Anwar Sadat Essay

In your view, how have rhetorical techniques been used to reveal memorable ideas in the speeches set for study? Support your view with detailed reference to at least TWO of the speeches set for study. Great speeches combine rhetorical techniques and structuring to reveal and emphasise their key themes and memorable ideas. This is evident in Anwar Sadat’s â€Å"Statement to the Israeli Knesset all of which present ideas memorable in both their original contexts and to contemporary audiences.†, Paul Keating’s â€Å"Funeral Service of the Unknown Australian Soldier† and Sir William Deane’s â€Å"On the occasion of an ecumenical service for the victims of the canyoning tragedy†, One of Sadat’s most memorable themes is the value of â€Å"permanent peace based on justice†. Sadat employs a range of rhetorical devices such as emotive language, repetition, enumeration, imagery and juxtaposition to ensure his audience is convinced of the value of â€Å"permanent peace based on justice† and remembers the idea. Words such as â€Å"annihilate†, â€Å"bereavement† and â€Å"rejection† are used to force his audience to experience how it feels to live without â€Å"permanent peace based on justice†. The repetition of the phrase emphasizes that this idea is one of his key concepts, and also allows the phrase to be brought up again in the audiences mind allowing the concept to ‘sink in’. Sadat also uses accumulation, structuring his arguments as â€Å"the first fact†, â€Å"the fifth fact† etc, and later, when stating his conditions for peace he uses â€Å"first, second, third†. This technique allows his audience to better follow his train of thought and clearly understand how he has come to these conclusions and making his argument seem more logical and correct. Also, by stating his arguments as a â€Å"fact† he gives them more authority. Lastly, Sadat uses imagery to portray two possible futures. One is of â€Å"the ruins of what mankind has built and the remains of the victims of mankind†; the other is of â€Å"a smile on the face of every child born on our land†. By juxtaposing such extreme vision Sadat forces his audience to agree with his pint by appealing to a common goal of a better future. Sadat ensures his audience remembers the idea of â€Å"permanent peace based on justice† by employing a number of rhetorical devices to ensure they both understand and agree with the idea.