Joanne Rowling, British novelist and popular for being the writer of the Harry Potter series, was given the opportunity of speaking in the Harvard University’s 2008 graduation ceremony. The commencement speech “has become the most-viewed commencement address on the university's website” (Furness, 2). As a college student who looks for any and every piece of advice given by someone successful as Rowling, I chose this speech to not only learn more about J.K Rowling’s life, but to apply her advice into my own life. Joanne Rowling’s speech was important for those who successfully finished their career as she gave significant advice about the future that is to come for the students. When the commencement speech was delivered, Rowling was “best
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The way she expressed herself was with a new perspective the audience would have never expect. When she talked about failure and its benefits, a lot of people might have thought her statements and advice were wrong, but Rowling gave a new meaning to failure. There are people as Laurence Hart, Information Consultant, Strategist, and Advisor, who have an opposite point of view. Hart described failure as “to be avoided. It is a bad thing” (Hart, 9) whereas Rowling suggests failure comes to your life to teach you, “failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way” (Rowling). For her second advice, the importance of imagination, she lets the audience know how imagination can contribute to their lives in a positive way for their future and careers just like it did on hers. Her values had a new meaning when delivering the speech to the audience. In this rhetorical analysis, we analyzed the main points on J.K Rowling’s speech. An in-depth view on her advice to the fellow graduates was analyzed to understand the meaning behind. Rowling advised the students to use imagination in their life and to not be sadden if they fail in achieving one of their goals. She encouraged them to take that failure as an opportunity to improve and try again. Rowling connected with the audience by using values to express herself in a truthful way. As Rowling said, “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”
The way she expressed herself was with a new perspective the audience would have never expect. When she talked about failure and its benefits, a lot of people might have thought her statements and advice were wrong, but Rowling gave a new meaning to failure. There are people as Laurence Hart, Information Consultant, Strategist, and Advisor, who have an opposite point of view. Hart described failure as “to be avoided. It is a bad thing” (Hart, 9) whereas Rowling suggests failure comes to your life to teach you, “failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way” (Rowling). For her second advice, the importance of imagination, she lets the audience know how imagination can contribute to their lives in a positive way for their future and careers just like it did on hers. Her values had a new meaning when delivering the speech to the audience. In this rhetorical analysis, we analyzed the main points on J.K Rowling’s speech. An in-depth view on her advice to the fellow graduates was analyzed to understand the meaning behind. Rowling advised the students to use imagination in their life and to not be sadden if they fail in achieving one of their goals. She encouraged them to take that failure as an opportunity to improve and try again. Rowling connected with the audience by using values to express herself in a truthful way. As Rowling said, “As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”