Robert F Kennedys Rhetoric

Robert F Kennedys RhetoricThe aim of this dissertation is to digest explore into a plectron from Robert F. Kennedys 1968 presidential election effort lyrices, in order to outline the key features of his utterances that earned him success in stir masses and frightened the power structure.One of the minds I have trenchant to conduct research into Robert F. Kennedys rhetoric is personal. The speech given(p) on the parting character assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. has omitn my solicitude to Robert Kennedys ludicrous talent as a earthly concern speaker. The other reason is driven by the accompaniment that thither is a lack of literature directly discussing the aspects of Robert F. Kennedys rhetoric.With this work I privation to demonstrate that the do primary(prenominal) of Robert F. Kennedys rhetoric is one worthy to be explored and to suggest the consequence for further research.In Chapter 3, entitled Corpus Description and rating I describe the events and the sucker audiences of the preservevassd humanity manner of speakinges. In addition I also delineate the main lingual aspects of the particular speeches and I inform in what terms the analysed material meets the research criteria.In Chapter 4 I describe political speech as an soulfulness genre within the domain of political discourse. I also explain from what perspective Robert Kennedys studyed addresses make out under the genre of political speech.I devote Chapter 5 to Robert Kennedys biography, character cartoon and the historico-political background of the time for several reasons. During the depth psychology of the marrow squash research material I lay great emphasis on the stage settingual meaning (Firth 1957 in D sustaines 1998 371) of Robert Kennedys utterances. Therefore I want to make the quitorser familiar with the context and the so c altogethered ph eitherus resources (Fairclough 1989) within the discourse of Robert Kennedys selected addresses. Fairclough describes these member resources as prototypes which multitude have in their heads and draw upon when they produce or interpret texts including their knowledge of diction, representations of the natural and companionable worlds they inhabit, determine, beliefs, assumptions, and so on. they are social in the sense that they have social origins they are socially generated, and their temperament is dependent on the social relations and struggles out of which they were generated (Fairclough 1989 24)I watch Chapter 6 as the body of the thesis. This is the reason why its title is homogeneous with the title of the thesis. Within this chapter I devote separate subchapters to the discourse strategies and diametric aspects of Robert Kennedys rhetoric. I describe the rooms of addressing the localize audiences, the forms of interaction in the midst of Robert Kennedy and his audiences and the methods of skirmish of the target audiences. I examine the storey of Robert Kennedys a reaivity and personal interlocking in the selected addresses and I also introduce to the reader the means of horizon applied by Robert Kennedy and his rhetorical idiosyncrasies. Chapter 6 as the nearly analyzable and most extensive unit of the thesis is intended to allow for training essential for answering the research questions formulated in the pursuit chapter.2 Research Objectives, Hypotheses and MethodologyThe main objective of the analysis of Robert Kennedys selected creation addresses is to acc physical exercise out to what degree are his discourse strategies and rhetorical devices regulate by factors homogeneous the topics covered, the speech events and the nature of the target audiences.According to Stanley Fish at that place are two ways of language that have shaped the memorial of Western thought on the one hand, language that faithfully reflects or reports on matters of fact uncoloured by whatsoever personal or partisan agenda or desire and on the other han d, language that is infected by partisan agendas and desires, and therefore colours and distorts the fact which it purports to reflect. It is the utilisation of the guerrilla kind of language that makes one a rhetorician, while affixation to the send-off kind makes one a searcher beetle after impartiality and an objective observer of the way things are. (Fish 1989 in Richards 20086-7) I willing analyse the discourse strategies and the rhetorical devices in Robert Kennedys selected semipublic addresses with an additional intention to demo that in terms by Fish he is a seeker after truth and an objective observer of the way things are.During the writing surgery I will concentrate my effort on answering the following research questionsAre the discourse strategies and rhetorical devices predetermined by the topic rendered by the speaker?Are the discourse strategies and rhetorical devices predetermined by the speech event and the nature of the target audience?I would the han dle to build my hypothesis on Hallidays statement that all language functions in contexts of situation and is relatable to those contexts. The question is not what peculiarities of vocabulary, or grammar or pronunciation can be directly accounted for by appertainence to the situation. It is which kinds of situational factor determine which kinds of pick in the linguistic system. (Halliday 2009 94) by my research I will commence to prove that Robert Kennedys rhetorical devices and discourse strategies in his selected utterances are predetermined by situational factors like the topic, the speech event and the nature of the target audience. I hereby underline that I will analyse the contextual meaning (Firth 1957 in D throwes 1998) of Robert Kennedys utterances in order to substantiate my theory of predetermination.From the methodological perspective, I subject the research material to a qualitative political discourse analysis. I will conduct a critical reading of the transcripts of the selected public speeches and at the same time listen to the audio recordings of the addresses in order to outline also those aspects of Robert Kennedys utterances which cannot be exposed only by means of the analysis of their transcripts. These are especially the paralinguistic features, like the relish of fathom, intonation, gestures etc. The audio recordings will help me to clarify questionable situations where the question what is said? will not allow for any qualified judgements.In order to avoid lengthy repetitions of the titles of the selected speeches I have persistent to deploy an indexing method. Therefore I will further refer to the University of Kansas address as livery A, to the Remarks on the character assassination of Martin Luther King as Speech B and to the Cleveland city hostel address as Speech C. Through the research I will refer to Robert Francis Kennedy as Robert Kennedy or RFK.The core research material has been selected according to the fol lowing research criteriapublic speeches with a classical rhetorical organizational patternpublic speeches delivered to target audiences of different natureaddresses with various speech eventsaddresses with various topics of moral valuesutterances free of partisan agendasIn my work I predominantly blaspheme on the following literatureThe factual information for Robert Kennedys biography, character study and the historico-political background of the time I retrieve from Robert Kennedy and his Times (1985) written by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. and from RFK His Life and Death (1968) written by Jay Jacobs. The book RFK self-possessed Speeches (1993) edited and introduced by Edwin O. Guthman and C. Richard Allen contains valuable information round the events and the context of the selected public addresses.The theoretical knowledge for the analysis of the discourse strategies and rhetorical devices in Robert F. Kennedys selected public addresses I gain from the following worksLanguage and Power (1989) by Norman Fairclough is an especially useful source for critical discourse analysis as it contains several demonstrations of discourse analysis in practice. I use his seat for the interpretation of the utterance meaning in the analysed material from the beat of the analyst. I draw on his conception of the member resources within a discourse, which only ififies my decision to introduce to the reader the historico-political context of the analysed material and some biographic facts about Robert F. Kennedy.Meaning in Interaction an Introduction to Pragmatics (1995) by jenny Thomas provides me with the theoretical knowledge to decipher the illocutionary forces and the implicit meanings of Robert Kennedys particular utterances. Through the analysis of the selected addresses in Chapter 6 I rely on her model of interpreting illocutionary forces to understand the meaning of Robert Kennedys utterances depending on their context.Language and Society (2009) by M.A.K. Hall iday (edited by Jonathan J. Webster) furnishes me with the conceptions of the field, tenor and mode of the discourse, which allows me to identify, what is linguistically important in a given utterance in relation to its context. I build my hypotheses on Hallidays theory that external factors determine the individuals selections in the linguistic system. Through the all in all analysis of the selected addresses in Chapter 6 I rely on the preceding(prenominal) theory to identify to what degree are Robert Kennedys utterances predetermined from a linguistic perspective by factors, like the topic rendered, the speech events and the nature of the target audiences.3 Corpus Description and EvaluationThe analysed resource material of this thesis consists of a selection of three significant speeches of Robert F. Kennedys public addresses during his 1968 presidential thrust. Namely, in chronological order, the speech from March 18th, given at the University of Kansas, the Remarks on the Ass assination of Martin Luther King from April quaternary, delivered in Indianapolis and the Remarks on the Mindless Menace of personnel in America, delivered at the Cleveland city parliamentary procedure on April 5th.I would like to start the corpus description with some quantitative statistics about the analysed material.The most extensive of the texts in subject is the University of Kansas address which consists of 3942 words and 17 386 characters without spaces, the second text, which is the transcript of remarks on Martin Luther Kings assassination is composed of 618 words, counting 2653 characters without spaces and the last one, the Cleveland City Club address comprises 1080 words and 4700 characters without spaces.In the following pages of this chapter I will describe the analysed texts individually. My description will predominantly focus on the context behind the public addresses, including a portrayal of the setting and the articulation. At the end of the chapter I will also explain the reasons for integrating these particular speeches into the research.The University of Kansas address (further referred to as Speech A, in abbreviated form SA) was delivered by Robert F. Kennedy just two days after the announcement of his candidacy for the President of the linked States. It was the second real public speech of his freshly started campaign. He came to Kansas with doubts about his popularity, since the state was largely rural with a conservative majority, where he, as a liberal and a critic of the military efforts in Vietnam, could not continue much affability. (Kennedy and Guthman and Allen, 1993 323) To his and his staffs surprise, their warm reception at the campuses disproved their assumptions. With twenty thousand people present, Robert Kennedy drew the largest crowd in campus history. (Kennedy and Guthman and Allen, 1993 327) He came to the university to gurgle to young people, the radical of citizens his campaign program predominantly aimed at. The persona of his speech was to express his viewpoint towards the situation within the landed estate and towards the War in Vietnam, to inform and tarry his audience with the problems the country was facing and to persuade them to vote for him in the election.As usual when talking to young people he began his address with his far-famed self-deprecating humour to set a friendly atmosphere and fashion a positive relationship with the target audience before he moved on to sensitive topics.The points of his argument lined up in the following order the polarization and violence within the country, the alarming conditions of meagreness in certain areas of the country and the progress of the War in Vietnam.The way Robert Kennedy renders the above mentioned issues is descriptive, with linear organisation of the topics covered. The style of addressing his audience could be characterised as direct, con driveational and contemplative. Robert Kennedys interaction with the target audi ence is most noticeable in this address.This speech is argumentative and demonstrates a high degree of RFKs personal involvement as he frequently asserts his own beliefs, demands and opinion. The persuasive strategy through argument dominates the address.The Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King (further referred to as Speech B, in abbreviated form SB) was delivered in Indianapolis in the evening of April 4th 1968. RFK was heading for Indianapolis to give a speech to a loosely black American fellowship in the city ghetto as a part of the rally. Before boarding the plane he was told that Martin Luther King had been piece of cake in Memphis, Tennessee. Right after their plane landed he was certain that Martin Luther King had died of the injury. The crowd had been gathering for the rally in the ghetto for one second before Robert Kennedy arrived. They were already fired up, albeit they could not have heard any official news about the assassination. Some of them were armed and violent. Robert Kennedy was advised by the police representatives not to go there, because they would not be able to have got him if mob violence broke out. RFK decided to face the danger and talk to his audience, thus taking up the unpleasant role to be the first gear to inform them about the death of Martin Luther King.Robert Kennedys words were meant from his heart. He alluded to the assassination of his brother. He alleviated the tension and literally tranquilized the audience. He submited the people to seek tranquillityfulness in their faith as a pension to Martin Luther Kings legacy.On this occasion RFK spoke to an audience of mostly black people from the ghetto of the city. His tone of voice was moderate. Every single word of his utterance showed empathy and his personal involvement in the issue. He used simple, but at the same time fallible language and short sentences built up from sophisticated words. He managed to draw the audiences attention to terms lik e love, wisdom, understanding and compassion toward one another.His purpose was to shift the attitude of the crowd, to move and inspire them. He applied judgment through emotions and through his own character. The style of the address is lyrical and emotional, apparently determined by the tragic event.This speech was built up solely from Robert Kennedys own words. It was delivered without a written template, only from the memory of RFKs own notes. For this reason this address shows several traits of extemporaneousness.As a reaction to Martin Luther Kings assassination the complete country was in flames that night, there were violent demonstrations, riots and boycotts initiated by Afro-American communities for revenge. In Indianapolis there were no significant protests registered.The Cleveland City Club terminus (further referred to as Speech C, in abbreviated form SC), was delivered by Robert Kennedy in Cleveland, Ohio on 5th April 1968.After the Indianapolis speech on Kings as sassination, RFK scratch his oncoming campaign appearances. (Kennedy and Guthman and Allen 1993 358) However he was persuaded by some African-American community leaders to keep his address, scheduled for the next day at the Cleveland City Club and to make it a plea for ending the violence. (Kennedy and Guthman and Allen 1993 358)RFK communicate his speech to a crowd of mostly white executives at the City Club. As usual, he conveyed his message in a moderate, soft tone of voice. The primary purpose of the speech was to express his concern about the violence in the country and to put the reasons for this growing violence in the country into focus.The overall organisation of the topics is associative. The content of the speech is confrontational and contemplative. The beginning and shutting paragraphs are built up from merely simple sentences, while the core of the address consists of complex philosophical units.The style of RFKs utterance is emotive for he attempted to persuade the target audience through emotions and through his own reasoning.This is the most lyrical address of the given selection with numerous examples of metonymical language.My decision to include in the research exactly these three public speeches of Robert F. Kennedy during his 1968 presidential campaign was determined by several factors. During the process of selection I took into consideration the previously formed research hypotheses. This approach say me to choose speeches which adequately demonstrate to what extent were the rhetorical devices used predetermined by the target audience, the speech event and the topics covered in them.My first criterion was to select speeches that are organized according to the classical rhetorical pattern, that include introduction, argumentation and conclusion. Since all of the selected speeches are built on this pattern, they plain meet the first criterion.The second criterion for the selection was the target audiences character. My theater inten tion was to analyse several of RFKs public addresses delivered to audiences of a different nature. With the given selection I managed to adhere to the plan. The speech at the University of Kansas was delivered to students, a community of young people the predominant target group of Robert Kennedys campaign. The remarks on the assassination of Martin Luther King addressed mostly black uneducated ghetto people of various age groups. The Cleveland City Club speech was given in front of mainly white executives of a higher social class. The above draft descriptions of the target audiences of the selected speeches indicate substantial heterogeneity from social perspective. The size differences between the audiences are also remarkable, with the University of Kansas crowd as the largest and the Cleveland City Club attendees as the smallest.The third criterion for the selection was the event of the particular speeches. Here I also attempted to seek variability in order to provide more obje ctive evaluations of the rhetorical devices determined by the event of the utterance. The University of Kansas speech was an ordinary political speech during Robert Kennedys campaign rally. He covered the main points of his program the divisions, the poverty and the War in Vietnam. He explained why he was running for the presidency and asked for the audiences support. The speech on Kings assassination was most bear upon by the occasion. Robert Kennedy could not deliver his pre-prepared speech instead he alter the appearance into an honest tribute to Martin Luther Kings memory and legacy. The third speech, the Cleveland City Club address was still influenced by the happenings from the day before. Robert Kennedy again had to reformulate his initial message. Although he spoke about issues also included in his campaign proclamation, one can scarcely call his address an ordinary campaign speech. Not once he did mention his candidacy nor did he ask for any support directly. Briefly we c an summarise the speech events as follows an ordinary campaign rally at a university campus, an extemporaneous tribute to the legacy of an assassinated public leader in a city ghetto and a plea for reconciliation and non-violence in front of an audience of noble executives.The fourth and the most important criterion for the selection was the content of the individual speeches. Hereby I admit a relatively higher degree of subjectivity, since in this case the criterion was considerably conditioned by my own interpretation of the messages. I attempted to choose those addresses from Robert Kennedys 1968 campaign speeches which most of all prove the extraordinary phenomena of his rhetoric. The University of Kansas speech was selected for his involvement, objectivity and for the emphasis of moral stipulation over material values. The lyricism and spiritualism and the calming effect of the guardedly chosen words in the Remarks on the Assassination of Martin Luther King were all factors of great importance that determined my choice for this piece of rhetoric. The Cleveland City Club address is remarkable for Robert Kennedys concern about humanity. It is an emotive call for peace and reconciliation of mankind. I chose this utterance in addition to its many unique qualities especially for the philosophic thoughts and prophetic words it communicates, which more than forty historic period later still appear to be relevant.The fifth criterion was to select speeches that are free of any partisan agendas and manifestations. Robert Kennedy in the selected addresses does not practice any programs or any political ideologies he rather draws his audiences attention to the real conditions in the country which affect them all. Nonetheless he categorically distinguishes himself from hiding the truth in illusions and empty promises.I was lead by the above assumptions during the selection of the core research material. I hope the fact that the selected speeches evidently mee t all the criteria defined justifies my choice.