George W Bush's 9/11 Speech Reflection

 

    The evil terrorist atrocities that took place on 9/11/2001 left a mark on the world today. During this time, George W Bush, the current president of the United States had to step forward and lead his country. In doing so, he presented a speech to put comfort into the nation that proves to be very effective. Bush states in the very first sentence, "Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts,"(Lines 1-2). This quote already has the audience's attention because he repetitively used the word "our" indicating we are all one.This makes the audience feel satisfied knowing that their leader is alongside their hurting feelings.                

    Bush continues to side with the people of the United States. He shows this by saying, "The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger,"(Bush lines 7-9). As shown in this quote, Bush feels the pain of his people and understands what they're going through. This makes the audience feel relieved because of this connection. Bush ends his speech by evoking nationalism, "Our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation,"(Lines11-12). The purpose of this quote was to put faith into the people, that the United States isn't defeated and that their country is strong. Overall the speech was very moving, he reaches the audience by appealing to their emotions, pathos.