Speech 2 Outline

I. Introduction

A. Attention Getter: If you were a Lieutenant Colonel, what would you say to your men before going into a battle?

B. Credibility: War movies have always been a hobby of mine, and I have done extensive research specifically on the Vietnam War.

C. Preview: To remind you about my topic, I gave a speech on the movie, “We Were Soldiers,” where I analyzed the audience, exigence and constraints of Lt. Colonel Moore’s speech.

D. In the speech given by Lt. Colonel Moore, he speaks in front of his men as well as their families the day before they ship out.

E. Moore’s speech to his men instills inspiration and hope.

F. Thesis: In my speech, I will be discussing how cleverly Lt. Colonel Moore delivers and structures his speech with powerful ethos, pathos, and logos. PAUSE

G. Transition: First, I will discuss the ethos that Lt. Colonel instilled in his men and their families.

II. Body: Ethos

A. From the beginning of this movie, Lt. Colonel Moore establishes himself as not only a commanding officer of his men, but also a fatherly figure.

B. As Moore gives his speech, he instills a sense of confidence and unity through his diction, but also through the delivery of his speech.

C. Moore begins his speech by using synecdoche and repetition as he addresses the ethnic and religious backgrounds that come together to build his Calvary.

D. The pronoun, “We,” is repeatedly used throughout his speech to connect to his audience by showing his men and their families that he will also be on the battlefield and be at risk.

E. As this repetition occurs, he says in a soft, yet demanding father-like tone, that “you will watch the back of the man next to you, as he will watch yours. And you won’t care what color he is or by what name he calls God.” (American Rhetoric)

F. With this being the first point he makes, Moore is able to show his men and their families that they should trust his judgment and invest in the good intentions he has for his men and for his country.

G. I will be showing a short clip of his speech in the movie, but before I do, I want to bring to attention the long pauses the Lt. Colonel has throughout his sentences.

H. Youtube Video clip – 0:00 to 1:00. (http://youtube.com/watch?v=bz8fba9zTIA)

I. As you can see, the repetition of the word “We” as well as the pauses that the Lt. Colonel Moore uses solidifies his development of ethos as he makes his men trust him with their lives and show their families that he is capable for this job.

J. In this movie, Mel Gibson was really able to pull off the ethos as a New York Times article states that “We Were Soldiers” showed that “it’s about the sacrifices that soldiers make so the rest of us can be safe.” (NYTimes: Against the Tide)

K. Transition: As Lt. Colonel Moore has now established his ethos with his audiences; the Lt. Colonel also structured his speech to be straightforward and honest to his men.

III. Body: Logos

A. According to the Art of Rhetoric, Logos is defined as the “appeal to logic or reason.” (Art of Rhetoric)

B. In class, logos was said to have three forms of an argument – claim, warrant, and data.

C. In Lt. Colonel Moore’s speech, these three forms of argument vaguely foreshadow the future events of this movie.

D. Moore begins his speech with his claim, that they are all Americans, and that they are going to war, as he states, “we are moving into the valley of the shadow of death.”

E. This claim is a declaration of war – where they are going to fight due to the war against communism.

F. The second form of an argument, warrant, is shown where he states that “we’re going into battle against a tough and determined enemy.” (American Rhetoric)

G. Through further research, I found on a website, ChangingMinds.org, it explained that a warrant, links data and other grounds to a claim. (Toulmin’s Argument Model)

H. Although the data is not fully developed in this speech, the Vietnam War was a give-in to why Lt. Colonel Moore and his men are going into battle.

i. A Vietnam War website stated that the United States took part of this “misunderstood” war after the opposition against France by Vietnamese communists. (Vietnam War)

I. Moore also tries to break the news to his men and their families that not everyone will be able to come back alive – however, he will give his men the respect of bringing them home, PAUSE back home to America.

J. The Lt. Colonel’s speech is very logical and upfront about what is going to happen to him and his unit when they reach Vietnam.

K. Transition: The structure of Moore’s speech clearly identifies the logos that he is presenting to his men and their family, however, the pathos he utilizes to emotionally relate to his audience is very clever and touching.

IV. Body: Pathos

A. Pathos is “the appeal based on emotion.” (The Art of Rhetoric)

B. Lt. Colonel Moore emotionally reaches out to his audience as he continually refers to the concept of religion.

C. God is often referred to while he tells his men and their families that a piece of hope can still be found through religion.

D. Lt. Colonel, clearly being a religious man, continues to show that as he will be the one with them on the battlefield, however, the lives of his men are not in his control, but in God’s hands.

E. Although his men may not all have the same religion, he refers to the one thing that they all have in common – a sense of patriotism.

F. Moore states that although his men may not come from the same background, they are “all Americans.”

G. As Americans, Moore brings a sense of unity and pride for why they are fighting across the world in Vietnam, where according to the “Wars of Vietnam,” the “Communist are the opposing threat.” (War of Vietnam)

H. In a New York Times article, it writes that the “colonel’s heart, will in a sense, be broken,” as he tells them that “we are going to what home always supposed to be.” (NYTimes: Film Review)

i. By stating that he is going back to what home is supposed to be, he further instills courage to his men to show that war is in their blood.

ii. Moore further shows this filial emotion as he states, “dead or alive, we will all come home together,” showing that they are not only a Calvary, but a family.

I. Transition: Prior going into battle, instilling a sense of pride and patriotism for their country would be similar to a long lasting adrenaline rush – giving them a reason for why they are fighting this war and to come home to their families.

V. Conclusion

A. Lt. Colonel Moore’s speech strongly impacts his men, as he gains their trust, shows them his logical reasoning to why they are fighting this war, and touches their emotions through religion and patriotism.

B. The ethos, pathos and logos presented in the Lt Colonel Moore’s speech is the definition of what a superior officer should tell his or her men and their families prior to being shipped out.

Bibliography

1. "American Rhetoric: Movie Speech 'We Were Soldiers.'" American Rhetoric. 2008. 6 March 2008 <http://americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechweweresoldiers7thcavalryaddress.html>.

2. Crewell, Dustin, Melissa Draper, and Colin Mitchell. "Learning How to Use the Three Main Rhetorical Styles." The Art of Rhetoric. Spring 1996. 6 Mar. 2008 <http://www.rpi.edu/dept/llc/webclass/ web/project1/group4/>.

3. Masters, Kim. "NOTICED; Against the Tide, Two Movies Go to War." The New York Times. 4 Nov. 2001. 6 Mar. 2008 <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E6DC1F30F937A35752C1A9679C8B63&scp=7&sq=%22We+Were+Soldiers%22&st=nyt>.

4. Scott, A. O. " FILM REVIEW; Early Vietnam, Mission Murky." New York Times 1 Mar. 2002. 6 March 2008 <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9900E6DD1331F932A35750C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2>.

5. "Toulmin's argument model." ChangingMinds.org. 2007. http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/making_argument/toulmin.htm. 6 Mar. 2008 <http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/making_argument/toulmin.htm>.

Comments:

Siama Manzoor - Hey Mike! You gave a nice speech with clear structure and speaking. You had a tendency to read from your paper and look down rather than at the audience. I really like the clip you showed though. Good job!