Speech Analysis Group Project By: Chanda the Charger, Pawan the Punisher, Zaria the Zestful, Chidi “Breezy” Ukaga the Crusader, Malcolm the Mauler, Zach the Zinger, and Jordan the Jester

The Close Reading ●Reflective- During this speech Clinton very reflective on the state of Oklahoma and the whole country. ●Support- This speech is used to promise and give support to the people of Oklahoma and help them get through their loss ●Mourn- During this speech clinton makes a point to let the people of Oklahoma get through this down point in their history. ●Threaten- Clinton makes a point in this speech to make all the citizens of Oklahoma know that these bombers were threatening their way of life. ●Freedom-This speech is closed with a strong image of freedom to remind Americans to stay together as one - Malcolm

The close reading cont. ●“you have lost too much, but you have not lost everything. And you have certainly not lost America, for we will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes” ●in this quote Clinton illustrates that all of America is going to help Oklahoma get through this loss. ●“My fellow Americans, a tree takes a long time to grow, and wounds take a long time to heal.” ●Clinton uses symbolism in this quote to represent the loss that America has taken and that it is going to take along time to heal, but it is going to heal.

Contextual Analysis ●Bill Clinton was president at the time of the event ●Clinton gave speech 4 days after the bombing ●Bombing happened at 9:02 AM ●The blast from the bomb killed 168 people, including 19 children. More than 500 people were injured, they have stone glass chairs for each person that died ●Both Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols were former US Army soldiers ●McVeigh was convicted on 11 counts of murder conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction. He was sentenced to death on June 13 ●McVeigh was executed by lethal injection. He was the first person executed for a federal crime in the US since 1963 ●McVeigh was fascinated by guns and survival skills Jordan and Chidi

Purpose and Claim The Oklahoma City Bombing left the civilians there depressed and devastated. The president at the time, Bill Clinton, was aware of this and made a profound speech addressing the tragic event while giving respect to the victims and their families and friends. “You have lost too much, but you have not lost everything.” -Bill Clinton This is the former president’s claim regarding the condition of the people. He says this to the people so they can see their lost as an opportunity to fix what isn’t right, because he knows two wrongs don’t make a right. “The anger you feel is valid, but you must not allow yourselves to be consumed by it. The hurt you feel must not be allowed to turn into hate, but instead into the search for justice.” Zaria

Structure & Strategies ❖ Strategies used in the speech ➢ Bill Clinton uses repetition in his speech, for example in the speech, Clinton repeats the phrase, “If anybody thinks that Americans are mostly mean and selfish, they ought to come to Oklahoma” Bill Clinton reflects on Oklahoma positively, emphasising their southern hospitality. ➢ Another strategy Bill Clinton uses is symbolism. He uses the similarity between a growing tree and a human’s healing, hinting at the raw, tender process each takes within the one sentence, “a tree takes a long time to grow, and wounds take a long time to heal.” ➢ Clinton also used an emotional appeal to connect with his audience, bringing in and reading a letter written by a widow of a Pan Am 103 victim to convince the crowd that they will survive, and America will stand by them and support them. ➢ He used his presence, as well as a plain folks appeal to show the people of Oklahoma that he too is a father, and husband and that he too understands their pain and that collectively, representing America, he will not let their lives and legacies perish in vain. Chanda

Structure & Strategies ❖ Key Words: Grief, Loss, God, Heal, Justice ❖ Important Quotations: “a tree takes a long time to grow, and wounds take a long time to heal.” “And you have certainly not lost America, for we will stand with you for as many tomorrows as it takes.” ❖ Historical Facts: The speech was addressed to the public on April 23, 1995, four days after the tragic incident ❖ Purpose/Claim: A profound speech was addressed by President Clinton in order to address this tragedy and to pay America’s respect to the victim’s loved ones Pawan

Evaluation After taking note of the discussions our group had after the first and second read, we found more to the speech as a whole: ●The president used propaganda, namely plain folks, to show sympathy towards the crowd. He does this very effectively by mentioning local places like the ballpark and the church. He even says that he didn’t come as the president but as a parent. ●He also used a lot of repetition. He might have got this technique from John F. Kennedy, who previously got it from Abraham Lincoln. ●After discussing whether or not he wanted to go or was forced to go, our group came to the decision that both reasons brought him there. ●Our group also related this to a more recent bombing of Boston. Zach