Analysis Of Rhetorical Devices Used By Steve Jobs In His “You'Ve Got To Find What You Love” Speech
"You can't connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backward. " - Steve Jobs. Some chances come once in a lifetime and that's all you get. Sometimes the best offers aren't what's best for you. That is the basis of Steve Jobs' commencement given at Stanford University in 2005. Jobs talks about having been set back to actually move forward. During his speech, he takes us on his journey of discovering his purpose in his life and not stopping until he found it. Steve Jobs is a prime example of staying true to your aspirations and that is what he was trying to persuade the graduation class to do. Therefore, Steve Jobs effectively utilizes ethos, logos, and pathos through a series of anecdotes and rhetorical devices he coherently discusses how finding your purpose in life is the hardest and most rewarding task of all.
At the beginning of his speech, Jobs supplements the Stanford graduates, expressing "I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world”. Jobs at that point incidentally shouts, "never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation". Merely through these two proclamations, Jos establishes a sense of pathos in his discourse by indicating quietude in himself and making the crowd feel accomplished. Also, Jobs successfully sets a humorous mood for whatever is left of the speech. This helps with making both the group of onlookers and Jobs himself feel better through his speech. Jobs begins his first story by underlining the hardship of his background. He starts by stating, "My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption". Jobs them goes on to talk about growing up in a household where neither of his parents went to college and how he dropped out of college. Conversely, he then goes to talk about how dropping out of college opened new doors for him to explore what he was passionate about.
The Jobs also uses a variance in tones throughout his speech to motivate his audience. For example, Jobs says, "Your time is limited, so don't waste your time living someone else's life" (Jobs). Through this utilization of tone, Jobs is advising them to live their lives to the fullest and focus on their purpose within that life. Furthermore, he also uses a very melancholy tone when talking about his diagnosis. For instance, he says, "The doctors told me that this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months". This further proves his point of living your life the best way you know how, as well as stresses the importance of how a person's time can be limited and why you should start now instead of later. Subsequently, Jobs is appealing to the audience's emotions to evoke our sadness as well as motivate us to strive for the things we want early on and keep looking for what fits us in life.
Not only do his stories appeal to our emotions, but he also uses diction to give him a sense of creditability. Jobs uses his anecdotes of him doing what he is advising the audience to do and they can obviously see how it is working for him. For example, he says, "I didn't see it then, but it turned out getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me". In retrospect, jobs would've never been able to start his other companies like Pixar and NeXT if he wasn't fired. Furthermore, the best offer, Apple, wasn't what was best for him, which prompted him to go on to do bigger and better things. In accordance with that, Jobs is not advising the audience to do something he has no experience in. Which in makes this very reliable and trustworthy advice he is giving to his audience. Consequently, the author was connecting with his audience by being able to relate his own life story to the message he was emphasizing. His uses of diction strengthen his speech because his experiences give him the creditability, which makes this a very effective way to appeal to ethos.
Next, the author uses repetition of certain phrases to emphasize the importance of the ideas behind them. For instance, Jobs says, "If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle". Jobs keeps repeating these phrases to relay the theme of his speech as well as encourage the students through his use of pathos. By using repetition, he is appealing to their emotions in order to prompt them to feel inspired by what his message. By repeating these phrases, he is trying to instill the idea of not giving up until you find what you love. Further, he also continuously says, "keep looking until you find it. Don't settle". He wants his audience to strive to find their purpose and strive for greatness. Jobs powerfully finishes up his discourse by rehashing the expression, "Remain hungry. Remain stupid". This reiteration adequately abridges the thoughts behind the discourse and declares his argument in its entirety. All through his speech, Jobs utilizes clear proclamations and additionally straightforward words and diction to share his educational encounters with the group of onlookers. Jobs' simple, yet legit type of talking builds up his logos, which makes him more reliable and persuading to his group of onlookers.
Additionally, his steady precedents of how he conquered misfortune demonstrate the alumni and different audience members that they will experience hardships in life. However, he guarantees the gathering of people that these hardships can be survived, and defeating them will just make them stronger individuals. Furthermore, the pathos appealing anecdotes that Jobs presents to his crowd permit the group of onlookers to feel an assortment of emotions all through the discourse. By introducing them in a dull and smart way, Jobs enables his audience members to more readily comprehend and identify with his convictions, hence building up emotion.
Finally, Jobs' superb conveyance combined with his steady associations with his audience adds to the explanatory value of this discourse. Because of his excellent encounters and talking capacities, Steve Jobs skillfully empowers the Stanford graduates that the most essential part of life is to find what they adore and to seek after their interests. On the off chance that they pursue their hearts and instincts, at that point the graduates are certain to live energizing and fruitful lives.
