an immigrant. For example referring to immigrants as living in the shadows, giving you the feeling of an unseen society. When he talks about the history of masses who left their countries for various difficult reasons, he makes one think about the life of an immigrant and the fears they face.  “Us VS Them” is actually the same thing, except that a certain group switched sides, also makes you sympathize with the current immigrant because everyone in the United State should be able to understand very well the extent of pain and hardships one goes through just to get to the US, only to face poverty when already here. 

    2) In the first half of his speech, it seemed that Obama  was referring to the immigrant community. He was acknowledging them, bring them out of the shadows and giving them faith. This was proven with their chanting of “Si se puede” which personally left me teary eyed, seeing the unity in their community. During his speech their was a shift when he mentioned obtaining citizenship as something that should not be easy. He implied fairness and consequences in the work force when it comes to immigration. I think his effort to make the immigration reform appeal to both for and anti immigration parties was successful. He explained the pros and cons of the reform that would effect both citizen and non-citizens. His main point being that the reform is necessary no matter what side you are on.

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  13. Amacalli Duran

    Amacalli D.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    5 February 2013

    In his speech directed towards an immigration reform, Obama utilized rhetoric appeals to entice his audience. Obama skillfully dominated his speech with logos, such as data, stats, and history, to gain support. He used a highly confident tone and concrete words for diction to further appeal to logos. Obama logically explained how at one point everyone was an immigrant. Obama exclaimed, “The Irish, who left behind a land of family, The Germans who fled persecution, The Scandinavians, who arrived eager to pioneer west, the Polish, the Russians…” Regardless of if we claim ourselves citizens, at one point, everyone immigrated to this nation considered the land of opportunity. Logos is further used, when Obama stated, ““Immigrants help start businesses like Google and Yahoo”…. “One in four high tech startups founded by immigrants.” “Eleven million undocumented immigrants in America.” People believe immigrants are a hindrance to society and do not help advance America. However, Obama’s evidence proved how immigrants assisted in creating new business, technological services, and international internet sites. Obama further explained how an immigrant may hold the answer to a question we ask, but we instead silence them. Without the use of the rhetorical appeal logos, Obama would not have provided his audience with sufficient evidence to why an immigration reform is imperative in society.

    Obama’s targets varied from immigrants themselves, to friends and family members of immigrants, immigration supporters, and immigration enforcers. Obama used rhetoric appeals to form a compromise between the different perspectives of these groups. Obama used logos to persuade immigration enforces that we were once all immigrants and we all deserve the chance to become citizens. He also explained that immigrants will be placed behind those who are attempting to come legally, as to not cause disagreement. He used pathos when dealing with friends and families of immigrants and immigrant supporters by stating that no one should have to wait to be reunited with their family. He also appealed to this party by explaining the hardships of immigrants. At least, Obama directed ethos to immigrants and describes their credibility due to their findings and businesses. In the end, this is how Obama manipulated rhetoric appeals.

    Reply
  14. Maribel Rodriguez

    Maribel Rodriguez
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    4 February 2013

    1) In Obama’s immigration speech he shows many forms of pathos, logos, and ethos. At the very beginning of the speech, some one yells “I love you” to Obama and he replies by saying, “I love you back.” This shows pathos because he is showing emotional appeal toward his audience. He also shows logos when he repeats, “It’s common sense, that is why we need comprehensive immigration reform.” He shows reasoning for why the immigration reform should be passed. The way he shows ethical appeal is how he mentions all of the immigrants we have coming into this nation and how they have contributed to the growing of big industries. This tells the audience that he sees some “use” for these immigrants unlike other who are against immigration.

    2) I think that Obama’s speech was mainly targeted towards the ones who are against immigration. Throughout his whole speech he shows how immigrants affect this country in a positive way and what they deserve. He is trying to persuade the audience into believing why this reform should be passed. To target these audience members he used logos because he tries to explain his logic on this subject by repeating, “It’s common sense.” He also directed his speech to all immigrants by using pathos. Obama is comprehensive in his speech to what all immigrants have to go through and this builds emotional appeal to all immigrants in the audience.

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  15. Bilguun Batdorj

    Bilguun Batdorj

    AP English

    Ms. Keeble

    4 Feb 2013

    1.) When I watched President Obama’s speech on immigration reform, it moved me and gave me hope for a better life. The president accomplished this by using rhetorical appeals: pathos, logos, and ethos. The one rhetorical appeal that succeed the most is pathos, an appeal through emotion. One specific example is Alan’s struggles to become an American by applying for the Dream Act. President Obama states that Alan is like any other American except for the fact that he is regarded as an illegal alien on his papers. According to the President, Alan did not get to get a driver license or work at the mall during high school but that did not stop him from getting his education and doing his part as an American.

    2.) His main target audience is immigrants, both legal and illegal. Because of his use of rhetorical appeals, he gives the audience the knowledge that he understands what immigrants are going through and how hard they want to become U.S citizens. Coincidentally, he also aims to win support from average Americans by giving them the resurgence that his reforms will not hurt the economy and endanger the safety of the American people. He states that his administration will deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes but at the same time allow hardworking illegal immigrants a pathway towards citizenship.

    Reply
  16. Canyon Riley

    Canyon Riley
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11
    4 February 2013
    1) Obama addresses the issues of the current immigration policy in his reform speech and uses rhetorical appeals to assert his argument. Obama appealed to ethos more than logos and pathos. He discusses about a “Shadow Economy: a place where employers may offer them less than the minimum wage… all the businesses trying to do the right thing: that are hiring people legally, paying a decent wage, following the rules, they’re the ones who suffer.” Many Americans know that the jobs given to illegal immigrants have inhumane working conditions, but don’t realize that it’s poisoning the economy and threatening the businesses that are following the rules. Obama wants to know if we value a country with businesses making their earnings legally or a country with making their earnings equivocally.
    2) This speech is attended for those who are in the dark on the subject of immigration. Many Americans, mostly conservatives, are skeptical of the benefits of immigration and push for laws and regulations to make it harder for immigrants to come America, let alone stay in it. And there are Americans who hear rumors about immigration, whether it is good or bad. Obama wants to dispel any confusion surrounding immigration by giving out the facts and letting our morals decide whether immigration is blessing in disguise or the death of the country.

    Reply
  17. Maria

    Maria
    AP English, Period 2
    Ms.Keeble

    1. Through out the speech Obama uses all three appeals to appeal to the audience, and put us in a spot where we feel supported by our president. An appeal that stands out the most to me is pathos. Pathos where shown all through out the speech since the begging. it was impressive how he used this appeal so that we could feel that we actually have someone who is trying hard to make the best out of this country so that we feel confident and secure. When he responds “I love you back” to an audience member, it surprised me a lot because he is offering us his care and love towards everyone in this country. He is showing that we have someone who we can look upon and know that he will always be there to make the best out of this country. Something that also touched me a lot was when he said “You shouldn’t have to wait years for your family to join you in America.” He tries to use Pathos in this sentence by bringing an image into our brains of how hard it would be if we were to be in these people’s situation. It brings an image ti the audience mind, and places us in those immigrant shoes for a few seconds.

    2. His target audience is the whole United States. His remarks were directed to every single person of us because he wants us to put ourselves in their shoes for a few seconds and realize how their live’s really are. When he says that immigrants have to live their lives under a shadow, he wants us to imagine how we would feel if we where to be in their exact place. Pathos were directed to every person, but logos were directed to those whom are against the immigration reform because he is trying to make these people realize how much immigrants have provided to this country.

    Reply
  18. Brittany-Ann D.

    Brittany-Ann V. Dela Cruz
    Keeble
    AP English
    4 February 2013

    In President Obama’s Immigration Reform, the use of pathos stands out the most. He provides an emotional appeal by using diction and tone. The word choices of ‘I believe’, ‘common people’, and ‘nation’ create a feeling of hopefulness and power. These specific words bring a sympathetic tone to Obama’s speech that allows the audiences to connect with him on an emotional level.

    Obama targeted his speech toward everyone living in America. It was directed to the poor, middle class, citizens, and especially those undocumented. I know this because referred to the audience as the common people. On the other hand, Obama did shift his attention throughout his speech. He used logical appeal for the high-class to show that the economical crisis will go down once we document citizens. He also used pathos for the middle and lower class to prove that an immigration reform is a must in our nation. By using different rhetorical strategies, Obama can persuade each type of audience and appeal to their senses.

    Reply
  19. Yarelli Lopez

    Yarelli Lopez
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English Language & Composition
    4 February 2012

    1) In Obama’s immigration speech, the appeal that stands out the most to me is pathos because as some of us already know, this topic is quite emotional. Obama knows that by including feelings in his speech, he can persuade people to have the same feelings as an immigrant supporter. One thing he mentions, “most of us forget that we used to be them.” I strongly support that assertion because most of us are not Native Americans; therefore, our ancestors or even us came as immigrants into this country looking for a better life. So we have no right whatsoever to decide who can enter this country or not. Obama makes you think about that, using eloquently syntax that is very persuading.

    2) Obama directs his speech to the folks that are against immigration by giving examples of how most of us come from immigrants and in a way how that makes us immigrants too. He also tries to point out the benefits of having an immigration reform. For instance, better economy, more jobs, more students going into college, and no separation in between families. He wants to persuade people to think that giving a legal form of residence to immigrants will do us no harm but rather a lot of good.

    Reply
  20. Gonzalo Haro

    Gonzalo Haro

    1) Obama used a lot of logos during his speech. His logic throughout was impeccable. He was able to explain his views and provided reasoning behind them. For example, he said that immigrants helped create jobs, then he explained exactly why. Also, he gave examples of great companies that have risen due to the help of immigrants. He didn’t provide many statistics or charts, but his use of logic was terrific.

    2) I think his audience is anti-immigration people. He seems to focus a lot of his effort into telling the audience why immigration is good for the United States’ economy, which implies that he needs to convince someone that disagrees with immigration that it’s actually a good thing. Then, towards the end of his speech, he seems to switch his words to appeal to the general public and legal immigrants. He explains that the immigration process will be slow, but fair, and legal immigrants who have already started the process are first in line. That says that he wants to appeal the the general public and legal immigrants to let them feel good about the reform.

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  21. Adria

    Adria W.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 2 per.
    2/4/13

    !) One of the appeals that stood out to me in President Obamas speech was ethos. He uses ethos by pointing out the different immigrants who are working hard and benefiting American economics by the work they have accomplished and the authority they are gaining by doing so. For example, Obama states that some immigrants helped create businesses, such as Google and Yahoo, and goes on to say that “..they created entire new industries that in turn, created new jobs and new prosperity for our citizens..”

    2) I feel as if Obama was directing his remarks to American citizens who are against Immigration or don’t tolerate it. President Obama discussed the plans he had that might make a person who is against immigration rethink about, such as the consequences towards businesses that hire someone who is in the U.S. illegally, but also had plans that seemed fair and would help immigrants with becoming a citizen. I saw it as Obama creating some balance for each side of the issue. Throughout his speech, Obama would mention the immigrants that cause problems and are labeled as criminals but then would bring up immigrants who work equally as hard to provide for their family just as the legal citizen would. I think his appeal would have worked on differently on audience members who did not care about the possible future of the economy and how legal immigrants could help with that.

    Reply
  22. Mercedes G.

    Mercedes G.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    2-4-2013
    I feel that Obama mainly used Logos because he would use logic to give the audience another view on immigration. By giving the audiences a logical explanation it could let them rely on something other than just words but statistics. So Obama would give facts such as there are 11 million immigrants in the United States, and the fact that some immigrants helped make Google, Intel, and Instagram. Obama used logos to show that immigrants here actually do something amazing that many Americans use today.
    I believe that Obama is directing his remarks to the citizens of the United States because he says that we need these immigrants that are in our Universities to be successful and be useful in our country not our competitor’s country. By doing so we would build up the economy again and have a whole lot more of jobs for the people of the United States. Obama does switch who he is talking to because he mentions that immigrants shouldn’t have to wait years for their families to arrive in this country, and he directed this towards the immigrants that can relate to the situation.

    Reply
  23. Sarai P.

    Sarai P.
    AP English
    Keeble
    4 February 2013

    1: In his speech, President Obama appeals to all three rhetoric styles, however he primarily relies on ethos. President Obama repeatedly reminds the public that immigrants who over stayed their visas, or came illegally should not be smiled upon, yet he reminds his audience that immigrants in the great scheme of things impact the American society. Not only is Obama trying to reach out for the immigrants who live in constant fear telling them its figuratively saying ‘it’s okay’, but he is also reaching out to the general public who disagree with immigrants for one reason or another.

    2: Personally, I believe that President Obama is attempting to reach out to the those in general disagreement with immigrants abiding in the United States. President Obama is directing his speech to those against immigrants because they are the reason as to why other reforms have failed. In the past, those pro-reform had been targeted and rallied, encouraged to vote, yet those against would win out due to the fact that they were given an ultimatum and were never given a chance to a happy medium.

    Reply
  24. Jashleen Singh

    Jashleen Singh
    Ap English
    2/4/13

    1)In Obama’s moving speech regarding a new immigration reform, he used a variety of ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to his audience. However, his use of pathos was what caught my attention the most. When he states that there are 11 million men and women living in the shadows of our country, hearts dropped. For documented citizens to continue living their lives after that statement, without feeling any type of guilt is absurd. To not acknowledge the wrong in the situations of those who are only, “looking out for their families” those who, “are getting paid less than minimum wage, and not getting paid for overtime” is impossible. Also, when Obama sates, “It turns into Us v. Them, but we forget that us, used to be them.” It opens the eyes of many citizens and causes them to realize that they and their families were no different from immigrants today, so why must these immigrants continue to suffer? I believe Obama’s best appeal to pathos is when he mentions a boy name Allan of Mexican decent. He introduces Allan as being born in Mexico and brought to grow up here in the U.S. When he mentions how Allan did not have the privileges of documented students such as having a license or a summer job, simply because he was American in every way except for one, and that was on paper, the audience cannot help but to feel sympathy for him. When Obama announces that Allan was the first to sign up and get accepted into his new program of letting him stay, and that Allan was now studying to become a doctor, happiness filled the crowd. When he states that Allan said, “I felt the fear vanish.” joy is filled in the audience’s hearts.

    2) I feel his target audience was both immigrants and American citizens. During his speech, he mentions the success of Google, Yahoo, Intel, and Instagram was due to immigrants. This gave immigrants the credibility they deserve, and makes those citizens who are anti-immigration realize that these immigrants are making a difference in our lives. I felt as if his speech drifted from letting immigrants know that they are accepted and they are deserving of a citizenship, to making current citizens realize that there are so many positive outcomes for our country from immigration.

    Reply
  25. Aaron C

    Aaron Chon
    Ms Keeble
    APENG 11 P2
    05 February 2013

    1. The most obvious and prominent use of the rhetorical appeals featured by Obama during his speech in Las Vegas concerning immigration reform was pathos. Obama keeps promoting American nationalism and the pride that citizens have for being American, bringing up the masses by making them proud of themselves. He also expresses contention by describing the possibilities of sending potential inventers and innovators among the youth to different countries, which sparks feelings of antagonism and competition within the audience. A final effective example of Obama’s use of pathos was his describing the story of Alan Aleman, who was an individual that while born an immigrant, was able to find success in education. This story is inspirational in that it is a vision that many of similar conditions stride for, and proves that there really are individuals that are able to accomplish such.

    2. The intended target audience of Obama’s speech was the modern citizens of the United States that populate the middle class. The choice of examples that he used when describing the creations of immigrants that came to the United States were primary based on the internet, his choices being Google and Instagram, which are primarily familiar to the younger members of American society. He always speaks in such a way that describes not only what he and the government need to do, but what “we” (Obama and his audience) needs to do. It requires little observation to arrive at the conclusion that from aside the government, the people need to take an active role in creating the next step forward, which he pushes with a sense of urgency by saying that “The time is now”.

    Reply
  26. Alicia Gonzales

    Alicia Gonzales
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English 11
    4 February 2012
    1.) In President Obama’s speech, though he uses each appeal a number of times, the one that I noticed most was pathos. Based on words he said, it seems like he truly understands immigrants’ intentions in immigrating.
    For example, he states, “Yes, they broke the rules, they crossed the border illegally…But they weren’t looking for trouble, they were looking out for their families.”
    I feel like Obama understands that immigrants just wanted a chance at a better life, and felt that coming to the United States would give them more opportunities to give themselves and their family the best life possible.

    2.) Throughout Obama’s speech, certain parts are directed to adults while some is directed to teens. When he mentions Instagram, it can be directed toward us teens that use that site on a regular basis.
    2.)

    Reply
  27. Angelica G

    Angelica G.
    Period 1
    1. The pathos appeal stood out to me the most throughout Obama’s speech on the immigration reform. Obama created this appeal from the beginning of his speech by responding “I love you back,” to an audience member. Obama’s smile seconds after, showed he cared and made the public feel loved. When Obama also mentions “These 11 million men and women are now here… the overwhelming majority of these individuals aren’t looking for trouble, they’re contributing members of the community.” as the audience hears that the president is on their side and has a similar point of view they are appealed to a sense of security. The way Obama approaches the audience with his use of pathos makes the audience be pleased with his words.
    2.I think that Obama’s main target audience is the immigrant population. It is only common sense that the president’s targeted audience would be those who would be affected by the reform. I know this because he mentions the “11 million immigrants,” how “we need the comprehensive immigration reform,” that “it is not just about the folks that come here illegally… it’s also about the folks that try to come here legally.” By Obama’s repetition of the word immigrants, the public understands that it is the immigrant population being addressed.

    Reply
  28. Valeria Diaz

    Valeria Diaz
    AP English
    Period 5
    Ms. Keeble
    4 February 2013
    1) At the beggining of the video, Obama showed Pathos by responding back to his audience when someone yelled “I love you” and he responded saying “I love you back” starting at 2:40 in the video. He also shows Logos by explaining to his public that immigrants have been able to creat jobs to other people that live in the United States. Presidents Obama let’s the audience know everything they need to know about immigrants. The Dream act shows his emotion on young immigrants who live in America. Obama quotes the Dreamers as “The young people who were brought to this country as children.” at 11:10. His emotion was shown because he put thought that immigrants came here as innocent children to begin a life here in the United States of America. He continues to show pathos by mentioning various of races that have migrared to the USA in 19:50. When Obama mention how the USA was created, i felt his emotion through two simple words. “Hand by hand, brick by brick.’ at 21:30. Over all, his speach was surrounded by pathos.
    2) I believe that the audience he is targeting is to young people because he believes that we are the future. He also aimes to people who have been working hard like immigrants and to people that know how America works. This quote caught my attention because he targets immigrants who are willing to help and create a change. “If we are truly commited to strenghten our middle class and provide more ladders of opportunity to those who are whilling to work hard to make it into the middle class, we have to fix the system, we have to make sure that every buisness worker in America is playing by the same set of rules.” 8:00-8:20. Obama aimes at lower class and young people who can make a difference in America.

    Reply
  29. Alicia O.

    Alicia Oseguera
    AP English
    Ms. Keeble
    4 February 2013

    Obama’s speech relating to the contreversial topic of Immigration includes all three of the appeals: logos, ethos, and pathos. The appeals to pathos is the one that stands out the most although. Pathos is the appeal to emotion towards the audience and Obama uses it a lot. It was easy for Obama to create the appeal to pathos since immigration is already a very emotional topic that to many people is important. He created this appeal by his use of phrases like, “to all these wonderful students”, “I love you back”, and ” most of us forget that we used to be them”. All these phrases helped him create his appeal of pathos by his tone and syntax. The way syntax was used appealed these phrases to pathos. Not only that but his tone which was very firm and persuasive is what appealed to pathos. For example, in the phrase ” to all these wonderful students” Obama chose his syntax carefully to create the appeal to pathos just like in this phrase he chose to include wonderful before students to catch the emotion of the students making them feel appreciated. If it was not for the syntax he used and the tone in which he announced them the appeal to pathos would have not been present.

    Obama’s speech had its main target which in my opinion was those who are against immigrants. This is visible during the speech by the remarks he makes. Not only that but his use of persuasive phrases to make those that are against immigrants be supporting the immigrants. For example, when Obama asserts how many of us here are immigrants even with the citizenship since many have ancestors from another country that is not the US he is appealing to both in one case getting them to understand and in another one being proud. In my opinion his appeals work the same on all audiences since immigration is known and popular among most of us in the US. His persuasive phrases are still appealing to the emotion of those who are immigrants themselves or support the immigrants. No matter which audience it is his appeals will work the same. The way he phrases his words allowed the appeals to work for all the audiences making all audiences feel included/engaged in the speech. 

    Reply
  30. Tanzeel H.

    Tanzeel Hak
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English, Period 2
    4 February 2013

    1) Barack Obama uses three types of rhetoric appeals including pathos, ethos, logos in his speech on Immigration. The one that I found extremely apparent was logos, the appeal to logic. Throughout the speech Obama uses real world examples to defend where he stands on the topic. He reminds us that we all come from different nationalities and that technically most of us can be categorized as immigrants. This example makes the audience think about the hatred, resistance, racism, and hardship they have endured to be where they are today. Obama wants us to reflect on our pasts and think, why are we putting others through the same pain? Why are we not assisting them to have better opportunities, achieve their goals, and thrive in the United States? Why are we not giving the support we once wanted too? Obama wants us to think about what our relatives went through to get to where they are today. What if they were deported and had their dreams demolished?

    Obama continues to effectively use logos by telling immigrant success stories. He states that companies such as Google, Yahoo, Intel, Instagram were built with the assistance of immigrants. One in four tech companies and small businesses are built by immigrants. These companies help our economy. Every single one of them create jobs that are desperately needed at times like this. Obama believes that it is not very smart to give immigrants the education they need to build huge companies and then proceed to send them back to their countries. This hurts our economy on a day to day basis. These immigrants have the ability to create million if not billion dollar companies that can give thousands of Americans jobs. So why deport them? It just gives other countries an opportunity to seize the moment and takes these once American students and foster their own economic growth.

    2) Barack Obama’s remarks were to the whole population, not to just the citizens of the United States. This was made apparent by the comments he made; for example, “this country was built on immigrants,” and, “immigrants have helped start companies like Yahoo and Google,” makes people who are citizens think about the good that immigrants have brought to the United States. Other comments such as, “the time has come for immigration reform” are more towards the immigrants to give them the hope that it is a new day and a time for change in the immigration system. The rhetoric appeals are different for various people. Looking at the quote, “that companies such as Google, Yahoo, Intel, Instagram were built with the assistance of immigrants,” it’s ironic that the people who hate immigrants probably would not be affected by this quote, resulting in the appeal not working, whereas the immigration reform supporters would be greatly affected by it and concur that it is the time for change.

    Reply
  31. Kiloni D

    Kiloni Driskell
    4 February 2012
    AP English
    2

    1) In President Obama’s speech on immigration reform, I think Pathos standed out the most especially when he mentioned Alan Aleman, who was brought to America by his parents. Alan got the opportunity to remain in America for the next two years and was the first one to be approved in Nevada. Allen is now in his second year of college, studying to be a doctor. “We have 11 million undocumented immigrants in America; 11 million….now here”. Obama uses the syntax parallelism to help others acknowledge the number of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Obama’s tone was optimistic and determined. Obama’s goal is to let every immigrant have the opportunity to live the American dream.

    2) Obama was directing his remarks to Latino(a) immigrants and the people of the United States. I think his appeal worked differently on different audience members because most American citizens have friends who are undocumented. Plus, most families cannot be together because they are not allowed in the U.S.

    Reply
  32. Desiree N.

    Desiree N.

    Ms. Keeble

    AP English

    4 February 2013

    1) Obama uses classic rehtorical appeals in his speech. The rehtorical appeal that stands out to me the most is pathos. He created the appeal to emotion by making comments that people can connect to such as talking about instagram and google. Obama also uses words such as “we” and “us” to make the listener feel like he is talking about us personally. In the beginning of his speech, a lady yells “I love you!”, Obama yells back “I love you back”, he is showing affection to his audience which makes the audience connect to him on an emotional level.
    2) I believe Obama was direction his remarks to a wide range of people. While listening to his speech, immigrants, the working class, teenagers, and the Republicans came to mind. He refers to the Republicans and says what he believes they should do. By mentioning instagram, Obama is grabbing teenager’s attention. He speaks about success stories with immigrants which target the working class and immigrants. Having different appeals on different groups of people make each group feel important, making them want to listen to what Obama is saying.

    Reply
  33. Dartise

    Dartise
    Feb. 4, 2013
    Ap English, Ms.Keeble

    1.) The appeal that stands out to me would be ethos and he creates this by stating, “Most of us were immigrants.”

    2.) He was referring to the founders of America because he made a reference to those who moved to America for new beginnings and better opportunities. He stayed consistent to his references of how we were all immigrants. Yes, it would have a different effect on people who go against immigrants coming to America and making it go corrupt.

    Reply
  34. Rebekah N.

    Rebekah Novak
    AP English 11
    Ms. Keeble
    4 February 2013

    While listening to Obama’s speech, the appeal that stood out the most was ethos. Obama created this appeal by continuously referring back to the sympathy he felt towards immigrant workers and employers. “Yes, they broke the rules… but majority of them aren’t looking for trouble; they are only trying to make a living…” While Obama’s tone suggested it was okay, but not right for immigrants to be here, he appealed to the hearts of the immigrants themselves. He not only tried to encourage them to do the right thing but also reassured the unsure American’s that these are not bad people but only people who “are only trying to make a living” just as we are.

    2. Not only was Obama’s audience the illegal and legal immigrants living in the United states, but also those who couldn’t vote for him, the youth, and Republican’s as well. When Obama stated that “Instagram was started with an immigrant who studied then stayed here” he was directing his remarks to the youth. Also, the fact that this speech was said at a high school told me he was aware of his audience and surroundings. Another target audience the president had was Republican’s. “… for the first time, Republican’s and Democrat’s are trying to work together… their is a genuine desire to get the job done… ” In doing this, the President was able to not only appeal to the republican party, but also to people who can feel the president is biased in his decisions for the country. Because the president is able to successfully appeal to a number of audiences, uninformed voters are able to be informed, the youth, although not able to vote, can feel included and remembered, and politician’s who most of the time don’t agree with our republican president, can finally agree with him momentarily.

    Reply
  35. Rachel N.

    Rachel N.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English Language & Composition
    5 February 2013

    1) The appeal that stood out the most to me as Obama was making his speech was pathos. With utilizing an emotional appeal, Obama was able to intrigue excitement, passion, and compassion. While speaking Obama starts outlining his plan of what he wants to do. Obama says, “I’m here today because the time has come for common-sense, comprehensive immigration reform. (Applause.) The time is now. Now is the time. Now is the time. Now is the time.” By using repetition to articulate his point for the need of immigration reform, he instills a sense of pride and determination within the audience. Obama creates this appeal by first outlining the current facts about how our nation is suffering currently without this reform. Obama says, “Because all the businesses that are trying to do the right thing — that are hiring people legally, paying a decent wage, following the rules — they’re the ones who suffer. They’ve got to compete against companies that are breaking the rules. And the wages and working conditions of American workers are threatened, too.” After establishing the facts, Obama then goes on to guilt-trip America by telling us that our money would be going to waste if we do not reform. He says, “Right now, there are brilliant students from all over the world sitting in classrooms at our top universities. They’re earning degrees in the fields of the future, like engineering and computer science. But once they finish school, once they earn that diploma, there’s a good chance they’ll have to leave our country. Think about that.” With using pathos, Obama instills within us the very emotions that will persuade to support his immigration reform.

    2) Obama’s target audience is the middle-class Caucasian population of America. He was directing his remarks to these people to remind them that if we are not Native American, we are all immigrants. Also, the majority of our middle-class Caucasian citizens are paying our taxes and helping the economy grow. He says, “The Irish who left behind a land of famine. The Germans who fled persecution. The Scandinavians who arrived eager to pioneer out west. The Polish. The Russians. The Italians. The Chinese. The Japanese. The West Indians. The huddled masses who came through Ellis Island on one coast and Angel Island on the other. (Applause.) All those folks, before they were “us,” they were “them.” Moreover, he desires for our Caucasians to invest and support his immigration reform. Obama does shift his appeals to audiences from Latinos to Caucasians. First, he begins to really rally on how Latinos have made numerous contributions to society. Meaning that they deserve to be granted citizenship. Obama says, “Think about it — we define ourselves as a nation of immigrants. That’s who we are — in our bones. The promise we see in those who come here from every corner of the globe, that’s always been one of our greatest strengths. It keeps our workforce young. It keeps our country on the cutting edge. And it’s helped build the greatest economic engine the world has ever known.” His appeals did work differently on different audience members. For the Latinos, since there is a vast majority of them, he really wanted to make them feel proud, important, and accepted. Whereas with the Caucasians, he desired for them to feel obligated and guilty to do the right thing and stop being hypocrites. Obama’s emotional appeals catered to America in where immigration reform became a golden step decision for our country to make.

    Reply
  36. Johan Ocegueda

    Johan Ocegueda
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English
    4 February 2013
    The appeal that stands out most to me are the pathos Obama uses. He gave many examples of the good things that immigrants have brought to the United States. One example would be when Obama states “They are contributing members of society. They are looking out for their families.” Obama uses the fact that the immigrants are here for a better life for their families. They are here to be happy, so that their families don’t suffer.
    I think that Obama was targeting those who believe that immigrants should not be here. I believe this because he is mostly speaking about why they deserve to stay here. He includes the creators of Instagram and Intel which were immigrants who actually gave the U.S. something to work with. But I sincerely don’t believe that his targets did not agree with him. There are people here who just plainly don’t want immigrants here and nothing can change their minds.

    Reply
  37. Veronica

    Veronica
    Feb. 4, 2013
    Ap English

    1.) Obama mostly uses pathos in his speech in order to connect with his audience members. For example, he says, “Immigrants, like the rest of us, are trying to earn a living” and “you shouldn’t have to wait years for your family to join you in America.”

    2.) His main audience members are those who have immigrant family members or those who don’t have citizenship in the United States. We know by the pathos he uses in order to make his speech more effective. I don’t think his appeals would change for different audience members because he refers to various groups of people instead of just referring to one.

    Reply
  38. Natasha R.

    Natasha R.
    Keeble
    Ap English
    Period 5
    4 feburary 2013

    1) When listning to Obama’s speech on immigration, I picked up on the ethos appeal more than the other two rhetorical appeals.Obama was appeal to portray ethos more becuase throughout the speech he mentioned how immigrants were important to the making of the counrty. He used examples such as, Google, Yahoo,and Instagram were created by the help of immigrants.
    2)President Obama’s main targets in his speech was to mainly to immigrants and their families. I know that his intentions were to immigrants and their famalies is when he brings up that it’s still a land of opportunity and that the immigrants deserve better living an pay. I belive Obama didn’t change his tone in his speech , though i do think that his ethos appeal hit more people than others.

    Reply
  39. Rachael B.

    Rachael Brandt
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English, Period 2
    4 February 2013

    President Barack Obama’s speech addresses the immigration policies and presents all rhetoric appeals to grasp every type of audience. The one to stand out above all is pathos. Obama clearly acknowledges all the legal immigrants in the U.S. that try to better themselves through education and become innovative with the new life they are given here. This example of pathos invokes sympathy among the audience who are already citizens. They realize that immigrants should not always be at fault for the corrupt government/society – they are here to excel. People cease to ignore the fact that the United States itself was built on immigration as Obama implies this in his speech when he says that many of the industries here were created by immigrants. Obama’s praise gives Americans a different perspective to what role immigrants have in the States because of the pathos appeal.

    Obama’s speech targets those who support anti-immigration. I believe he aims at this audience because of all the praise he gave to the immigrants showing they are not as bad as they are made up to be. These immigrants are discriminated by those who believe they should not be given equal opportunity, and they need to be given credit. He wants to present that immigrants should not be generalized or stereotyped as bad people who want to take away jobs, destroy the government, etc; they are people who can advance the country in many ways. Obama’s pathos of saying immigrants are here for a better life allowed him to easily obtain sympathy from this audience as well as everyone else.

    Reply
  40. Michael Griggs

    Michael Griggs
    Ms. Keeble
    Feb. 4 2012 ; Per. 5
    AP English 11

    President Obama delivered a speech on Immigration after being re-elected , as one of his first actions in his second term. During his speech, Obama used various rhetorical appeals, such as pathos, logos, and ethos. He uses them strategically, as he shifts from one tone , to another.

    In Obama’s speech, he refers to the audience, in a way that he appeals to them in a rhetorical style. He does this through ethos. Ethos is the appeal to ethics, which is in this case, the background of the audience. Because the audience are mostly young students of that college, Obama starts to discuss subjects that would bring them to attention. He first referred back to his main speech, on how to solve the problem on Immigration. He mentioned on how some of the most famous websites on the internet, were helped produced by immigrants. These sites included a well-known search engine: Google. This appealed to the audience because they were students whose majors were in the field of a more modern age, as Obama mentioned, such as computer science. This was all of an appeal through ethos, towards the audience, meant to grab their attention, and hold it through his speech, as he discusses his bigger idea on Immigrants being people who actually helped create great things in this country, that obviously helped influenced us to be what we are today.

    Reply
  41. Ryan C.

    Ryan C.
    Ms. Keeble
    Period 1

    1) The appeal that stands out the most in Obama’s speech is logos. In his speech, he talked about immigrant students on how they had to leave after they get an education. What also helped this appeal were the numbers Obama gave out about how many immigrants where there. These examples and more much similar all help the appeal of pathos in Obama’s speech.

    2) I think his target audience is Americans worried about immigration in the country. I know this because he talks about how companies were created with help from immigrants. Obama shifted during his speech when he was at first talking about immigrants and how they help, to how to solve the problems of immigration. Yes, I think his appeals worked differently on different audiences members. He does this by talking about how the country is built on immigrants and they being here will help. This appeal appeals to the citizens. Then he talks about how he will solve the immigration problem like shorter waiting period toward citizenship, which appeals to immigrants. All of these appeals were linked but were individually talked about which gave a nice effect to the audience.

    Reply
  42. Areli S

    Areli S.
    AP English11, 2
    February 4th 2013
    Ms. Keeble

    1. In President Obama’s speech, in regards to an immigration reform which took place in Las Vegas, there are many instances in which he uses logos, pathos and ethos. Each take a part of his speech, each being dominant at different points. The appeal that stands out the most would have to be that of logos. Throughout the speech, he uses data, history and statistics to appeal to his audience. He gives examples of how immigrants play important key roles in our society. “Immigrants help start businesses like Google and Yahoo”…. “One in four high tech startups founded by immigrants..” “eleven million undocumented immigrants in America”. Obama brings up other data as well, including past achievements regarding immigration issues, history of past immigrants that built this nation.Using this appeal, Obama is able to capture his audience by using evidence of why this immigration reform is needed. By using facts, the issue becomes more realistic and important, if no type of data was given the speech would loose a great part of its power.

    2. The speech most likely was directed to Congress. Obama wants this progress to take place now, but they need more support and thus is proposing this reform not only to the people but as well to that of Congress. When he speaks he uses “we” and it shows he is including himself and support. Congress or any other group of people that might not think that this reform is needed.

    Reply
  43. Ross Hatlen

    Ross H
    Keeble
    aping period 2
    4 January 2013

    In President Obama’s Speech on Immigration he uses ethos to appeal to his audience. He uses small anecdotes, facts, and statistic to appeal to his audience. Obama explains how Intel and Instagram were event by immigrants. These are very big companies, that make money that helps the economy. People want America to get out of the recession that they are in so letting immigrants stay will help out America. He also reveals the statistics of how many people have been deported because they have committed a crime. This appeals to the audience because they want America to be safer for Americans.

    Obama’s target in his speech were people already in America. In his speech he talks about things that will benefit people that are already here. The decreased crime rate and how the economy will be helped with the new business that the immigrants will make. I think they would not be effective on immigrants. the whole speech was on how people here are going to be effected. They would think that they are being used by the government. The immigrants would want to leave and find a place where they are not being used.

    Reply
  44. Caleb M.

    Caleb M.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP English, Per. 2
    4 February 2012

    1. Ethos was the appeal that stood out the most to me during President Obama’s speech. Throughout his speech, Obama spoke about the controversial aspects of illegal immigration and how it effects the economy, while also defending the rights of the illegal immigrants. Obama explains that businesses hiring illegal citizens and giving them longer hours is unfair to business that hire legal citizens. It is also unfair to the illegal immigrants that receive lower pay and struggle to make a living. By giving his stand on this, Obama gives a morale explanation on why something should be done about illegal immigration.
    2. Obama’s target audience appeared to be American citizens. In his speech, Obama refers to the immigrants as “them” or “they” when talking about illegal immigrants and says “We have to make sure…” when talking about the American people. I think the whole crowd gained the same message from the appeals given during the speech because Obama gave both logical and moral reasons on how the immigration system is flawed and why changes should be made for the country as a whole.

    Reply
  45. Thomas T

    Thomas T
    Keeble
    Ap english
    Period 1

    Obama’s speech on immigration uses pathos, ethos, and logos throughout his speech in a logical fashion. In the beginning of his speech, he uses ethos to connect to his audience about how immigrants made Instagram and Facebook, programs that the majority of the US use almost everyday. He also mentions how people make companies outside of the US, effectively creating competition rather than helping our economy at its current stature. Obama seems to shift his speech in between different types of audiences. When he addresses the fact that over 11 million people are undocumented immigrants, he seems to be talking to congress as those are people that aren’t able to help boost our economy by doing low-level jobs and are unable to start businesses as they are not considered American citizens. He talks between these audiences by stating facts and afterwards says something to appeal to ethos and pathos. When he talks about how the immigration system is outdated, he backs it up by mentioning that we were all immigrants at one point and some of the best businesses were made from immigrants who stayed in America. Obama consistently mentions how immigrants are important to our economy and uses big businesses as an example as well as our heritage to prove that immigration shouldn’t be considered a bad thing.

    Reply
  46. Elisha Hussain

    Elisha Hussain
    AP English 11, Period: 5
    Ms. Keeble
    February 4, 2013

    1) While watching President Obama’s speech, the classical rhetorical appeal that stood out to me the most was pathos. Obama wanted us to connect with him on a more emotional way. For example, ” I love you back.” (Obama 2:43). When an audience member yells out that they love President Obama he responds in such a manner that makes the audience feel as if he is one of them. President Obama also uses ethos to help bring out our beliefs and combine them into one. ” Think about it, we define ourselves as a nation of immigrants. That’s who we are in our bones.” (Obama 5:13-5:20). The president’s tone while saying this is very strong and grave. Presisdent Obama tries to get all of our beliefs together and transform them so that everyone can feel welcomed and loved in this nation.

    2) I believe that President Obama was trying to appeal to immigrants, people who have immigrated and still don’t feel at home, and those who don’t believe in the
    immigration system. Obama tries to appeal to immigrants, because he believes that we have been a multicultural nation for so long that we all have immigration in our bloods. President Obama believes that it would be a good idea for people to come and create a better life. He also tries to get the people who aren’t sure about immigration on board by explaining that we were and always will be a multicultural and immigrated nation. I believe that he shifted throughout the speech to prove his point and seem sincere as if he was reaching out towards the crowd. I do think that his appeals worked differently on different audience members. For the immigrants I believe that he tried to use pathos to appeal to them in a manner that made them believe that he cared for their well beings. As for the people who didn’t believe in the immmigration system, he uses ethos which brought him back to the morals and ethics on how we have strvied to be a diverse nation.

    Reply
  47. Efrain E.

    Efrain E.
    Period 1
    AP English 11

    1) The appeal that stood out to me the most from Obama’s speech is the appeal to pathos. He creates pathos by giving examples of situations that his audience members may be experiencing. He uses a sympathetic tone and tries to make connections between undocumented immigrants and American citizens. He does this by uses situations that immigrants and citizens both face. One example is that of an immigrant that comes to the United States to study at a university and earn his or her degree. This is something that any citizen in America might be doing as well. The only difference between the citizen and the immigrant is that the immigrant may have to leave the country after he or she earns his or her degree. The audience members may sympathize with the immigrants situation because he or she also wants to earn an education. This convinces the audience that keeping these immigrants in the country may be a good thing.

    2) Obama’s target audience in this speech includes anyone that is not convinced that there should be an immigration reform. His purpose is to convince everyone that there should be an organized immigration reform. Throughout the speech he uses different situations in which there is an immigrant that has the potential to greatly benefit the country, but cannot do so because they are undocumented and cannot fulfill their potential. Obama uses these appeals to convince skeptics that immigration reform is a good thing. His appeals only worked on audience members that were in similar situations or were able to sympathize with anyone in those situations. His examples may not appeal to people that are negatively affected by immigration or simply do not want more immigrants in the United States.

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  48. Dominique N

    Dominique N.
    AP English 11 Per 2
    Ms. Keeble
    4 February 2013

    1. The appeal that stood out the most to me in Obama’s immigration reform speech was pathos. Throughout the speech, Obama delivered many information and statics about immigrants, but towards the end he told the story of an immigrant who came to America as a child. The immigrant, Alan Aleman, was brought from Mexico to America as a child. Obama told the story of how in every way he felt like an American, but not on paper. During his teenage years he was not able to enjoy and participate in things his friends could, such as get his license or get a summer job. The way Obama delivers the story grabs the attention of my emotions. I started to think what it would be like if I were in the young boy’s situation, and how hurtful it would be to feel like I belong, but I am not accepted by society because it was not official on paper. The outcome of Alan’s story also appealed to my emotions, for it was a positive outcome to the uphill struggle he faced. This made me feel as if anything difficult struggle could be conquered, if you have the right attitude and determination. Obama was able to achieve this by using imagery, details, and language to shape his tone.

    2. I think that President Obama was directing his remarks to the middle class/average citizens of America and immigrants himself. I think this because he choses specific ways to appeal to his audience, by using ethos and pathos. The information he used such as sharing statics and personal stories did not seem like it would appeal to old rich white business men, who would most likely not care at all. I’m sure his stories about Alan Aleman and the struggle about immigrants throughout history would not appeal to someone like Bill Gates. I do not think that Obama shifted throughout his speech, I felt as if he stayed to a specific tone that appealed to the average American citizen. He grabbed my attention the whole time and appealed to me, I did not feel as if he was trying to everybody, for if he did, his message would not be as straight-forward as it was. All in all, I think that Obama did a great job at delivering this speech, and the message he brought along with it was definitely one to remember.

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  49. Jessica A

    Jessica A.
    Ms. Keeble
    AP Lang. & Composition, Per 5
    4 February 2013

    1.) In Obama’s speech about immigration reform, he uses pathos and logos to appeal to his audience. Obama mentions that with the help of Congress, they can find a “comprehensive approach that finally deals with the 11 million undocumented immigrants” (11:54). Doing so, he’s equipping the audience with logistical data of how many immigrants reside in the United States. Obama says, “if you are a citizen, you shouldn’t have to wait years before your family is able to join you in America. (16:58), which sparks an emotional appeal within his audience and within myself. The audience applauded his statement for the same reason I would- many of them had to wait years before their whole family could be reunited after immigrating.

    2.) His most obvious target audience is those who are immigrants in the country, but he also targets the young foreigners. In the beginning of his speech, he mentioned Instagram which is predominantly used by young folks. Because the young folks are the future of this country, he wants the young folks to be informed of who created Instagram, and that they shouldn’t feel obligated to leave the country after creating something that benefits our public. Also, he mentions that young foreigners who want to pursue a career (17:19) should be allowed to enter the country and do so, because if they succeed, they help create jobs and businesses for the American people. Different appeals affect each audience member differently. For example, a middle aged immigrant may feel pleased to know that their family is now free to join them, a young foreigner may feel inspired to pursue their career here and essentially help enhance our economy, and lastly an individual from the middle class may feel relieved to have new jobs and fairer taxes.

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  50. Diana Larios

    Diana Larios
    AP English 11
    1st Period
    4 February 2013

    1. In President Barack Obama’s speech regarding a new immigration reform, the appeal to pathos was the one that stood out the most to me. President Obama connects the struggles of those who suffer from immigration directly to everyone in our nation, whether you’re and immigrant or not. Obama states “…sometimes we forget that we were like them.” Making those that are anti-immigrant to realize that we are all the same and there is no difference because we are all technically immigrants. He also says that “we have an immigration system that’s out of date and badly broken; a system that’s holding us back instead of helping us grow our economy and strengthen our middle class…” his words bringing emotion to the audience letting them know that this immigration reform is eminent for our country to recover. It brings the emotion of worrisome, so people understand that they are and will be affected by the decisions that will be made.
    2. His speech is being directed to immigrants, and anti-immigrants. He is directing this to anti-immigrants because they are the ones that are holding back the possibility of change such as an immigration reform to be made. He wants to let them know that they are being affected by it and that it will be beneficial to them if the system is changed. He is trying to persuade them to be on his side and support his ideas. I also believe that he is directing his speech to immigrants so that they are aware that he is fighting for their rights as well. To keep their “HOPE” and so they believe in him. It sparks an emotion that makes them feel like one day soon they will belong and not be seen as an outsider.

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