Claudia Johnson Rhetorical Analysis Essay

On April 9th, 1964, Claudia Johnson– who was at the time the First Lady of the United States– gave a speech on the first anniversary of the Eleanor Roosevelt Memorial. In Johnson’s tribute speech, she employed Roosevelt's anecdotes and rhetorical questions to inspire people to stand up and help the individual. Johnson commences her speech with Roosevelt's anecdotes to inspire luncheon attendees to stand up and help the individual. Knowing of Roosevelt's unspoken actions, Johnson stated, “Saw a neglected Negro child,.. so [Roosevelt] educated him”( Johnson). Emphasizing one of Roosevelt’s small actions inspires people because racism at the time was very prominent, showing Roosevelt stood for her actions. By sharing this personal story, Johnson makes Roosevelt's actions more relatable. Along with …show more content…
In doing so, Johnson evokes feelings of empathy in the audience through her heartfelt storytelling. This encourages the audience to have the same admiration as Johnson did for Roosevelt and help individuals. Building on her utilization of Roosevelt’s anecdotes, Johnson also employs rhetorical questions to further convince luncheon attendees to stand up and help the individual. One question Johnson asked was, “Where else do you start, but with one person”(Johnson). By questioning the luncheon attendees, it creates a connection between Johnson and the attendees. It makes the listeners consider how they can answer the question. Ultimately, encouraging the viewer to question their opinions of how they can help the individual. A second question Johnson inquired was, “Are we ready to fight similar battles against new foes on our own day?”(Johnson). Johnson asks the attendees this question to imply that there is never a time that you can not stand up for the individual. By calling to the attention of the audience's past battles that were overcome, it implies that they have more battles to fight for the