OBAMA. IN HIS OWN WORDS : THE CANDIDATE AND THE PRESIDENT

Abstract: Purpose/Aim: To study the rhetorical changes in the speeches of Barack Obama from being a presidential candidate to being the President. Material/Method: A rhetorical analysis of two defining speeches using logos, pathos and ethos in conjunction with framing and identity. Main Results: The main result of the essay was that the rhetoric used by Barack Obama did indeed change as his position as a politician changed. This change, however, was the result of how language is affected by circumstance, audience, the context in which the language is sent and received and the current identity being used by the speaker. Rhetoric is not purely about the language used.