we had to do an analyisis speech for public speaking. i thought i would analyze fdr's speech, the arsenal of democracy. i thought it would be easy to find criticisms on the speech. i thought i would have it easy. fdr is very famous. his arsenal of democracy speech was very famous.
i spent six quality hours with google today trying to find criticism on my speech. but i got the speech written. it is not completely done right now, but here it is in essence.
i have a wonderful sister who is on campus and spent time, time she should have been working on two different projects she has due, looking for different books on fdr's stylistic literary devices in this speech. she found some, bless her heart. what a wonderful sister. so here is the speech folks. criticism (constructive criticism please) would be nice.
America: The Arsenal of Democracy
A radio address delivered on December 29th, 1940
“FDR spoke a language of inclusion and inspiration. Phrases like ‘a day that will live in infamy,’ ‘We have nothing to fear but fear itself,’ and ‘the arsenal of democracy,’ have entered our common language, and their potency, both in memory and in lasting power, keeps them from becoming empty cliches” says author Victor Kamber. In several of his speeches FDR used many different stylistic devices in order to better connect with the general middle class population of the United States. In analyzing FDR’s Arsenal of Democracy speech I want us as students to see how effective the use stylistic language devices was to help connect with America, a nation on the brink of war.
On December 27th, 1940 the world watched as the three main Axis powers, Italy, Germany, and Japan signed an Anti-USA pact that “joined themselves together in the threat that if the United States interfered with or blocked the expansion program of these three nations—a program aimed at world control—they would unite in ultimate action against the United States;” FDR said in his Arsenal of Democracy speech two days later. In this speech FDR urges the Nation to be strong as they were previously in the Great Depression. “We met the issue of 1933 with courage and realism. We face this new crisis—this new threat to the security of our Nation—with the same courage and realism.” Another purpose of this speech was to urge the United States to use their resources to help Britain in producing war munitions. “I want to make it clear that it is the purpose of the Nation to build now with all possible speed every machine and arsenal and factory that we need to manufacture our defense material. We have the men, the skill, the wealth, and above all, the will.”
Toward the beginning of his speech FDR makes an analogy about the German nation. “It is no exaggeration to say that all of us in the Americas would be living at the point of a gun—a gun loaded with explosive bullets, economic as well as military.” He again refers to Germany in the same sense later on in the speech in reference to other nations that have given into the German lies and deceit and were now living at their mercy. “The fate of these nations tells us what it means to live at the point of a Nazi gun.” FDR is using this type of analogy to show America just how dangerous it would be to subject themselves to the Nazi regime. He again uses the analogy tactic in describing Great Britain: “In a military sense Great Britain and the British Empire are today the spearhead of resistance to world conquest. They are putting up a fight which will live forever in the story of human gallantry.”
But the analogy is not by far the only stylistic language device that FDR used in this speech. He also makes use of assonance and consonance to make a more poetic sound to his words. For example “There are also American citizens, many of them in high places, who unwittingly in most cases, are aiding and abetting the work of these agents.” And “Non-intervention pact or not, the fact remains that they were attacked, overrun, and thrown into the modern form of slavery at an hour’s notice or even without any notice at all.” Pact, fact, attacked. And in the previous quote: places and cases. He also in the last quote uses alliteration, the same initial sound in the words, aiding, abetting, and agents.
Another tactic that FDR used in his speech is personification or more specifically prosopopeia. Prosopopeia, where an animate object or an abstract concept is spoken of as though it were endowed with life or with human attributes or feelings, is a narrower term within the concept of personification. FDR uses this directly when he states “They (meaning the evil forces or the Axis powers) try to reawaken long slumbering racial and religious enmities which should have no place in this country.” Racial and religious enmities, both abstract concepts being endowed with reawakening, a human attribute.
The metaphor is another device that FDR uses in this speech and perhaps the most obvious. Again FDR is speaking of Germany and says “The experience of the past two years has proven beyond doubt that no nation can appease the Nazis. No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it. There can be no appeasement with ruthlessness. There can be no reasoning with an incendiary bomb.” He uses here something that the American people are very used to and probably have experienced. Taming a kitten and then broadening it to a tiger and finally into an incendiary bomb.
Throughout his Arsenal of Democracy speech, FDR used several different types of stylistic language devices. He relayed the danger of the situation the United States found itself in by using analogies, he used assonance and consonance to make the rhythm of the speech flow, and finally he used the metaphor so the general populous of America could relate. We as students can use this speech as an example to help us incorporate these methods into our speeches to make us more effective speakers. Thank you.
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