Analysis Of George W. Bush’s Use Of Rhetorical Devices In His Address To The Nation On 9/11

On September 11, 2001, the United States, the world's superpower, turned into chaos in the winking of an eye, and New York, the center of world's economic hub and symbol of the United States economy, turned into a state of terror overnight. Although the 9/11 attacks happened more than ten years ago, the U.S citizens remember that day vividly as if the attacks happened yesterday. They still remember the collapsing World Trade Center’s twin towers and the Pentagon, panicked citizens, and the tears of the victims. However, there was something hopeful about the tragedy at the time that the United States still remember. President George W. Bush’s speech was a hope and a consolation to people in desperation. As the leader of the nation, he gave them hope and the sense of security to the citizens by using three main rhetorical devices: Metaphor, anaphora, and alliteration.

First of all, in order to appeal to the citizens using pathos, President Bush effectively uses metaphor to remind people how strong and tough the United States is. Metaphor is an implied comparison between two contradictory things that eventually suggests a similarity between them. President Bush uses this rhetorical device efficiently during his speech. For example, he says, “These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve”. By saying American resolve as steel, the president emphasizes the strength of the nation. He clearly shows that he will not fall into despair and will overcome the problem. Another example of a metaphor that President Bush uses in his speech is that he depicts the terrorists and terror as ‘evil’. We can see the word “evil” appearing several times in the president's speech. Usually, the word 'evil' gives us a very aggressive and negative feeling. By depicting the terrorist and terror as evil, President Bush tells the people how serious he is taking this situation. There are numerous studies that show how effective and influential metaphors can be. For instance, according to a study by Paul Thibodeau and Lera Boroditsky, two different metaphors of the exact same problem can make people propose a different solution. During the experiment, Thibodeau and Boroditsky made two different metaphors about the word “crime”. People who read “Crime is a beast” tended to propose enforcement-based solutions such as more police force. On the other hand, people who read “Crime is a virus” tended to propose “education initiatives or economic policy changes”. Like this study indicates, metaphors in the speech play a crucial role for President Bush to use pathos and change the citizens’ thought into a positive and hopeful way.

Secondly, President Bush uses anaphora to emphasize his important massages and make his speech more artistic. Anaphora is a repetition of the first part of successive phrases. President Bush uses this rhetorical device a lot of time in order to make his speech more appealing. For instance, he says, “Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened”. In this sentence, the president repeats the word “for” several times. With this anaphora, President Bush shows how the 9/11 attacks affect the life of Americans. Moreover, he emotionally emphasizes the condolence for the poor and innocent victims. Anaphora does not only have the function of emphasis. Anaphora has the ability to make the certain message memorable to the audience and this is why anaphora is used in many different fields. For instance, most of the successful and great songs use anaphora. A good example of a song that uses anaphora well can be 'Every Breath You Take' by the Police. In this song’s lyrics, the word “every” is repeating. This repetition makes song memorable and powerful and eventually led the song the greatest hit single in the United States and England. Like this song’s anaphora, President Bush’s anaphora also makes the word “for” memorable to the audience so that they do not forget the sacrifices of victims. Because of his anaphora, his usage of pathos appeals to the audience effectively. Moreover, lessons that citizens learn from the terror, as well as the painful feelings of terror, can stay in their minds longer because of anaphora.

Lastly, President Bush uses alliteration in order to highlight certain key messages and appeal to the people by using pathos. Alliteration is a repetition of same consonant sounds. There are several alliterations in the president’s speech. Some good examples can be phrases such as “shatter steal”, “brightest beacon”, and “Deliberately and deadly”. Because of these phrases, a rhythm can be created in the speech. The speed of the speech can be changed faster or slower depending on which sounds are used. Therefore, people can be able to focus on certain information and feel more vividly about how tragic the attacks were. Furthermore, alliteration can create a tone or mood that affects the speech. For instance, repeating the sound “s” makes a sound like a snake, which can establish a mood of danger. Same as anaphora, alliterations also have the power to make the certain message memorable. Thus, people use anaphora to make their things easy for others to remember. Brand names such as “Coca-Cola” or “Dunkin’s Donuts” can be good examples that show the significance of alliteration. Like these examples indicate, alliterations of President Bush lead the audiences to easily empathize and remember the pain of countless people caused by the 9/11 attacks.

In conclusion, by using metaphor, anaphora, and alliteration, President Bush efficiently showed the people that 9/11 attacks cannot tear down the foundation of America. Although the nation was in a state of chaos and people were lost in grief, President Bush behaved calm and empathized the citizen’s painful heart. He was a true leader who shone in the midst of hardships.